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RBNY TRAINING REPORT – FRIDAY,
APRIL 17
After training at Red Bulls Training Facility in Whippany, N.J. on Friday, Head Coach Michael Bradley and defender Robert Voloder spoke with the media prior to New York’s road match against CF Montreal on Saturday.
News and Notes
• The Red Bulls are 16-11-4 all time against CF Montreal and New York has earned three results in their last four trips to Montreal.
• New York are unbeaten in five of their last six matches against Montreal.
• Forward Julian Hall is coming off his first career two-assist match in New York's 2-2 draw over Inter Miami CF on April 11 and scored his second career brace across all competitions in the Red Bulls 3-1 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds on April 15.
• Hall has seven goal contributions this season and is ranked tied for second-most in the Eastern Conference and fifth-most in MLS.
• Defender Dylan Nealis is one appearance away from 100 MLS appearances with New York.
Red Bull New York Head Coach Michael Bradley
On learning from previous matchup against Montreal…
It was a game very early in the season. It was a game of moments. We started well, and they were able to get into our box. And they get the penalty, obviously, referee goes to look at it, VAR told him to go look. He decided that in that moment he was sticking with the original decision, obviously. Then we go down one zero early. We pushed the game pretty good for the rest of the first half, obviously, with their man marking, it's a different kind of game at that time. And then right before half we would give away the free kick over on the side where Wiki (Carmona) crosses it goes all the way through. And so it was a weird game, obviously, as we do always, we looked at it and talked about the things that needed to be better on the day. But at this point, it is long behind us. We've learned in a good way. We've improved, and we're excited about another chance.
On team’s ability to deal with adversity…
We were steady, very steady, very even as a staff, we tried to set the right tone, to set a good and positive tone. The leadership in the group was, was really, really strong as well. And we looked closely at things, and made sure that everybody saw all of the things that were going in a really good direction, all of the positives. We made sure that everybody understood the foundation that was being laid, that is being laid and this is all early in the season. With a new team, with a young team, the part of continuing to grow, continuing to strengthen our identity, to understand who we are, how we want to play, every team goes through that and every player then has to understand that if we're going to really be a different kind of team, a special team, in the end, then the part of being able to build something that can hold up in the toughest moments, that can endure that part that takes time. You don't snap your fingers and have that magically appear. And so again, we were honest with ourselves always, but also steady and positive to make sure that everybody felt good. Feels good about the direction that we're going, because there's a lot of really good things there.
On growth of player development in MLS…
For sure, the infrastructure that is in place now is much better than it was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. You guys have heard me say, when I was a young player, playing for the Metro Stars, there was no second team, there was no reserve league, there was no Academy. And so at that time, my dad would find games on Sunday morning for the guys who didn't play on Saturday night against local universities. It could be other teams in the area that were looking for games, other teams coming through. He made sure that the guys who weren't playing with the with the first 11 regularly were still getting minutes and still getting opportunities to improve. But it wasn't in the structured way that it is now. Now, when you look, what do you see? You see MLS NEXT Pro. You see just about every team in the league that has a second team that competes at that level, every club has a real Academy in place. You have MLS NEXT. You have all of the important competitions and events that go with that. And so there is a real pathway for young players in this country to grow and develop and to continue to move themselves along. When we speak more specifically than about Julian (Hall) or Adri (Mehmeti) or Matty Dos Santos or Tanner (Rosborough), like any of these guys, then at that point you have to be give huge credit to the people at Red Bull who have played a huge part in their growth, in their development. Tanner came a later at a slightly older age, but Julian and Adri and Matty were here at really, really young ages, and they moved through our entire system, and so the coaches and the people who played such a role in their journey. They deserve huge credit, and so as a club, we are really, really proud of the players that they are, the young men that they are, and we're going to continue to try to push them so that we can make sure this isn't the end.
Red Bull New York Defender Robert Voloder
On preparation on short week...
Training is a little bit limited when you have a mid-week game, but regeneration is a big factor in those weeks. I think we took good care of that. We prepared well for the Open Cup game. So the same goes for the game now against Montreal. It's our first time with a mid-week game, but we are ready to go tomorrow to face Montreal.
On Montreal...
We definitely looked at the past game we played against Montreal. Now it's obviously also going to probably be a little bit different with a new coach. We can't really tell if the system is going to change, we will be prepared for everything that can come to us. So, yeah, I think we are more than enough prepared for whatever way they want to play, and we're going to come after them.
On playing center back with Gustav Berggren in US Open Cup...
Gustav was great. I think he adapted pretty well. Obviously it's not, not something he is very used to. So I obviously also tried to help him in that way, to get him ready, ready for that role. But I think we both did a pretty, pretty good job when we were on the field. And communication wise, it was pretty easy with him. So no complaints with him.
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