By RYAN TOLMICH
Just over a week after adding Shaun Wright-Phillips, the New York Red Bulls have made another major splash to bolster the club’s attack.
The Red Bulls announced Wednesday that they have officially signed winger Gonzalo Veron on a Designated Player contract. The 25-year-old Veron joins the Red Bulls from Argentina’s San Lorenzo, with whom he claimed the 2014 Copa Libertadores while featuring in both the semifinals and final games.
“We are excited to add Gonzalo to our club,” said Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch. “We think he fits into the style that we want to play. He is a young, exciting player with the ability to play a few different attacking roles. He has the potential to be a dynamic player in this league.”
In 2015, Veron made 15 Torneo Inicial appearances for San Lorenzo, scoring two goals while contributing three assists. The winger, who is the youngest DP ever signed by the Red Bulls, has also featured in two FIFA Club World Cup matches.
“Gonzalo is a young, dynamic player who fits extremely well into our style of play,” said Red Bulls sporting director Ali Curtis. “He has played for one of the top teams in South America and has shown he can play any of the front four positions.
“Not only are we getting a player who can help us immediately, he is someone who fits well into our long-term plans for our club.”
The Red Bulls return to action Wednesday against the Montreal Impact before Sunday’s Hudson River Derby against New York City FC at Red Bull Arena. There’s no word yet as to if Veron will be available for that match.
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What do you think of the Veron signing? How will he fare with the Red Bulls? How good can the Red Bulls be with their new additions?
Share your thoughts below.
I’ve been a meteostars fan since day one when I had season tix. I’ve supported them through the good and bad. I screamed when the fired Arena and Bradley. I was surprised they canned Petke. I cheered their DPs JPA, Reyna, Henry, Cahill (F Marquez). But a DP on this kid? The say he’s a forward. But he has six goals in 3 years. And don’t we need central defense before a fwd? Help me get on board w this one…please.
I like the idea of signing a young talented player to. DP deal as opposed to,…let’s say the Rafa Marquez approach. Veron fits the bill,…25, coming from a strong club environment etc. the only question is,…why so many wide players? Sam, Zizzo, Grella, SWP, Veron?
As Slow points out above, why not go after Tim Ream? They sold him a few years ago for approx $4MM a few years ago and it seems they can get him for less than that given QPR has offered $1.6MM. He is a much better player than he was when he left and he is 27 and in the national team pool. ???
BTW — to preempt comments from some of you,…this assumes the Red Bulls offer him at least what he making now at Bolton, if not more with some years added on. As if the kid is a fool and would come back to MLS for less money?
Red Bulls would just have to work out the allocation order nonsense. Robles, Ream, Miazga, and Lawrence would be a nice back line.
NYRB are a solid team right now, with decent record. End of story.
You HAVE a quality team on the field, what is so bad about the current NYRB? I think Curtis, Marsh, and whover the hell the owner is could bring u an MLS Cup this year and you’d still bitch.
Does anyone know the team record at this same point in season, when those 3 well paid stars were around? I’d love to see how that stacks up again any of Lefties criticisms
Similarly, you act like it’s your money. I love NYRB, traveled to NYC last year and made certain we attended a game at your stunning RBA. My point is, your team is doing pretty well without spending piles of money and Curtis / Marsh deserve some credit. These 2 most recent signings aren’t sexy, aren’t breaking the bank, but seem to be very wise. Don’t be shocked if NYRB make playoffs and get to MLS Cup, or damn close.
What do you mean I act like it’s my money? If you don’t want to put a quality team on the field don’t buy the team. Sure he spent a lot on the stadium and when he sells he’ll make a profit on it. Which is great but why not put a winner on the field too. If this team wins a trophy this season, I’ll gladly admit I was wrong.
Hmmm, let’s do some math:
Total investment in Henry: $20,000,000 (?)
Total investment in Marquez: $8,000,000. (?)
Total investment in Cahill: $8,000,000. (?)
Outcome: One single Supporters Shield
Geez, you act as though this was your money. Anyway how do we go from that to the conclusion that not spending and having the lowest payroll in MLS is the way to win things? It doesn’t make sense.
