Scoping out the NY Red Bowels

This Saturday, Dynamo faces the RBNY. Last year, when we faced the newly rechristened Red Bulls, we were in the midst of our scoring droughts and -- as sad as the NY team was -- could only split the points with them. I think the Bulls will be better this year, so we are facing a greater challenge.

I think we're lucky to be meeting them early in the season. Why?

Arena-ball: Say what you want about The Bruce, but he knows how to coach against the American style of play and, yes, the Mexican style of play. He will do well in the MLS (again), especially with the financial support of the Red Bull energy drink empire. Arena's teams, even the good ones, aren't completely foreign to slow starts; his DC team went 0-4 at the beginning of the 1996 season, the year DC won the first MLS Cup. Arena sometime out-thinks himself, and I think he'll still be struggling to get all the disparate pieces of his team together when we meet.

Claudio Reyna: It'd probably be best to face Reyna later in the season, when the turf, schedule, and travel has worn him down a bit. Still, he missed RBNY's last match vs FC Dallas (not that his absence hurt RBNY's result) and is listed as questionable for Dynamo due to a leg contusion. He can control the pace of a game (so the common thought goes), but already the media and Bowel fans are prepared to rip into the high-priced player sitting in the training room.

Juan Pablo Angel: He can be a goal-scoring machine, but luckily won't join NYRB until after this game. I'm looking forward to July 5, when he visits the Rob.

Clint Mathis: I would love Cleetus to find his form again and resurrect his ability to be the most unpredictable threat on the pitch. He's been so up-and-down of late that I can't help but feel (hope?) that the intense "up" versus FCD means we'll face him on a "down." He hasn't done much against Dynamo, but, as with mutual funds, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Ronald Waterreus: He's no rookie, but he's new to the MLS, having played only 1.5 games. It's good to catch a Keeper when he's in his adjustment period.

In the Carolina Challenge Cup, the Dynamo beat the Red Bowels 2-1 in the final. Dynamo played their usual 45 minutes of soccer (conceding the first half to the opposition) but were down only 1-0 at the break. In the second half, Ching and Moreno scored unanswered goals to put the good guys on top and win the Cup. If we can string together 90 minutes of soccer, we should be able to stuff the Bowels. I don't know if 45 minutes will be enough this time.