Red Bull New York captain Emil Forsberg knows what the club needs to do with such a young roster in the midst of a downturn. The veteran midfielder has seen integration of younger players before in RB Leipzig with himself being one of them over a decade ago. Now, he hopes to impart the same wisdom as the coaches and experienced leadership look to build on a very talented squad.
“It’s important that we give them space, opportunity and confidence,” said Forsberg after the club’s 2-0 loss at home to Charlotte FC. “It’s just to be there, trying to push everybody in the right direction. It’s always easy to blame everybody after you lose. For us, and with the group we have, I’m very confidence we’re going to turn this around.”
Forsberg has seen the highest of highs with Red Bull as well as their lowest of lows. Two seasons ago he was captain of a more seasoned team with the likes of Lewis Morgan, Sean Nealis, Carlos Coronel and Dante Vanzeir. That team went all the way to the MLS Cup Final and came within inches of going to extra time with the LA Galaxy. One year later, with even more veteran help, the club failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
That experience is useful for a player like Forsberg, who knows how to channel it into motivation on the field. He’s worked with young players like Cameron Harper and Daniel Edelman in the past to get the most out of them. Now he is doing the same with Adri Mehmeti and Ronald Donkor. While results are always the end goal, the process has to be understood when you’re attempting to achieve the prize with such young players.
“All of the young guys that are coming up are training and working hard every day,” said Forsberg. “It still shows that if you work hard, you will get the chance. All these guys are working very hard and are very humble and want to just get better.”
This weekend saw a new string of talent appear on the scene, including 19 year-old forward Mijahir Jimenez. The young Panamanian has played a majority of his minutes with Red Bull II. However, this weekend he made his first MLS appearance after being called in to replace the captain in the 70th minute.
“He’s a great player,” said fellow youngster Julian Hall. “He definitely gave us something we needed in the moment. In training he’s been great. In this kind of preseason phase, before the first game, he was training really well and congrats to him for making his debut.”
While the praise for effort and potential is there. The players know that what matters most is the result. And so the club turns to next week’s all important game against Orlando City to secure their playoff position. A loss could see them drop the precious momentum they’ve garnered in the months before the World Cup break.
