Sift through all the fans’ ire and the team’s double-talk at Friday night’s Red Bull “Town Hall’’ meeting, and there was relevant news to be found.
The most telling was coach Jesse Marsch calling the Tim Cahill situation “tricky” and admitting he has no idea if the team’s highest-paid star wants to return or not; and general manager Marc de Grandpre insisting ownership would back a big-ticket Designated Player if the Red Bulls find the right one.
“I’ve communicated with Tim. He’s with Australia in Asian Cup … Tim is tricky, ok? He’s a great player, we all know that,” Marsch said. “But it’s hard to know if he wants to be here or not, so we have to have a hard discussion with him to figure out if he wants to be here.’’
All indications have been that he doesn’t, with the relationship between Cahill and the club appearing strained. While he played often and well for Australia — including in the World Cup — his international duty made him unavailable to the Red Bulls, and seemed to leave him drained when he was available.
Cahill’s form dipped precipitously this past season. After being named MLS Best XI in 2013 with 11 goals and ranked 13th overall among the league’s top players, he struggled with only two goals and was ranked 229th going into the playoffs despite a $3.5 million salary.
It should be noted the Red Bulls went on a hot streak when then-coach Mike Petke benched Cahill and paired Dax McCarty and Eric Alexander in a more disciplined deep central midfield duo.
Reports of Cahill’s imminent departure surfaced immediately, and have persisted. But with Marsch replacing Petke, he left the door open for Cahill’s possible return — but only if the midfielder’s heart is in it.
“We have to have a hard discussion with him to figure out if he wants to be here,” Marsch said, “and if he wants to be here, what are the terms, because if he is here, he has to be part of the team like it’s in his heart. It can’t be just because there is a big payday.
“In some ways it’s no different than any other player. We want guys that want to be here and that will give everything every single day … we need 28 guys that feel the exact same way.”
While the Red Bulls clearly are emphasizing building rather than buying success — they confirmed their new USL Pro team and expect young centerback Matt Miazga to play a role this year — they insist owner Dietrich Mateschitz would pay for an expensive Designated Player if needed.
“Absolutely, 100 percent,’’ de Grandpre said. “Ali [Curtis, the new sporting director] and I work together … Ali will make every decision on the sports side, I’ll make every decision on the business side. But I can tell you our owner is absolutely committed to continually invest in this club. He’s invested his own money — I just want to remind everyone the taxpayers didn’t put a dime into this building — out of his pocket.
“He invested in the training facility, he invested in multiple Designated Players, he invested in the best youth development program in the country. This guy is committed beyond belief to this club. And if Ali tells him he has the right player for the club, he will make it happen.’’
The Red Bulls managed to ink first-round draft pick Leo Stolz from UCLA, pending a physical and approval of a P-1 visa. The 23-year-old midfielder won the Hermann Award as college’s top player, and was named Soccer America Player of the Year, but fell to the Red Bulls at No. 18 on Thursday because of assumptions that the Munich native was going to spurn MLS to play in Europe.
“In the soccer community, many consider Leo to be the best player in this draft,” said sporting director Ali Curtis.