They won't be wearing any retro kits, but the New York Red Bulls are going back in time for their match at rival D.C. United Saturday night.
When they walk onto the field at RFK Stadium, they'll do so without Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Reyna and, of course, Jozy Altidore, who was introduced as Villarreal's newest signing during the week after reaching an agreement on a six-year deal.
So who does Juan Carlos Osorio look to play forward Saturday night? None other than veteran John Wolyniec. It's been a while since the Staten Island, N.Y. native has been a regular MLS starter, but Osorio's options against D.C. United are waif thin. So it's back to old reliable for the Red Bulls.
"He needs to give us a chance to get out of our defensive stance and hold the ball up so we can send some numbers forward and hopefully hurt them on a counterattack and hopefully keep the ball away from them a little bit," Dave van den Bergh said of Wolyniec. "He's going to be hugely important for us. He's been doing very well in practice so hopefully he can do the same for us during these games."
Juan Pablo Angel has been hampered by not only an arthritic nerve-related injury in his lower back that caused him to have pain in his hamstring, but he also had two herniated discs and suffered a slight hamstring strain after scoring the winner against Chivas USA in the Red Bulls' last match June 5 at Giants Stadium.
The Red Bulls medical staff has essentially shut down Angel since the Chivas match. Not only will he not play against D.C. United, but he'll also miss a midweek tilt at New England.
"Following the medical department's advice, we are not counting on Juan for this weekend," Osorio said. "If things go well he will resume training next week with a view to making available for the game against Dallas."
As of Friday, Angel, who returned to his native Colombia for the weekend and appeared to be in good spirits at the Red Bulls training center Thursday, is being listed as day-to-day after being held out of training. Of the 11 goals the Red Bulls have scored this year, five came from Angel and Altidore.
"A lot of the stuff he's been dealing with in the higher part of his hamstring from his back is starting to dissipate," Red Bulls athletic trainer Rick Guter said. "But he still has a little bit of a lingering thing at the bottom (of his hamstring). He's up to running, so that's a good sign. Hopefully this little bit of rest period will help him get over the hump."
Like Angel, Claudio Reyna is feeling pain in a hamstring as a result of a herniated disc. The attacking midfielder will miss Saturday's game and there is no timetable for his return.
"While he was having a great deal of hamstring symptoms prior to that shot, today was the first day he noticed he didn't have any (pain)," Guter said. "Usually he was feeling it when he was walking around, but today he was pain free in his hamstring."
Reyna, Angel, as well as Seth Stammler, have all suffered the same herniated disc injury, although Angel's has been more severe, involving more than one disc.
"All three have had the same disc herniation," Guter said. "It's a very strange thing."
The Red Bulls attacking options were thin already, but things went from bad to worse when Chris Megaloudis, who had an excellent chance of making his MLS debut Saturday, left after Friday's training session to play for the Puerto Rican national team in a World Cup qualifier against Honduras.
That leaves Wolyniec and Colombian Oscar Echeverry, who hasn't played since spraining his right knee in training last month, as the only options against D.C. United.
Osorio will likely go with Wolyniec as the lone striker, a holding forward in a 4-5-1 formation that can easily morph into a 4-3-3 with the speed of Danleigh Borman and Dane Richards outside.
"Hopefully we will be able to provide him with better service," Osorio said of Wolyniec. "I think when Juan has done that job he has also found it very difficult to play because the service comes from the flanks, from the two midfielders that give him support. ... If we can feed the ball to him and he can get a hold of the ball then he will do a great job for us."
Wolyniec, who has started two games this year and has one assist, is up for the challenge.
"Usually you're going against two (defenders), they have a little bit less to worry about because they're not worried about forward coming in behind them," Wolyniec said. "It is different, a different mentality. You're holding the ball more, you're more of a target."
The role of attacking midfielder will be filled by rookie Luke Sassano, has also played wide the midfield and as a defensive midfielder this season.
"Since Day One, I have stated he's a player who does the basics well," Osorio said of Sassano. "He can control the ball well, he can pass it well. I think he's more than capable of doing a good job for us."
Sassano is looking forward to his first taste of the Red Bulls-D.C. United rivalry.
"I'm pretty excited," he said. "Talking to a couple of the older guys, they say (D.C.) has a pretty good fan base. I'm just excited to be part of the rivalry, but the most important thing is that we need to get the three points."
Even will a full squad, that hasn't been easy at RFK for the Red Bulls. But with limited attacking options, the Red Bulls are going to need to be compact in the back and possess the ball to have a chance against a D.C. United side that appears to have recovered from early-season doldrums.
"We've got to work on keeping the ball better," Parke said. "The most important thing is to keep them out of the back of the net. Obviously if you get a zero, you get at least a point. We're going to create our chances."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
