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Reyna display a slight to Red Bulls fans

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Claudio Reyna calmly placed the ball on the artificial turf where the penalty spot was and readied himself for a chance to score a goal. After a brief interruption from an opponent, Reyna confidently strided up to the ball and blasted it past the goalkeeper, drawing applause from the New York fans who ringed the venue.

No, this didn’t take place at Giants Stadium. This took place at Nike Field in Chinatown at a charity game. The opponent who interrupted Reyna’s kick was a joking Thierry Henry, who drew a yellow card that made many of the fans in attendance laugh.

Red Bulls fans weren’t laughing at all. Not at the news that Reyna, the same player who has played in just six of the team’s 13 matches this year, was able to play in a soccer game despite being too injured to join his team on its current West Coast swing, or play in any of the team’s past five matches.

For many Red Bulls fans, it was the ultimate insult and the last straw.

That Reyna played in the event, which was played to help raise funds for Reyna’s and NBA star Steve Nash’s charitable foundations, wasn’t that big an offense. Playing in that half-speed match can’t compare in any way with the physical demands of playing in an MLS match. The problem was the symbolism of his participation, and the perception that he cared more about playing in a celebrity pick-up game than being with the team that actually pays him is what turned it into a crime in the eyes of Red Bulls fans. The fact that injured Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel attended but didn’t play in the match only made Reyna’s participation look that much worse.

Do I think it was a crime? Playing in the game itself wasn’t that bad. Where Reyna failed miserably is in communicating with the public about the charity event beforehand. Instead of failing to talk about the possibility of playing (he decline interview requests last week), Reyna should have been out front talking about the charity event and about his potential participation in the match. It would have given Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio a chance to state whether or not he thought Reyna playing in the match was risky or even acceptable. The news might have been met with snickers and objections, but not nearly the reaction elicited when Red Bulls fans had to find out after the fact that Reyna played the entire charity game.

That isn’t what happened though. Not only did Reyna not spread the word beforehand about his potential participation in the match, the Red Bulls had hardly any involvement in the charity event and sources tell me that the club scrambled to get involved in some capacity the day before the match.

Reyna discussed his participation after the match and pointed out that he was close to coming back to action with the Red Bulls, and that his participation in Wednesday’s match could only help his progress, but that explanation rang hollow coming after the event rather than before it.

What happens next? It is safe to say that if Reyna doesn’t play for the Red Bulls very soon there will be even more questions raised about him playing in Wednesday’s charity game and even more venom from Red Bulls fans who will have every right to feel slighted.

Comments

  1. I think it’s a travesty that Reyna isn’t talking to the media.

    Last I checked, this is still the US, he’s still a US player and soccer still needs all the publicity it can get in this country.

    Part of the value of a DP is his marketability and part of his maketability is TALKING TO THE MEDIA to get his name and the team’s name in the media.

    Given Claudio’s long history with injuries, I’ll give Claudio the benefit of the doubt with being hurt. But there is NO EXCUSE – absolutely none – for a DP, an American one no less, not talking to the media.

    The Red Bulls and MLS need to sit down with Claudio and remind him of his responsibilities that come with accepting the DP money.

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  2. I think that the saddest part of this whole debacle is that JCO and Agoos are completel oblivious to the fact that CR is a complete waste of a roster spot healthy or not and even more the $ being used on his DP slot will continue to hurt the team as a whole and my fear is they are clueless to this and actually offer him another contract!!! we havent heard either one’s opinion of future plans for using a DP in 2009 and neither have they stated how they feel about having CR on the team what happens then? : (

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  3. “Reyna used the match as part of his rehabilitation from a back injury, and noted the level of play was not too fierce.” -AP

    Personally, I don’t give 2 sh1ts.

    I go to NYRB games, and hear the crap people scream at Reyna. I HOPE HE DID IT TO SPITE THE NY FANS. but I doubt he did

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  4. The point about the lack of communication and publicity for the event doesn’t make any sense.

    Anybody who was there would know that you couldn’t have gotten any more people to the event anyway. It was a complete mob scene without additional publicity, with lots of people turning away because that couldn’t see anything. The place was completely packed with people, and there was simply no place for any additional people to go. People were climbing the trees to be able to catch a glimpse, fercrissakes.

    So I really, really don’t understand Ives’s point. Did he think there should have been EVEN MORE people who showed up, couldn’t see anything, and went home disappointed?

    Ives is WAAAY off on this one.

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  5. As I said yesterday, Red Bull needs to get their legal team to look to see if Reyna breached his contract.

    As for trying to defend criticism of Reyna: he has lost everyone except for a tiny set of diehards. The burden is on THEM to justify his value.

