Sinisa Ubiparipovic Making a Difference for the Red Bulls This Season

It should come as no surprise that in the nine games Sinisa Ubiparipovic has started this season, the Red Bulls have six wins. Ubiparipovic, a three year veteran in MLS, has come into this season on a roll, showing some dazzling dribbling skills and excellent passing, which has helped the Red Bulls greatly on the counter attack. The University of Akron product had shown flashes of talent over his previous three years with the Red Bulls after they drafted him in the third round of the 2007 draft, but he never displayed the ability to open up passing lanes and dribble through traffic on a consistent basis. But in this season alone he has made defenders fear him with his hypnotizing runs more than in any of his past seasons. While his play might not always show up in the stat sheet, he has set up many offensive opportunities for the Red Bulls this season, and he has scored two goals, one in the US Open Cup qualifying match against New England and in the Red Bulls' last MLS game against Houston, which helped break a four game losing streak. One example of Sinisa being a playmaker on offense was against the Colorado Rapids ...

Red Bulls Qualify for US Open Cup, Beat Colorado 3-0

John Wolyniec leads the Baby Bulls into the US Open Cup round of 16 with a brace. New head coach Hans Backe once again went with the reserves for the US Open Cup qualifying match against the visiting Colorado Rapids last night. And that decision certainly paid its dividends. The Red Bulls were organized on defense and in midfield, thanks to strong performances from Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who could fight for a chance to see some playing time in MLS, and goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who kept a clean sheet for the second time in two cup matches. Right from the onset, the "Baby Bulls" played aggressively, and tried to play balls out wide to wingers Jeremy Hall and Irving Garcia, or play centrally and over the top to the strike partnership of Conor Chinn and John Wolyniec. The Red Bulls attacking nature finally came to fruition in the 11th minute. Ubiparipovic dribbled through the middle of the field towards goal, and got past one defender before laying off a pass to his right to the feet of the quick Garcia. From there Garcia fired a low pass across the face of goal, where it met the outstretched leg of John Wolyniec, and went into the back ...

New York Red Bulls Should Play More of Their Backups in MLS

The Red Bulls began the season on a big high, winning five of six games thanks to a rock solid defense and good finishing in the final third. But after the great start to the season, the New York Red Bulls have fallen back to Earth. The past three games in MLS have yielded losses, beginning with a 4-0 thrashing compliments of the San Jose Earthquakes, and two losses at their new home arena, Red Bull Park, 1-0 to Seattle, and 3-1 to Columbus. In those games, the once focused back line came apart for certain decisive moments of those matches, and the rest of the squad has looked lackluster for large chunks of the games. However, this past weekend, the Red Bulls stunned Italian powerhouse Juventus F.C. 3-1 in a friendly. What was the reason for the excellent offensive output, you ask? Because the so called "Baby Bulls" played the game. The "Baby Bulls" or backups for the Red Bull starting eleven, brought an intensity and attacking flair that had not been seen on the pitch for a couple of weeks. The boys brought this same energy to the US Open Cup victories on April 27 and May 12 over the expansion Philadelphia Union ...

Bryan Leyva is a Star in the Making for F.C. Dallas

Off the field, he looks like your average high school aged kid, hanging out with teammates, going shopping, and playing video games. But on the field, he is unlike most high schoolers. In fact he is unlike most people on this planet. Bryan Leyva, though only 18 years old, has the majestic touch and dribbling ability, and that if he continues to improve, could rival that of some of the top players in the world, including Bayern Munich midfielder Arjen Robben, A.C. Milan midfielder Ronaldihno, and Barcelona midfielder Xabi Hernandez. The Mexican starlet also made history last year, when he signed professional terms with F.C. Dallas, becoming their first ever academy signing. On April 27, 2010, on the campus of Indiana University, Leyva and his Mexican U-20 team coached by former El Tri member Juan Carlos Chavez, took on the Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer team. With a large crowd on hand, including at least half of them dressed in the iconic green Mexico jersey, Indiana and Mexico U-20 kicked off for just the fifth time in history.  Leyva and teammate Gil Cordero played together as attacking midfielders, playing off each other, dribbling through two or more Hoosier defenders at a time, and helping provide a ...