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Red Bulls Update: Identifying Osorio’s targets and who is Ernst Obster?

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One of the best games this off-season has been trying to figure out which players Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio is targeting on the transfer market. He has tried to keep things close to the vest but has slowly given away more and more information on the players, having given a little bit more on Wednesday.

Osorio, who revealed a week ago at media day that he still considered Lider Marmol one of the three players he will bring in before the transfer window expires, gave a few more hints on the other two players. His left-footed defender is playing on a relegation-threatened team in Europe while the other is playing for a South American squad playing in Copa Libertadores.

So who fits these descriptions?

The left-footed central defender sure does sound like Colombian defender and Paris St. Germain veteran Mario Yepes, a player Osorio admitted to me in January that he liked as a player. The 32-year-old is a left-footed central defender and his club happens to be sitting one point out of the Ligue 1 relegation zone after a key victory on Wednesday.

Osorio’s chances of landing Yepes sooner may no doubt have been hurt by PSG enduring a skid where it won just once in six matches from February to early March, a slide that has put the club in danger of relegation.

Yepes was considered an unlikely target for the Red Bulls by some because of his high salary at PSG (reportedly the highest in the French league), but he is 32 and could be ready for a change of scenery after six years in France.

A move to the Red Bulls would also reunite Yepes with Juan Pablo Angel, who he spent the 1999/2000 season as teammates with at River Plate.

Yepes would bring a steadying influence to a back-line that has had some trouble adjusting to Osorio’s shift to a 3-5-2 formation. Yepes’ arrival would allow Osorio to move Jeff Parke to the right back spot which is currently being fought for by Carlos Mendes and Chris Leitch.

As for the South American-based left winger? One rumor floating around was that the Red Bulls were looking at Caracas FC star Ronald Vargas. While Osorio has denied ever seriously considering Vargas, he did not deny whether he was looking at one of Vargas’ teammates. Osorio won’t reveal any names but one candidate for the left-sided role for the Red Bulls is Colombian midfielder Juan David Valencia, a 22-year-old left winger. Osorio saw plenty of Valencia when Osorio was coaching Millonarios and Valencia was playing for Independiente Medellin.

If the Red Bulls could add Marmol, Yeps and Valencia, the starting lineup could look like this when everyone is healthy:

————Angel—————Altidore————

Valencia————-Reyna————–Richards

—————Marmol——Stammler———–

Goldthwaite———-Yepes—————Parke

———————–Conway——————–

About Ernst Obster

So who exactly is Ernst Obster? The name has popped up in recent reports linking him to the Red Bulls. The name didn’t click right away for me but after being reminded of where I had seen him play, it all came back to me.

Obster was the best player on the field for either team when the Red Bull Salzburg reserves faced the Red Bulls in the scrimmage that left Dane Richards injured and both teams trading ugly tackles. Obster stood out because while his teammates (and the visitors from NY) were engaging in a physical battle, he was pulling off some sweet moves from midfield.

Obster delivered a pair of blasts that nearly found net, one which powered off the crossbar and another that forced a great save by Jon Conway. He floated into different spots in midfield and showed good control in tight spaces and a deft passing touch.

Jeff Agoos watched the show from the Salzburg practice facility and didn’t need help identifying the most impressive player on the Salzburg reserves. Now the New York Red Bulls want to add Obster.

Will it happen? When I spoke to a Salzburg source about Obster during my trip to Austria I was told that Obster was a pretty highly-regarded prospect. Is Salzburg really ready to part with a top prospect in a loan deal?

More importantly for Red Bulls fans, where could he play? Obster would be best suited for the slot behind the forwards in Osorio’s preferred 3-4-1-2 formation and his passing and dangerous shot could make him an impact player in MLS.

Choosing Saturday’s lineup

Wondering what lineup Juan Carlos Osorio will use against the Columbus Crew on Saturday? Here’s one guess:

————Angel———–Altidore————

Borman————Reyna————-Sassano

——Van Den Bergh—–Stammler———-

Goldthwaite——-Parke————–Leitch

——————-Conway———————-

What do you think of the lineup? What lineup would you like to see?

Share your thoughts on the lineup and any of the above subjects below.

Comments

  1. Im sorry but Im not ready to have a Red Bulls Colombus team, yeah they have some good players but lets mix it up a little. As for a left footed deffender looking at relegation, what about Carlos Bocanegra. The man hasnt been playing as much as he likes. I think he would be a good pick up to have in the middle of our deffense.

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  2. You know, I’m actually okay with playing the two rookies in the midfield and having Reyna as the attacking mid in a 3-5-2 because he will have no defensive responsibilities in that role. I’m even okay with Leitch starting. He’s no great player, but he’s not as bad as people make him out to be. It’s Goldie who scares me. He always seems to be out of position.

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  3. Am I missing something? Did Magee already get injured or start playing horrible BEFORE the regular season started?

    We’ve been hearing how great he has been doing all pre-season yet now he can’t even crack this weak lineup?

    I don’t get it. Ives doesn’t even mention him or list him in either of the lineups he listed, and no one even asks about him? Help me out. What did I miss?

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  4. Whats 150k pounds make, like 275k dollars I think? I find this very hard to believe, this year from season start to playoff start is about 31 weeks, which would put him at over 8.5 million a year. In other sports here that’d be very feasible, and even though I’d rather see him in NY, lol, I think it’d be great for the league, but I’d have to see it to believe it. Regardless of the league however, it is good to have owners serious about spending the money necessary to make a great product. My prediction, Lando leaves to Europe, Henry to Galaxy-land lol

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  5. Would anyone else love to see Seattle and RBNY go in a bidding war over Henry? Thats one good thing about Red Bull they have the Bank to out-bid anyone.