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  6. Let me tell you, my friend. This Claudio Reyna is terrible. He never plays, he never scores & he doesn’t talk to the press. Listen my friend, when I played, I was smart enough to always give a good quote to the press & score a nice goal for the fans. I also played hurt. I may be tough to play with, but I was tougher to play against. I may old now & just finished eating a bowl of scungillia, but let me tell you, my friend, I was the leading goal scorer in the North Americam Soccer league & I can still dribble past this lazy, overpaid sack because he’d be too busy cashing his paycheck to catch me. You listen to Giorgio, okay?

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  7. I’ve watched Reyna his entire USMNT career, and I’ll always like the guy for his contributions at that level.

    However, his tenure here has been a disaster. It’s a truly a shame as this should have been his triumphant return to his hometown team, and it’s all gone wrong.

    It just gets worse and worse. He’s the captain of the team, but doesn’t communicate with the media and then he plays in a chartiy game while his team is in the midst of ton of games in which they need all hands on deck. As a season ticket holder, it’s maddening.

    Ives is right, if he had communicated all this upfront and talked about it, I don’t think most fans would have given it a second thought, and who knows, maybe the guy makes a lot more money for his foundation cause more people are aware of it. Yet another missed opportunity.

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  8. To all the Reyna-bashers: I’m not saying I disagree with you, but please specify what you mean by things along the lines of “this is just the latest his long list of offenses.” He has played poorly, no doubt. He has spent much of his time here injured — also true. His recent “media blackout” is something new and different, and perhaps deserving of criticism. But assuming that (1) he’s trying, and not playing badly on purpose, (2) he’s truly injured, and not faking the injuries or malingering, what could he do to get improve things? Being accessible and open comes to mind, I guess. But some comments interpret his reticence as arrogance and contempt for the fans and the club. Is there other evidence of these things?

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  9. As for those linking this piece as some sort of revenge for Claudio not speaking to the media, I haven’t been around the Red Bulls the past few weeks so I’m not the one who has been having his Reyna interview requests turned down so that theory is dead. My point about mentioning his media blackout is that rather than using the media to promote the charity game, and communicate with Red Bulls fans, he chose to stay silent.

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  10. kpugs, who cares about money. That was sunk cost the moment he put pen to paper, forget the tying this to monyey. This should be tied to playing time alone.

    That is what CR agreed to give RBNY, if he can not hold up his end of the bargain, then he should retire.

    RBNY is holding up their end, and he should hold up his, if he is unable to then at the very least he should give an explanation to the RBNY faithful.

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  11. Sidenetting- It’s piss poor publicity if Ives didn’t hear about it.

    He’s an ass, plain and simple. He cannot score even one goal for us? Just one? And we’re paying him how much to sit on the sidelines?

    The issue here isn’t that he’s playing in a charity match. The issue is that he’s not playing on the field, and when he is, he’s not producing.

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  12. Without debating the merits of Reyna, I will say that nothing riles up writers more than ignoring them. Baseball players who refused to talk to the press have been pilloried by sportswriters for years. The difference with soccer is that the fans feel somehow entitled to know every last doing of a player.

    I’m not attacking anybody here, so don’t go all postal but since the issue most folks have seems to be the lack of communication by Reyna (regarding the event), I find it all a tempest in a teapot.

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  13. First off, thanks much for liveblogging the event yesterday, Ives.

    I was an athlete all through high school and played American football at a D1 school. It’s like this: if a coach is yelling at you, even if it’s making you miserable, then things are okay. When you stop hearing from coaches, when you basically just disappear, then you’re really screwed. At this point, they’ve given up on you, and anything you do that’s remotely productive is simply a bonus. Otherwise, you’re out of their plans for the team.

    This is precisely how I feel about Reyna. I stopped caring about him the first time he pulled up lame this year. He’s not worth yelling at, not worth talking to, and not worth caring about at this point.

    If he trots back out, and does some good things, then it’s a bonus, but nothing more. He’s got no future with RBNY.

    My attention now is squarely focused on the team of scrappers that has been seriously nutting up and getting results the last few weeks. I watched the game with utter joy last night, seeing guys like Ubi, Eche, and Gilkerson (WTF!) play with heart and desire.

    I realize Guadalajara is in preseason and all that other stuff. But I was happy to see guys like Roth get minutes. We completely dominated that game for long stretches last night, and I think the friendly was extremely important, as it’s allowing this team of no-names to further their on field chemistry.

    Reyna? He’s invisible to me.

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  14. I could care less about the Red Bulls, but imagine the reaction if Angel had played. There would have been a few comments here and there but it wouldn’t have been a big deal.

