Getty Images Franco Panizo, who has been on top of the New York Red Bulls beat all year long, returns from practice with a bit of Rafa-related news: Senor Marquez is on his way back into the NYRB lineup.
Marquez returned to drills last week, and he’s targeting Saturday’s match with against the Columbus Crew for his return. The Mexican has played just nine matches this year with eight starts. Not the type of return on investment you want for $4 million-plus.
The Red Bulls have been fine without Marquez, but they are better with him. (Trust us, they are.) And, frankly, MLS is a better place with Rafa manning the middle of the field. Even at 33 years old, he can still play and is among the best distributors in the league. He’s not the player he once was, but that’s not the point.
Plus, you gotta think he can help NYRB make a deep run into the playoffs. If everything clicks, this could (finally) be the year for RBNY to lift that trophy.
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- djrrockthepitch - Sep 13, 2012 at 2:31 PM
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Not sure how you can say that the Redbulls are better with Rafa. What is that based on? The popular opinion is that last year they were better withOUT him – Add to that he has played in only 8 of 27 mathces this season. How can anyone say that NYRB is better with him. Maybe they’ll can be better with him, but just don’t see it… NYRB’s issue this year has been defending, and more specifically consistency across the back four. over the last couple matches we saw a nice back four starting to come together. Where does Rafa fit in? We don’t need another lazy defender (MIller is finally on the bench), which that’s all we saw last year with Rafa… and the midfield is already crowded. Was he a great player? Yes. Has he had flashes of brillance? Yes. Is now the time to see if he can be more consistent? NO. Let the mysterious calf injury linger until Dec 2. Then ship him off to Chivas!
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- jerichowhiskey - Sep 13, 2012 at 2:39 PM
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There are two reserve games coming up against New England and Toronto in the last two weeks of September and I rather have him get minutes there than in league games.
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- pmacd82 - Sep 13, 2012 at 3:37 PM
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The Red Bulls currently have 11 men on the pitch who work hard for 90 minutes. So no, they are not better with Rafa on the field.
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