From RBNY
Before training at Red Bulls Training Facility in Whippany, New Jersey on Monday, head coach Sandro Schwarz and captain Emil Forsberg spoke with the media prior to Wednesday’s MLS regular season match against Toronto FC.
News and Notes
• The Red Bulls have posted a 22-9-10 mark against Toronto FC in regular season play and are currently on an 11-match unbeaten streak across all competitions against Toronto.
• Forward Dante Vanzeir has recorded a goal in back-to-back matches and has recorded a goal contribution in three-straight matches.
• Midfielder Lewis Morgan has scored four career MLS goals against Toronto FC, including a hat-trick in his last match at BMO Field on March 5, 2022.
• Goalkeeper Carlos Coronel has posted four MLS shutouts against Toronto FC, which is tied for the most he has against a single MLS club.
• New York has gone unbeaten in their last four MLS road matches against Toronto FC.
New York Red Bulls Head Coach Sandro Schwarz
On match on Wednesday…
For sure, we need also these two games for our preparation against Toronto, but they have had a couple of games, the Canadian Championship, the Chicago game, a lot of games also during the week. They also had a lot of rotations in their starting lineup, but we need as well our two games. We need another game to prepare our team now in the best mood, the best way for Wednesday.
On Toronto FC…
I think they now have 37 points, two games to go in this week, our game and then I think the home game on Saturday against Inter Miami CF. So, the situation is clear, they have to win and we want to win. We also have to win for ourselves, but it does not change now something in our preparation or in how we analyze, we played two times against them, and they had two times different structures against us. In the first game in the league, it was with three center backs most of the time, [Federico] Bernadeschi as a right wing back and in the Leagues Cup was more of a 4-4-2 with [Lorenzo] Insigne as a striker. So, this is our preparation especially what I said at the beginning of the press conference, also to prepare all the other games in the last weeks, but nothing changes now for our preparation because of the situation of Toronto, it is more something changed in our preparation because of our last game, I would say.
New York Red Bulls Captain Emil Forsberg
On getting back on the field…
Yeah, I mean, it was a long process, frustrating one, a hard one. It is the first time I ever had this kind of injury before. It was an injury where you had to extra careful and to take care of yourself in a special way and I think, I understand that it raised some concerns, but all I did was to just be careful, trying to come back as good as possible in the best possible shape for the team. It was, yeah, it was frustrating. I’m fit now and I think that is the most important part that I can go back and be 100-percent and not going back and maybe be at 80-percent or 75-percent and now I feel fully fit. I’m 100-percent and no feels more bad than me that it took time, but it was the best decision for me to come back, so I can help the team in the best possible way and of course, it was frustrating to not be with the team all this time to be able to help the team. So, I understand the frustration. I was frustrated as well to not be able to be there with the team out there, but I’m back now and that feels good.
On the mentality of the team…
Yeah, I mean mistakes is part of the game. It happens to everybody, I think the most important thing is to forget about it as soon as you can, I mean it happens to everybody and it is part of the journey in soccer. You are going to make mistakes and that is okay, the best thing we can do is just respond better to it next time, to learn from it. That’s what we are doing, and I think for the playoffs now, it is just important to create our momentum as a team and the mistakes are part of the game, but in the playoffs in particular, you have no time to make mistakes. You have got to minimize them and it’s about sharpness, mentally prepared sharpness and to be just in these kind of games to be a little more can I say dirty play. A little bit dirty you got to be. You got to be a little bit more rough and I think that is something that we need and that we are going to need in the playoffs as well.