    I think these strong reactions (not just on SBI) show how bitter Red Bull fans are about the whole situation, and they probably should be.

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  15. I think Ives gets as emotionally involved with his Reyna bashing as he does with his responses to anyone questioning the Gooch-Boca centerback pairing…. I would play in a charity event with that kind of talent over a lowly MLS west coast swing too….

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  16. Ives, is there a way to make a link for a homepage that is absent of any Red Bulls posts, such as we did with the Supporters views? No offense to RBNY fans, but those of us that aren’t don’t always need these types of posts.

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  17. Chris,

    I don’t agree. As a DP and a supposed leader of his professional team, CR should be aware of how all his actions are perceived by his teammates and the fans. He should be bending over backwards to set a good example for the younger players on work ethic, professionalism. Although this might be a little thing in some ways, in a lot of ways it is a reflection of CR’s commitment to his teammates, his team, and his fans. He’s been around long enough that he should have thought about how his actions would be perceived. He obviously didn’t care to consider this, or did and didn’t give a crap. I don’t know which one is worse. As many pointed out, he could have got what he wanted accomplished in a positive way for all concerned. He didn’t bother to do that. The response of NYRB fans shows that. Shame on him.

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  18. let’s agree that Reyna has his side of the story and perhaps he did more publicity than Ives knew about.

    But the simple fact remains that the average fan seems to have had no idea about Reyna’s exact involvement. At a minimum, he should have had a press conference about the match with RBNY logos everywhere. Face it, this was a big deal Big names. It was awkward that the club was playing in an NFL stadium in Arizona on the same night but everyone should have gotten out in front of the story.

    The bottom line for me is that when I just went to the RedBull’s web site there was not a mention of this game. Matter of fact, there wasn’t a picture of Claudio or the name Reyna anywhere either. Hmmm.

    It makes no sense that a marketing juggernaut like RedBull would have failed to capitalize on this event. No sense at all. Someone enlighten me.

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  19. Guys,

    This goes waaaayyyy beyond this one incident. This is the culmination of 1.5 years of crap from Reyna. Fans are fed up and want his ass out of here permenantly!

    He is a joke, and not a funny one either.

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  20. Chris, is your last name Reyna? Who attacked Claudio? This article is freaking tame compared to what most of us Red Bulls fans would write about the guy.

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  21. I always thought Reyna would retire and become a coach with NY, but with this attitude, I’m quickly figuring out why NY has been mediocre for the last two seasons. If he wasn’t captain america, he would be blasted in the media. What an idiot. I mean come on, WTF did you expect to happen, Reyna? Red Bull fans have every right to want this guys head on a plate. If he can play in this game, he should be on their bench.

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  22. Not harsh at all.

    Reyna is rapidy moving up the list of the most hated Metro players of all time. People HATE him, that is no understatment. He is dangerously close to full out section 101 anti Reyna campaign.

    We want this BUM out of here. Retire, go get bent Reyna. Your a worthless piece of sh*t and an embarasment to us fans.

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  23. Guys, calm down. It was a freakin’ pick-up game fundraiser. Y’all have a right to be mad about his contributions on the field, but getting mad about this is a bit too far.

    To me it is just an excuse to attack him for not talking to the media.

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  24. The only reason I even care is because he is hogging a DP slot and making all that money. Otherwise I could care less, a half-assed charity game is nothing compared to real training and real games.

    In fact the only reason I am not calling morons like John morons here is because of the money Reyna makes, obviously anyone who isn’t a peabrain knows what he brings to the game WHEN HE IS ON THE FIELD. Oh wait, I did just call John a moron.

    Well, all anyone has to do to get me to agree with their idiotic and harsh statements is tie in the money this guy makes. If you don’t do that, well, sorry I’m going to keep being a jerk about it.

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  25. Does Reyna not realize that people truly do care about this league and especially this club? Certainly it’s not anything like Europe, but Reyna put himself out there in front of a lot of Red Bulls fans last night and whatever criticism he’s subjected to is more than deserved. As a Red Bull fan, I certainly feel slighted, and this does feel like “the last straw”…well-put, Ives.

    I wonder if he’s even watched the games that he’s missed. If he paid any attention to the last two, he would see the encouraging signs and try to get back in the team. This is the part of the season where the Red Bulls need to turn it around, and if he’s at all motivated, Reyna can be a part of that.

