The New York Red Bulls take on Italian powerhouse Juventus at Red Bull Arena today (1pm, Fox Soccer Channel) in one of the many high-profile friendlies being played by MLS teams in coming weeks and months.
The Red Bulls are in the midst of a brutal schedule and will start a team of mostly reserves today, while Juventus will start out with a star-studded lineup featuring Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet and Diego.
I will be providing commentary from today's match so please feel free to follow along here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
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FINAL– Red Bulls 3, Juventus 1. A good performance from the home team in a game played in front of mostly visiting fans. Will some of them come back? That's the big question.
That's all for me. Please be sure to check out SBI for more post-match coverage from today's friendly, and from the weekend's MLS action. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.
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91st Minute– You can never make too much of these results because European clubs never really push it in off-season friendlies. That has to be even more the case in a friendly being played AFTER a disappointing season.
The Red Bulls can certainly gain some confidence from this one, especially after failing to find the net for three straight MLS matches.
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90th minute- GOAL JUVENTUS!! And it's Amaury with a simple turn and blast from close range to make it 3-1 Red Bulls.
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85th minute– Funny that New York hasn't scored in three MLS matches, but found the net today. Will Hans Backe still with the young players on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup match vs. Colorado, or will he try some veterans? I say he sticks with the young guys for that match, but he might also have to consider some of them for New England on Saturday.
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83rd minute– Bardi nearly gets stripped by Angel after putzing around with the ball in front of goal.
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78th minute– Juventus about to put in even more subs, including a goalkeeper who looks 16. Francesco Bardi is the name. Maybe he'll be good in ten years.
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77th minute– Okay, so this Brazilian defender, Clebao, hasn't actually been that bad after a rough early going.
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75th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!! ANd it's Angel with the finish off a perfect cross from Richards. Red Bulls 3, Juventus 0.
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72nd minute– The ballot for man of the match has Chinn, Hall and Sutton. How is Irving Garcia not on the ballot? He gets my vote.
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70th minute– Let's see how Angel and Co. do today.
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68th minute– Chinn, Garcia and Hall leave the match, Angel, Richards and Stammler come in. Good performances from the young guys today.
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64th minute– Seth Stammler, Dane Richards and Juan Pablo Angel are set to come into the match.
Is it me, or is the Red Bulls second unit just a better team lately than the first team? They play with an energy and attacking efficiency the first team just doesn't have these days.
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60th minute– Juventus fans are quiet now, but you wonder if any of them will look at the action and think they might want to give these Red Bulls a chance by coming to watch again. It hasn't been pretty, but there have been impressive moments.
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57th minute– Juve with wholesale subs, taking out Diego, Zebina and Del Piero. In comes Grygera, Paolo de Ceglie and Michele Paolucci.
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55th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!! ANd it's Conor Chinn with a classy finish, touching down a long pass from Miller and blasting it past Manninger. WOW. Red Bulls 2, Juventus. 0.
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53rd minute– Some SBI readers asked me why I talked up Irving Garcia so much at the draft. I think he's shown today why. The kid has some skills. He's raw, but he can play.
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52nd minute– Hall had a rough first half, but made up for it with that cool finish from 12 yards out. Could that score spark him into being the impact winger he was drafted to be?
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51st minute– Juve comes right back as Diego slides a pass to Del Piero in the area, but the legend can't quite put it on net.
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50th minute- GOAL RED BULLS!!!! ANd it's Jeremy Hall with the finish off a caromed blast from Irving Garcia, who pelted a long-range shot off the crossbar. Red Bulls 1, Juventus 0.
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49th minute– Wolyniec draws a free kick near the left corner of the penalty area.
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HALFTIME– Red Bulls 0, Juventus 0. Some decent looks for each team, but still no goals. Juve came close with a Del Piero shot off the woodwork, but that's about it.
Borman and Hall can't want to come back in the second half, and I can't imagine Backe wants them back in. I also think we saw enough of Clebao to know he won't be getting a contract offer.
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40th minute– CHINN with a shot that forces a great save from Manninger. Chinn had about five seconds on the ball in front of goal before finally turning and shooting.
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42nd minute– Red Bulls fans are now chanting "IN-Ter Mi-Lan." Juve fans have no comeback.
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40th minute– Del Piero rockets one off the crossbar, sending the Juventus fans into a roar.
Juve fans woke up after Wolyniec's dive and they're obviously outnumbering Red Bulls fans today.
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32nd Minute– Chinn just ran onto a turnover and raced in on goal before earning a corner. You have to love surreal moments like that from friendlies like these.
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29th Minute– The ESC finally gets a reaction from the Juventus fans with a "Del Piero sucks" chant. Some loud whistles rained down. You can talk about pizza and guidos, as some other chants did, but once you talk about Del Piero there will be problems.