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  6. Seattle offering Barcelona’s Henry £150,000-a-week

    tribalfootball.com – April 03, 2008

    Seattle’s MLS franchise are stepping up their bid for Barcelona striker Thierry Henry.

    The Sun says the French striker has been targeted to launch the newly-formed Seattle team when they make their MLS debut next year.

    And the franchise’s multi-billionaire owner Paul Allen will tempt Henry with a deal worth £150,000 a week.

    Henry, 30, only joined Barcelona in a £16.1million move from Arsenal last June.

    But the Spanish giants are planning a summer clear-out after slumping to third place in La Liga.

    And Henry could go despite having more than three years left on his £128,000-a-week deal.

    Henry has 14 goals in 38 games but is playing on the left wing

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  7. Am I the only one who cant help but grit my teeth when hearing of all the needs NYRB has NOW and all the talent we have let go in the past ? example Marvell Wynne, Michael Bradley, Amado Guevara, and so on . . . like seriouly wtf ? who made theses stupid decisions? its hard for me to believe that with all this talent we let go and the current likes of DVB,JPA, Altidore and a few others we would have atleast 2 MLS cups!!!! this really drives me crazy !!!!! ima a fairly new red bulls fan can someone please explain which idiot made this decision and why ?

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  8. Am I the only one who cant help but grit my teeth when hearing of all the needs NYRB has NOW and all the talent we have let go in the past ? example Marvell Wynne, Michael Bradley, Amado Guevara, and so on . . . like seriouly wtf ? who made theses stupid decisions? its hard for me to believe that with all this talent we let go and the current likes of DVB,JPA, Altidore and a few others we would have atleast 2 MLS cups!!!! this really drives me crazy !!!!! ima a fairly new red bulls fan can someone please explain which idiot made this decision and why ?

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  9. For those who might not know, Mario Yepes actually played in the USA back in 1995 with the Tampa Bay Cyclones of the USISL Pro Division. He was one of three young South American players brought in by team and then sold later for a profit.

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  10. I don’t know about all this. Parke and Mendes were a pretty good defensive pairing last Spring until Mendes was hurt and Stammler kept the spot for some unknown reason. Now you’re gonna have them both competing for the RIGHT BACK position in a 3-5-2. I saw the preseason games from Carolina and this looks like defensive suicide to me no matter how many DMs you play. Marmol could make a difference to that but though I think we will get him eventually its gonna be delayed and we will be waiting until June for our full team yet again.

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  11. I’d be stoked to get them but yeah, with our luck we’ll sign Wynalda, Joe Max Moore and Dooley and offer them 100k plus Depends for a year, Borman and Sassano will join Freeman and Richards on the IR and Altidore will leave, leaving us with the 1st team all geriatric squad

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  12. I am with everyone else on this one, the defense is making me run to the bathroom every 2 minutes.

    I will be excited to see Sassano and Borman play, but scared to watch when the ball is in our half.

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  13. The defense scares me (not in a good way but a bad way). The biggest debacle with the team has been the D and this just makes me realize that the Bulls are going to lose a lot of games this year or win a lot of games this year by scores of 5-4. Parke is great but the outside Ds show hesitation which is the worst thing you can show in those positions.

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  14. I’m worried about the backline – but the first five actually gives me confidence and a little optimism. Angel and Altidore are obvious quality. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Borman. Reyna, by all accounts, has looked sharp in pre-season. And Sassano has been described as talented but a little raw….

    Should be interesting, at least!

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  15. I think the saturday lineup you posted is very vulnerable and seems to be very reliant on the rookie wings. Not saying they can’t step up, but if they don’t that could be the difference on sat.

    Your potential lineup obviously looks much better and would actually give us one of the deeper teams in the league IMO. That depth could make up for alot over the long haul of the season. I can see another Osorio playoff surge at the end of the season. Think about the backups available at each spot:

    F – Angel/Woly

    F – Altidore/Echerverry

    AM – Reyna/Magee

    LW – Valencia/Borman

    RW – Freeman/Richards/Sassano

    DM – Marmol/VDB

    DM – Stammler/Sassano

    CB – Yepes/Park

    RB – Park/Mendes/Leitch

    LB – Goldthwaite/:(

    And that’s not even throwing Obster in the mix at AM if they get him. Now that looks like a solid and deep squad and if that is they type of vision JCO is looking at then I’m on board. However, saturday’s lineup will still be a long ways from the one above, so until some guys like that are signed, I think people have a right to still be worried.

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  16. Theres no way Kevin Goldthwaite and Chris Leitch should be in the starting lineup…Let alone be on team lol…If I was Osorio…I’ll start Carlos Mendes and Eric Brunner

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  17. Kev, sometimes players want to experience something new. You think Schelotto isn’t taking a huge paycut to play for the Crew, even with his side deals?

    We’ll see how it plays out but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a big-money player take less to come here. Youri Djorkaeff did the same thing.

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  18. we are weak on the wings and are playing three midfielders who aren’t exactly dribbling maestros… another 0-0 draw

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  19. By the way, Yepes surely doesn’t need the money if he is making over $5 million U.S. per year in France. But it also seems crazy that a player would be willing to go from that much money to whatever the Red Bulls can offer. And I hold firm that, should another DP slot free up (i.e. Reyna taking a pay cut, or something hypothetical along those lines) it should not be used on a defender.

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  20. That lineup doesn’t look too intimidating. I’d be lying if I wasn’t slightly worried that Osorio’s team may or may not truly “exist” until the middle of the season.

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