That’s So Metro: Red Bulls Crash Out of Yet Another Tournament
For Red Bulls fans, last Wednesday was a familiar scene. Having failed to breakdown an opponents bunker, the Red Bulls made brief but costly mistakes that cost them the match and, in this case, a spot in the MLS is Back Tournament Knockout Round. However, aside from the looming global pandemic, the lack of fans in the stands and the odd confines of ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, there was something that felt particularly different about the Red Bulls most recent crash out of a tournament – a lack of strikers.
FCC parked the bus for reasons that should appear obvious. FCC head coach Jaap Stam had only been with the club for a little over two months and FCC were without their star striker, Jurgen Locadia, due to injury – this might explain the 4-0 rout by the Columbus Crew in their opening game, as well as their relative caution with Atlanta FC in the match following. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, a scoreless draw against the Red Bulls would have likely seen FCC through to the Knockout Round anyway. Suffice it to say, considering all of this information, it was easy to anticipate FCC’s game plan: defend in a low block, cede possession and hope to hit on the counter, if at all. Opening the match in a 5-3-2 formation that included three centerbacks all but assured it.
Typically, in order to break down a bunker, you need to do one of two things: draw the opponent out of position in order to work attacking players in behind or into attacking spaces, or loft crosses and tight passes over/into the middle (Four Four Two does a great job of explaining these tactics here). It requires that forwards keep a high line of attack, split the centerbacks, and attack the near and far posts – the hope is to create space and be opportunistic. Considering everything the Red Bulls knew going into this match, they should have been able to game plan around FCC.
For reasons that have yet to be explained, Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas led the Red Bulls out with a 4-4-2 formation that included Daniel Royer and Omir Fernandez, both attacking midfielders, as the lone forwards. This was a confusing choice given what they could expect from FCC, especially since playing forward is about more than scoring goals – it’s about positioning. A great example of this is Bradley Wright Phillips’ (BWP) third goal of the tournament for LAFC last Thursday. In the buildup to the goal, BWP is seen splitting the centerbacks before breaking off, creating space and putting a shot on goal. Furthermore, as Brian White started to break out at striker for the Red Bulls last spring, one thing he was praised for was his positioning. He didn’t just score goals – he occupied centerbacks, which had the biproduct of opening up space for Royer, Marc Rzatkowski and anyone else underneath in a position to score or cross.
At the half, it was clear that the Red Bulls attack was becoming increasingly stagnant – they managed only five shots (three of which were blocked) and didn’t manage a single shot on frame, despite going down a goal due to a short clearance by defender Amro Tarek. Royer’s only shots were from outside the box and both players appeared more comfortable on the wing, especially when you look at Ferndandez’ second shot. While there were glimpses, both players were often out of position and rarely made well timed runs despite decent service. It was easy to expect that the 5’ 9” Fernandez would be subbed off in favor of a true forward, especially given their increasing dependence on crosses and the vertical ability of Tom Barlow.
It took the Red Bulls an agonizing 80 minutes to add a true forward to the lineup, and it would prove to be too little, too late. Though the additional of White and Barlow at forward lead to 2 of the Red Bulls 4 shots on goal and a handful of great chances inside the box, there simply wasn’t enough time. Despite 39 total crosses in the second half, the Red Bulls failed to produce more than 4 shots on target or a single goal. While it’s been easy for Armas to blame squad depth, inexperience, injuries and a plethora of other things on the Red Bulls’ shortcomings, this failure is different. The Red Bulls plight in the MLS is Back tournament falls squarely on Armas’ inability to both anticipate tactics, create lineups that give the Red Bulls their best chance to succeed and make meaningful substitutions in a timely.
Though it’s a familiar story, this one sure felt avoidable.