And seriously, I can't imagine a Red Bull fan who wouldn't take Del Piero
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28th Minute– Borman is struggling today. To be fair, dealing with Zebina and Diego isn't like dealing with the right side of any MLS team.
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25th Minute– Conor Chinn tries a nice turn and volley that goes a foot over. If he had hit that shot the world would have ended.
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24th Minute– Will Juan Pablo Angel and some other key starters get in for the second half? You have to hope so.
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21st Minute– And the Hall-Borman tandem isn't working too well on the left.
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17th Minute– Garcia with the nice cross in that's barely blocked away. The rookie is showing some nice flashes today.
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16th Minute– And we're back to the Red Bulls having possession. Nobody has stepped up yet for New York.
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13th Minute– Juve has taken control of the match now. A goal seems inevitable.
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10th Minute– Red Bulls fans are offering up some good taunts, including "Seventh Place" to a Juve side coming off a terrible season. Not sure Red Bulls fans should taunt Juve's record considering the year they had in 2009 (and almost every year before that).
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9th Minute– Nice sequence from Juve, with Candreva dribbling through before being hammered by Clebao. Those wondering who this Brazilian defender is, word is Jeff Agoos found him on a scouting trip.
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7th Minute– You can't imagine Juventus players are overly enthused about having to play in this game. They're off to a bit of a slow start as you might expect.
This New York team is mostly the same team enjoying a great U.S. Open Cup run so they should play well together.
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6th Minute– Irving Garcia with a nice dribble into the area and shot that forced a fingertip save. The kid has skills.
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3rd Minute– Clebao's first touch is a soft back-pass that is nearly stolen in front of goal by Del Pierro. The trialist is off to a great start.
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2nd Minute– Red Bulls are fielding a reserve team today, which you can't really blame them for considering their loaded schedule.
Today should be a good test for all the young Red Bulls, especially Tchani, Hall, Garcia and Borman.
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1st Minute– And we're off.
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PRE-GAME- We're almost underway. There's a good turnout, with a bunch of Juventus fans in the house.
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PRE-GAME– Juventus' starters today include: Fabio Grosso, Alessandro Del Piero, Alex Manninger, Simone Padoin, Jonathan Zebina, David Trezeguet, Goncaio Brandao, Antonio Candreva, Diego and Luca Marrone.
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PRE-GAME– Good afternoon folks. Here is New York's lineup for today:
————Chinn————-Wolyniec—————
Hall——–Tchani———–Ubiparipovic——Garcia
Borman—–Mendes——–Clebao————-Sassano
———————Sutton——————————-
Clebao is a guest Brazilian player on trial with the team.
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Your a typical New York/New Jersey RB fan. Lots of talk but no substance.
I do not live near any of these teams so why should I randomly pick one to follow? Just to make you happy? I have watched this league grow since it’s inception and I’m proud of where it is going. I’m just agitated with the RBNY fans because they are “football” elitist.
there is a word for that, its called insecurity… who gives a sh.it.. Your downplaying the Redbulls for not filling the stadium… the subject being the stadium… RB built a WORLD class stadium… no other team can say that… at 60% increase in attendance is successful inaugural year. if you really like looking at supporters, competitive cheerleading on espn 2 is available. they got some acrobatic tifo
I’m hurt by your rapier wit and sharp tongue.
Here is another reason I watch the stands. If the stands are full, people take the MLS more seriously. With more respectability comes more fans, more T.V revenue, better players, and better showings in international completions.
15 thousand people for an early match is NOT BAD AT ALL.. Empire Supporters club is the OLDEST SG in the league, and ESC combined with GSS is one of the biggest… And after an embarrasing 2009 and and mediocre to say the least past 15 years…. A large fanbase needs some time to grow.. I look down my nose at fans such as yourself… fresh from watching NFL or nascar, with this sense of urgency and hesitation that if something does not go your way, your idea is to shun it… Please, either learn the game and support 1 team, or go watch NFL.
Announced attendance was 19K+
Even by going thru the motions they should win but they aren’t!
I’m a fan of the league. No particular team. If we cannot attract fans for a team like Juventus, they will never draw well for the league. If they had Ronaldo, Henry, and Wayne”frickin”Rooney they would not fill a stadium. In other words, do not give NY a second team.
who really cares… you dont watch the game to look at the stands, or maybe you do… it seems there are more fan fans than team fans… What fans do you support then?
Juventus is just going through the motions. IMO
What is the reported attendance today? The stadium holds 25k and the stadium is less than 3/4th’s full. They will say 22k I say more like 18k. All stadiums uber inflate their attendance numbers.
WTF…no Garcia on the ballot and they include Sutton? How makes these up? Garcia was hands down the MOTM!
Where is the real Juventus?
