E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Tony Meola said Red Bull wanted to prove its commitment to its new team. And they did that in a very big way when the New York Red Bulls arrived at Giants Stadium on Monday.
The old locker room that housed the MetroStars was completely renovated. What Bob Bradley once called an office is now a players lounge, complete with leather couches, a flat-screen television, an X-box, a foosball table, dart board and, of course, a mini fridge stacked with Red Bull drinks.
The walls, which were all white, were painted white and red, the old black doors are now blue. Another flat-screen television is in the trainer's room, there are two, full-length refrigerators packed with Red Bull and there are new name tags at each locker.
All this was done over the weekend.
"They came in and said what do you need? We put a little plan for them and overnight the goblins have come in and Peter Pan and have rearranged certain things," Red Bulls coach Mo Johnston said. "Listen, it's great. I'm happy, the players are excited. It's a good change.
"They've come in and opened up the checkbook," he added.
While the players noticed the change at the stadium, Johnston saw it first-hand when he flew in for a meeting Friday on the red-eye from Los Angeles.
"I thought I was on the wrong floor," he joked.
"For me, the little things are what's big," Steve Jolley added. "Seeing that they had a commitment to have the front office and everyone come together on the weekend and get stuff done, in terms of painting and putting Red Bull everywhere. It shows a lot."
Before they walked on the Giants Stadium field Monday, the club received a 30-minute presentation from Red Bull's regional staff, which according to Meola, helped quell some fears the players had.
"The last couple days of L.A., in my opinion, was difficult," Meola said of training at The Home Depot Center. "Reading about the history of what [Red Bull] did in Salzburg, no one knew if they had a job, no one knew what changes were going to come. You tell anyone about uncertainty in their job and there's cause for a little bit of worry."
One thing Red Bull promised, Meola said, was that they would not wipe the club's history clear.
"Even though we didn't win a championship, there were a lot of great players who came through here and they in no way, shape or form indicated that they wanted to erase that," Meola said. "They said be proud of playing for the MetroStars but Red Bull is the future of this team."
Jolley said he also empathizes with the die-hard fans.
"I feel for them," he said. "I feel for the guys who come out here and pay their hard-earned money to sometimes watch average soccer and they have a reason to be frustrated but hopefully they're fans of the sport and they realize this is better for everybody."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
