Soccer By Ives

No torn ligaments for Freeman

Christmas came early for Red Bulls fans. According to a team source, Red Bulls defender Hunter Freeman suffered a grade two MCL sprain in his left knee during the U.S. Under-23 national team's  3-3 tie with China last Sunday. The injury should sideline Freeman for six weeks, which means he shouldn't miss any significant pre-season training.

For those of you who saw the video of the injury Freeman sure looked he was in serious pain and the early fears were that he suffered a torn ACL. Luckily for Freeman and the Red Bulls, the injury wasn't that severe and shouldn't affect him ahead of the 2008 season.

Morning Ticker: Nowak clarification, the concession speech, UEFA Cup update and Schopp

Jo San everybody. It is Thursday morning and I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I will get my Christmas shopping done. I'm technically on vacation (have been all week), but as you know, SBI never really goes on vacation.

I will be taking a bit of a break from the blog today but before I do, here is some news to tide you over. Before I get to that, I will make the now daily reminder to readers to take part in the SBI Reader Roll Call if you haven't already.

Now, onto the news and notes:

Nowak NOT a Red Bulls finalist. When Juan Carlos Osorio was hired as head coach of the Red Bulls it was widely reported (by SBI as well) that Peter Nowak was one of the other three finalists for the job. Nowak's agent insists that this was not the case.

"Peter left a great MLS job with DC United for his current position with US Soccer," said Ron Waxman, Nowak's agent, in a written statement. "Peter is fully committed to his work with the U.S. Under-23 team and the senior (national) team. He is not interested in leaving for any MLS position."

According to sources, Nowak was contacted by the Red Bulls but was not interested in the position, or any other MLS position. This is bad news for Chicago Fire fans, who were surely holding out hope that Nowak would make a return to Chicago as head coach after having captained the Fire to the 1998 MLS Cup title.

Chivas USA coach Preki and St. John's head coach Dave Masur have been identified as two of the candidates managing director Marc deGrandpre did interview for the position.

Morning Ticker: Castillo loaned, Messi hurt and Man U eyeing a striker

The news never stops in the soccer world, does it?

There are plenty of news stories to discuss today and I will try to go over some of them, as well as other nuggets, this morning. Before I get to that, I will make the now daily reminder to readers to take part in the SBI Reader Roll Call if you haven't already.

Let's get started. Here are some soccer news tidbits to start your day off (including a story after the jump that could affect the future of one of the U.S. national team's best young players):

Nery Castillo going to Manchester City. No, really. He's going this time. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Yes, the on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again marriage between Mexican striker Nery Castillo and Manchester City appears to be on for real finally. After some posturing from Shaktar Donetsk in an attempt to jack up Castillo's loan price, Donetsk and City finally agreed to a deal.

Osorio press conference recap (and other Red Bull tidbits-UPDATED)

Hello folks. Apologies for the lengthy delay but there was a lot of networking to be done in NYC and I wound up getting stuck in traffic on the way back. That'll teach me not to bring the laptop.

Here is a quick rundown of what transpired today:

The other Red Bull candidates

So who were the other candidates that the Red Bulls seriously considered to replace Bruce Arena as head coach? Most you have heard before but at least one may surprise you.

According to sources with knowledge of the Red Bulls' coaching search, U.S. Under-23 national team coach Peter Nowak, Chivas USA coach Preki and St. John's coach Dave Masur were finalists for the job that Juan Carlos Osorio was eventually chosen for. Nowak, a former MLS Cup winner as player and head coach, and Preki, a former MLS MVP and the 2007 MLS coach of the year, were understandable. Masur was the surprise.

One of the most well-respected college coaches on the East Coast, Masur has spent 17 seasons with the Red Storm, leading the New York school to an NCAA title in 1996. Now an associated athletic director at the school, Masur's resume drew interest from Red Bulls managing director Marc deGrandpre, who gave him one of the few interviews for the position.

As for some of the many other names linked to the position, from Martin Jol to Paul Mariner to Ray Reid, none of them received interviews.

Off to the Osorio press conference

Hello again. Just checking in one last time before I head to Manhattan for the Juan Carlos Osorio press conference.

What I can say to Red Bulls fans is that Osorio is extremely excited about the opportunity. I spoke to Osorio at length last week and you could already tell he was ready to start work on building the Red Bulls in his image. What tends to be forgotten about his short stint in Chicago was that he coached a team he did not build. Yes, he added Paulo Wanchope and Wilman Conde, but he still coached what was essentially someone else's team.