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  26. I could be completely wrong, but what really is gonna dig this guys grave is when McBride comes back and shows MLS how a returning US nat’t team hero should play, and how he should treat the fans

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  27. really? come on dude…

    yeah, Reyna didn’t handle the P.R. correctly. But I think this article is a bit harsh…

    Glad to hear Juan Pablo sat out…

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  28. uh, curious about the lack of communication. When I watching the Red Bull game on MSG this past Saturday, I specifically watched an interview with Reyna where he talked about the game and who was coming and who was going to play. Carry on, though.

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  29. Ives’ reporting sheds a lot of light on the situation. This goes way beyond Reyna’s injuries. It goes straight to the kind of guy he is. A guy who foresakes needed publicity for his charity with his media blackout. A guy who stonewall’s RedBull fans with his media blackout. Most importantly he’s a guy who isn’t working closely with RedBull New York, the folks who grossly overpay him. He’s freelancing here, he’s not being a team player.

    If I were in Reyna’s shoes, I would be doing everything I could to show people how hard I was rehabbing and how much this charity meant to me (so I’ll play half-speed) and how I am publicizing RedBull and MLS in New York and….you get the picture.

    I agree with the guy who posted last night…f*ck you Reyna.

    I’ve never said that to a USMNT player and probably never will again.

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  30. ….The legacy of CR just continues to grow!!! What will people remember of him Captain America or Captain DP hog? I think he is insuring his fate as the latter. I am sure the RBNY contract has limits on his outside sports activities, so they must have given him the OK to play. So they then share some of the shame as well.

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  31. Thanks for the info Ives. I had not heard about the not talking to the media thing. The next question is, did JCO have any idea that Reyna was going to play?

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  32. Thanks for the frankness Ives. Standing there watching the game, I definitely questioned how come Angel was gracious enough to tell me he thinks he needs another 1-2 weeks, and then promptly went to sit down and watch, but how come Reyna couldn’t do the same. The difference in professionalism was obvious to anyone who knew both players were injured. Granted it was partially Reyna’s charity match event to host, but damn…

    Also I think that Kahiva could have a point, though I don’t know much about RB’s PR dept. I think ESC was more organized and ready to rep the team at the event than Red Bull was, I didn’t see a single RB flyer or ad or official the whole time, only MLS reps handing out schedules….

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  33. You are right Ives. Lack of communication is the crime here. That’s it. I think the uninformed over reaction of Red Bulls fans, rushing to to a hasty judgement, is really misplaced frustration stemming from following such a pathetically run organization, further evidenced by the fact they knew nothing about this event until the day before. I’m in florida and I’ve know about this for at least a week. That’s rediculous in itself. Yes, Claudo played his cards poorly by not communicating but everyone rushing to judgement is guilty of the same thing. Get more information before condeming someone. Sheesh…

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  34. I think this shows, ultimately, what Red Bull NY has been lacking for a while – a savvy PR person who knows soccer. Communication between Red Bull and the NY region (the fans, the media) is terrible. And in the wold’s biggest media market, that’s criminal.

    If they had such a person, I bet they could have guided Reyna to do and say the right things.

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  35. Reyna is a has been. Let him keep palying in charity matches. I’d rather take my chances the rest of the year with DVDB or Ubi at A-mid. At least they hustle. Reyna is a waste of salary cap.

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  36. I think this shows, ultimately, what Red Bull NY has been lacking for a while – a savvy PR person who knows soccer. Communication between Red Bull and the NY region (the fans, the media) is terrible. And in the wold’s biggest media market, that’s criminal.

    If they had such a person, I bet they could have guided Reyna to do and say the right things.

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  37. I have really had it with this guy. He takes up a DP spot for that which we need most: a CAM. I don’t care if he told someone his back hurt last night during the game: he has lost my respect and I am certain the respect of many others. If he could play in this charity event last night, why couldn’t he test his back in a meaningless friendly against Chivas in AZ. with his actual club? So he was able to do one thing he has never done in a RBNY kit: score a goal. All kidding aside, I’m tired of this guy manipulating the team. I would question the veracity of anything he says at this point, except he’s avoiding the media. I believe it when JPA is not playing, and shuts it down completely to get back with the team, and I see his passion on the field the vast majority of the time. I cannot say the same for our “captain.”

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  38. At this point I’m not giving Reyna the benefit of the doubt that he is close to coming back and that this helped his progress. If that really was the case I think that he should have spoken about that before actually playing and not have been ignoring the media out of embarrassment that he gets paid to contribute NOTHING to the team. And yes I am also sick of hearing about how he does the “little things”

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  39. c’mon Ives…he’s just playing in a retirement league. Why should he be expected to work harder than Lothar Matteus? He’s an American soccer legend! He deserves the big paycheck retirement league treatment!

    …calm down folks…that’s called sarcasm…

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