Why would liberatadores want mls clubs? Let’s compete well in CONCACAF before asking into CONMEBOL, shall we? What’s the incentive for them? Flying 2500 miles for a midweek match in a half-empty stadium in Columbus?
Rb is playing Juve today for yhe same reason dcu is playing Milan next week. Cold, hard cash.
Your wife wins it!
Five minutes ago my wife said “why don’t we try playing the B team in MLS action? She is so prescient.
Ives wrote:”Is it me, or is the Red Bulls second unit just a better team lately than the first team? They play with an energy and attacking efficiency the first team just doesn’t have these days.”
The Baby Bulls are better than the 1st team because they play with speed and passion!
NYRB>(insert MLS team here) We’ve got more money than LA, and slowy,but efficiently building a superclub… I cant wait till you guys start complaining about our spending limit. LOL
Relax it will happen very soon…
scout
Cleber looks good…maybe the Goose has finally learned how to scoout?
LA J, you have NO idea what you are talking about… 15k is ALOT for a soccer league, and NJ fans superior to any other teams.. all other SG’s run away from NYRB fans…
Conor Chinn shows he can finish!
Garcia is MOTM for me so far!
So why is it that the redbulls are able to hit the posts and crossbars really well but cant put the ball in the back of the net? It seems harder to hit the post….just saying lol
Garcia off the post and goal by Hall… Ives …Hall wanted to come back to score this beauty!
Here is the link on Justintv
to watch this game live
http://www.justin.tv/kalintv2#r=IEGXAU8~
you are welcome …
metrokiss
Am I the only one who wishes that instead of these games, MLS teams at least had a chance to compete for a Copa Libertadores spot? At least for me, these games like the intensity or meaning. Yes, when you see Juve players move the ball up the field quickly and effortlessly, you realize how much MLS teams still have to work on. Still, it is relatively apparent that Juve is playing at (sort of) half-speed. If the idea is to get MLS playing against quality international competition, I am not sure how much these games really help.
I realize that with the relatively small salary cap and limited rosters, competing in Libertadores now would be extremely difficult. Still, there does not even seem to be an interest in the idea. Instead, we get these friendlies in the middle of an ongoing MLS season.
Come on NYRB fans, support your team. They need more fans at that stadium.
Glad to see Garcia getting a start. He’s looked good in USOC games. LOADS of skill.
Tchani plays with confidence and has good presence of mind. Combine those with his good touch, and he looks like he’s going to be a really good player, eh?
I haven’t seen this Garcia guy before. He’s looking dangerous on the right.
We all agree NYRB fans suck and don’t support their club. Too many elitest in the area that believe MLS is to Little League to support.
Are you kidding? The Sounders match brought out 17.5K . . this will be 20K+ easily.
I just had a thought. How funny is it that we’re trying out Clebao in a Juventus match. Imagine being him, you’re brought to NY from some small Brazilian club and Backe says: “”Clebao, listen . . can’t try you out in a reglar MLS match since you’re not under contact. You’re just gonna have to settle for playing against Tezeguet and Del Piero and one of the most famous clubs in the world . . sorry, buddy.”
It must be disheartening for Red Bull right now.
They build a first rate stadium WITH TRAIN AND BUS SERVICE
DIRECTLY TO THE STADIUM. And the New Jersey (sorry New York) fans (if you can call them fans) don’t even show up. In all the games I’ve seen held there, including Santos and now Juve. I’ve seen tons of empty seats.
It’s really sad to say, but I don’t even think if they brought Henry to play there they would pack it. Maybe for a game or two. It’s just sad, really blows my mind how many soccer loving immigrants live in a 40 mile radius of that place. And just hate on the Red Bulls.
The MLS is as good as it gets guys. Go support your team before there is no more team!!!!
I look for Juventus to just feel NYRB this half. Next 45 could be painful.
Id say about 17k for this game. Just a guess.
what’s the attendance guess? Its weird for both these teams to be having a ftiendly right now.
After hearing the fernanache group bought 18k I expected yesterdays to be higher.
Man.. Garcia is looking great…he deserves more minutes for sure on the starting team!
I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’d rather see a team in South Florida than another in NY.
Agreed. Sad to see all these friendlies not filling up stadiums. Even sadder to think MLS believes NYC deserves a second franchise.
Mendes is the captain! Woah!
Turkey is trying to impress new coach Gus Hiddnick who was at the game… The Baby Bulls look good so far…Garcia should play more!
LMAO The stadium is still not full. Bloody good idea, why don’t we give NY another team in the city?
anyone catch Czech Rep v Trkey yeasterday. Turkey look really really good!
also streamable on justin.tv
Why do we always play as if the ball will self-destruct within 10 seconds of the first touch? Hold the damned ball..think about where you’re passing it before you pass it. Jesus.
question answered, its on FSC
is this game on tv?