That is what makes me chuckle a bit when some folks want to try and talk about Osorio's so-called defensive style. Yes, Osorio certainly puts an emphasis on defense, but you shouldn't assume the 2008 Red Bulls will play the same way the 2007 Fire played. They are different teams with different strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, Osorio will have a full off-season to address the changes he feels need to be made.

Osorio does feel upset about the way things ended in Chicago, but ultimately, the way things went down in the end probably made his departure easier for him to handle.

And lastly, in an unrelated note, for those of you who didn't take part already, please join the SBI Reader Roll Call.

That's all for now. I will be back later this afternoon with more news and notes so stay tuned.

Red Bulls to introduce Osorio on Tuesday

Red Bulls fans, the wait is over.

The Red Bulls will introduce Juan Carlos Osorio as the team's 11th head coach at a press conference in New York City on Tuesday at 1pm. The introductory press conference will be held at the Hotel Gansevoort.

Osorio will become the club's 10th head coach (11th if you count Richie Williams' time as interim head coach).

No word yet on what Osorio will do with his coaching staff. He is expected to meet with current assistant coaches Richie Williams, John Harkes and Des McAleenan shortly. The best bet to stay out of that group is McAleenan, who worked with Osorio during his last tenure and knows him very well. According to sources, Williams and Harkes are both interested in staying.

Osorio announcement looming

Those of you tired of waiting for an announcement on Juan Carlos Osorio's hiring as Red Bulls coach will be able to relax soon. Osorio and the Red Bulls are dotting i's and crossing t's on Osorio's contract at this point and an announcement will be made very soon, possibly tomorrow. One source suggested that a press conference was set for New York tomorrow afternoon (at the Hotel Gansevoort). I haven't been able to confirm that one yet but it is a possibility since Osorio is currently in New York.

So why the hold up? There really wasn't a hold up, just the typical negotiations that go on between a club and a new coach over a contract. The only difference was that Osorio's former employer, the Chicago Fire, announced to the world that Osorio was set to be the Red Bulls' new coach a week before a deal was close to being struck.

As for the compensation package Chicago will receive, sources tell me that we may never find out the details of the financial compensation but one source called the cash portion of the package "substantial." At least one allocation as well as the Red Bulls' first round pick in next month's MLS Draft are also included in the deal, though we may not learn until draft day if any other picks are involved (as far as I can tell the Red Bulls' second-round pick, No. 16, still belongs to the Red Bulls).

That's all for now. I was actually at the mall trying to Christmas shop when I got a few calls on this, only to get home and find out nothing was announced yet. ESPN Radio did report that Osorio was set to be named the team's new head coach. Not sure if that was based on a tip or if someone at the station just got around to reading my story on Osorio's impending hire a week ago.

Are you glad the wait is (almost) over? Share your thoughts below.

Red Bulls losing first round pick in Osorio deal

If you are a Red Bulls fan who was working on your draft board ahead of next month's MLS Draft, you can erase the first round.

The Red Bulls will be surrendering their first round pick, No. 7 overall, in the Juan Carlos Osorio compensation package. That gives Chicago the No. 7 and No. 12 picks in what is expected to be a deep draft.

Neither team is revealing the exact details of the package, but a source from one of the teams revealed that the Red Bulls did surrender their first-round pick. That means the Red Bulls' highest pick in next month's draft will be pick number 16, the second pick in the second round, which the team received from Toronto in the Marvell Wynne deal.

As soon as I get any more details on the compensation package I will pass them along. Don't hold your breath though. We may never know the actual cash portion of the package.

The Osorio Move

Buenos dias everybody. It is early Tuesday morning and fans in Chicago and New Jersey/New York are waking up to the reality that Juan Carlos Osorio is leaving the Fire to coach the Red Bulls.

They are also waking up to second and third hand accounts of what led to Osorio's departure. Some reports allege that Osorio's departure had to do with his unhappiness with the Fire organization. That is a stretch to say the least. Osorio's unsettled status had to do with family issues that may or may not ever be made public, issues he is hoping to address with the move.

Did Osorio grow frustrated with the Fire's handling and initial denial of the Red Bulls request to speak with him? Yes. Did Chicago turn down a request by Osorio to sign a player late last season? Yes, but those issues are not why Osorio left. Not even close.

I gave my take on Osorio's situation in today's Herald News column. In short, his decision to leave Chicago wasn't about unhappiness with the team or about money. It was about personal issues and an opportunity to return to his adopted home to address some of those issues.