Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley demands 90 minutes of pure aggression from his players, and they have responded with swarms of energetic counter-pressing.
The eighth-place Red Bulls lead all MLS clubs with 2,313 sprints without the ball this season. Red Bull New York has covered 49.55 km without the ball, more than any other MLS club.
Bradley has spoken often of his desire for the Red Bulls to dictate the pace of matches by putting games on their terms. Part of the equation is instantly disrupting opponents once possession is lost and capitalizing with quick transition attacks.
“We want to be aggressive,” Bradley said during Friday’s press conference. “Part of being aggressive is then when you lose it, how quickly you can counter press and how quickly you can win it back. In other moments when the other team has a little bit more set possession, how can we set ourselves up to step up and go after them and again, put the game back on our terms even if they have it.”
There’s little time to catch a breather for players in the Red Bull New York starting XI. With the ball and without the ball, it’s go, go, go.
Red Bull New York’s Relentless Counter-Pressing Sets the Tone
It’s often said that it’s the legs that feed the wolf. For the Red Bulls, their goals are fueled by their ceaseless hard work in winning back possession and rapid attacking runs.
“When you want to be aggressive and when you want to be dynamic and when you want to go after things, then you have to run,” Bradley stated. “You have to have guys who can move around the field. You have to have guys who can put it into the net and sprint and repeat and do it over and over and over again. That’s a big part of who we are, of how we play.
“We’re a team that wants to put the game on our terms in every possible way. So part of that is with the ball and part of that is when we have it, how can we be dynamic and fluid and aggressive, finding the right ways to play football, to mix up passes, to be able to play in the center part of the field, but also then in moments go fast forward and really put teams on their heels.”
Mohammed Sofo Is Making the Most of His Midfield Opportunity
One player who has embodied a team-wide commitment to covering every blade of grass is midfielder Mohammed Sofo. The 21-year-old Ghanaian has covered 12.57 km per 90 this season, which ranks him sixth highest of all Eastern Conference players.
Lately, Sofo has claimed a starting XI place in the role previously occupied by Red Bull New York captain Emil Forsberg.
The departure of midfielder Gustav Berggren to Lech Poznań opened an opportunity to experiment with Sofo in a central midfield role.
“I think Sofo has had a really good period,” Bradley said. “When we lost Gustav Berggren this summer, it meant that we were a little bit thin in the midfield. Up until that point, we had been using Sofo predominantly as a wide attacker. As we looked into our squad and were trying to create some potential solutions, we felt like Sofo was a guy that was worth spending some real time in the midfield.”
Bradley Praises Sofo’s Adaptation to Central Midfield Role
Sofo has established himself as a trusted option. The 5-foot-9 midfielder has started seven consecutive matches.
“So it’s a credit to him, in terms of having an open mind and coming in every day ready to work, ready to take ideas, ready to push himself. Even in the first part of the season, when things weren’t going his way, he was so motivated to get better, to try to force his way into the picture. In this last period, he has played really well. He’s been an important part of some of our really successful games and results. So it’s a great thing for us, because it gives us another one more really, really viable option in the center part of the field.”
The Red Bulls will return home to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday to face Toronto FC. Saturday’s match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will be broadcast on Apple TV.
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