MLS Experience Guides New Red Bull Leaders

The 2026 Red Bull New York organization is one that is far different from those seen over the past decade. European experience and mentality permeated the team, with many of the transfer and tactical decisions showing marks of the Bundesliga or other league with little implementation of MLS-knowledge. That all changes with new Head of Sport Julian de Guzman and recently announced head coach Michael Bradley. Now it is an MLS playbook sprinkled with European experience that will hope to guide the club to cup success.

“We remember MLS from where it first started and where it’s at today,” said de Guzman when speaking about his own playing career with Toronto and Dallas. “It’s almost night-and-day. Now we’re talking about one of the top leagues in the world. Seeing that and knowing the nuances of MLS: the travel, the time change, different surfaces, league rules…all those fun things. Those are things we’re prepared to manage and it’s part of our culture.”

That “culture” is a point that many previous managers and executives have failed to integrate into the decision-making. Coaches like Gerhard Struber and Sandro Schwarz lamented the issues that seem foreign to those coming from a place where soccer is the dominant sport. Difficulties in adjusting to travel and schedule anomalies left them frustrated.

For Bradley and de Guzman, these issues that every MLS team faces are just par for the course. While it is undoubtedly something that they hope change in the near future, many of these issues are exactly what de Guzman said, part of the culture.

“Something that makes Red Bull unique and special is that, with the European influence that the company has, how are we able to balance and how are we able to find the best of both worlds,” said Michael Bradley on the club’s many influences. “There’s a part to MLS and football in America that is different. The landscape is different. Some of the challenges are unique. At the same time, how do we embrace that? How do we understand how to live that but also how do we keep at the back of our minds, the part of European standards, professionalism? How can we take what we’re doing every day and bring it closer to some of the best leagues and best clubs in the world.”

That begins in 2026 with Bradley and de Guzman but doesn’t stop there. New York plans on opening a new, state-of-the-art training facility that dwarfs their previous one. The club’s growth is mirrored in their success in MLS Next Pro with New York Red Bulls II. That European academy model which has bore fruit is something the club hopes to translate into the first team.