Trio is Red Bulls’ new spine

By BRIAN LEWIS

Talk to enough players around MLS over the years, and you would’ve heard the word on the Red Bulls, and the MetroStars before them _ and the word wasn’t good. Easy to play against. Not tough enough. Not enough backbone.

Red Bull coach Juan Carlos Osorio had all four of his new transfers suited up for the first time yesterday, and it showed in a 4-1 rout of D.C. Attacking midfielder Jorge Rojas, centerback Gabriel Cichero and holding midfielder Juan Pietravallo started and gave the team a spine, figuratively and literally.

That trio started _ Cichero making his MLS debut in the center of a three-man backline _ and provided the Red Bulls with strength down the middle of the park. Experienced international veterans, all three picked up yellow cards while infusing the team with much-needed bite and backbone.

“We said that we wanted someone that could organize the back. (Cichero) did that, and also showed some very good distribution, which we have been lacking in the past, so I think he was very committed and good on the ball,’’ Osorio said. “I have to say that it was too early to get a yellow card, but it showed his willingness to compete.”

Perhaps because he knew this was the Red Bulls’ derby, their classico. Or maybe Cichero is just physical. Either way, he was not only a brick wall in central defense, but he actually distributed the ball well, initiating the attack.

“The Red Bulls showed a different attitude on the field, playing good football, playing good football. That’s what Osorio wants and I tried to do that,’’ Cichero said. “I’m pretty happy because this game was good for us. Mentally we were a little bit sad, this game is very good.

“The most important thing for the team, and for me, is that we won. They say that (D.C.) is very good on offense and I think the most important thing is that we are more confident after winning this game. I think that we showed some good football.

“I thought I played well. I tried to organize the defense, speaking a lot. I think the team needed this. I felt good. After playing the football we played, I think we can play with any team. We played on the ground, to Juan Pablo (Angel) and to Jorge (Rojas). They can make a difference. Every time we went inside, we scored.”

Angel, who had a brace in the rout of D.C., praised the three newcomers in turn.

“(Cichero) is good. He and Juan Pietravallo and Jorge Rojas, I said from the beginning they’re gong to be very important players for us,’’ said Angel. “The more they play the more comfortable they’re going to get and the more important they become.’’

They didn’t take that long to get comfortable, Pietravallo utterly disrupting D.C.’s attack. He picked up a 14th-minute yellow for a foul on Jamie Moreno, but the game’s most vivid images are of the United striker’s looks of exasperation and helplessness at being thugged-up by the Argentine.

The 31-year-old Rojas _ who has 82 starts for the Venezuelan National Team and a host of Copa Libertadores tilts under his belt _ stepped right into a leadership role with the team, despite the fact he doesn’t speak English.

Apparently being a player is universal. He has three assists in his three league games, and has sparked an offense that has erupted for seven goals in that span. They’d had just 16 in the 16 games before his arrival, less than half the per-game output with Rojas running the show.

“(Sunday was) very important because of what we had to go through with the Barcelona game,’’ Rojas said. “Today the players who touched the ball on the field we know are the players we (will have).

“This is the team we want to see. That’s the players we want to touch the ball, and the attitude we had (Sunday) is very important to win. Losing after 15 minutes, tying the game and after that scoring three more goals is really important.’’

Rojas suffered a left ankle contusion on a yellow card foul by Bryan Namoff in the 88th minute; but after hobbling off the field, he came back to finish off the final moments of a three-goal rout rather than let his team fend a man down. That’s the kind of leadership that other players see.

“He didn’t kick me (that powerful),’’ Rojas said. “It’s nothing really serious.’’

The Red Bulls should hope so. They can ill afford to be without their newfound spine.