Wouldn’t this team be better with a CB DP to play alongside Miazga. Let’s say Tim Ream although who knows what he would want to come back. And then pay down BWP’s salary and sign another DP. This is what the Galaxy do. They paid down Omar’s salary to enable them to sign Dos Santos to go with Keane and Gerrard. What do they have to show for it? 2 Supporters Shields and 3 MLS Cups in the last five seasons.
The difference is they spent wisely. So why shouldn’t I want my team to spend wisely too instead of not spending at all?
What makes sense is the table, where Red Bulls sit second in the East without high-priced famous DPs or even Veron. Wouldn’t this team be better with a superstar central defender? How’d that thinking work out when they signed Barcelona’s Rafa Marquez to a knee-buckling deal? My sense is that management feels like the premium paid for high-profile foreign talent is does not necessarily translate into playoff results (because it hasn’t for anyone other than LA, which notably only had just one foreign DP during its run). My sense is Red Bulls feel like value DPs players and other solid non-DP players can contribute at a similar or better level in the context of MLS without the high downside risk. BWP is a perfect example. My sense is that Red Bulls are willing to wait to find the right big name star that fits their long-term plans (a la Henry) rather than take a chance on a short-termers who may not have it (or want it) and kill their budget for 18 months. As a fan of the team and the league, I want to find out if their approach has merit.
Ok I guess the difference is my sense is that this new strategy just coincidentally happens to save them money which is the real reason they’re doing it. I don’t want high priced dinosaurs but I do want DPs because generally speaking DPs are better players.
9-6-5 is decent but not great. Sure they’re second but the team in 7th is five points behind. It’s a mishmash of mediocre teams and if RBNY improved the team they could set themselves apart. But hey, the owner is only worth $12 billion, I guess he can’t spare it.
You and Rick must have been among the hecklers in that Town Hall meeting…..
Rick…..they spent MILLIONS on Henry, Marquez, and Cahill. Where did that get them, a lousy Supporters Shield? Like it or not, Curtis n Marsh seem to be doing a pretty damn good job.
A Supporters Shield is a lot more than they had the previous 18 seasons. It’s actually a far better indicator of which team is best than MLS Cup. Anyway, because they spent and, in your estimation, failed, this means not spending is the way to success? Not sure that makes any sense.
There’s no reason they can’t build a core through the academy and supplement with DPs. Veron is a good start but with TAM they can pay down BWP’s salary to under DP level and sign two more DPs, including at CB where they need an upgrade. Rick’s right, they’re a bunch of cheapskates.
I’d also point out the RBNY’s owner has a personal net worth of $12 billion. So he can spare the money.
Some people really can’t be pleased no matter what, huh? lol Can Metro do more? Of course. But what are you looking for, to max out the cap for the sake of maxing it out? I swear you are the same person who was unhappy we didn’t get Pirlo (who “just played in the UCL final”) and instead went the way of SWP. You want big names and expensive players? So did the Blue team, who cares. Let’s see the impact these new additions have first before deciding we need 2 more DP’s, though agree we do need another centerback. ps It’s too easy to call others cheap when they’re not spending your money 😉
No I didn’t want Pirlo and I was happy with the SWP signing. I just didn’t want SWP to be it. And Pirlo is still a whole better than SWP is.
We should sign younger DPs but are you telling me there is no one out there better than Perrinelle? No other way this team could be improved? I want my team to do whatever it can to put the best team on the field. RBNY have done a decent job so far this year (Veron is a promising signing) but of course they can, and should, do more.
And let’s not act like this team is a world beater. They’re 9-6-5. Good but hardly great.
Nice pickup, but they dont shed the cheapskate label
Those cheapskates are in 2nd place in the eastern conference, with 4 games in hand.
—injury plagued ???
Fair point, risk there. Some knee surgery there already, though he’s seemingly recovered fully and has been playing for at least a season now at 100%.
Excellent signing! Vamos Gonzalo!
Exactly the type of DP signing we’ve always craved. Away from aging big names, & towards lower profile young players from good leagues, in their prime, & with loads of potential for great things. Vamos Veron, ¡sos grande!
Man… MLS loves an Argentine “diamond in the rough” DP