Red Bull News Network

photo by Anthony J. Merced New York Red Bulls II have announced the signing of 20 year-old defender Christopher Cragwell on loan for the 2022 season. The Panamanian international becomes yet another signing by the club which is looking to lock up it's defense heading into the last year of their time in the USL. "Although he is young he already has good experience," said Red Bull Academy Director Sean McCafferty. "We look forward to having him play a big role within the group during the 2022 season." Cragwell played for both the academy and first team Club Deportivo Arabe Unido. He has made 26 total appearances for the club dating back to 2017 with 14 of those coming in the 2021 season. He was named to the league's Team of the Week on three separate occasions. He also was selected by the U-19 Panamanian national team but did not play due to COVID-19 as nearly all games were suspended. "I did not expect to get in an organization as important as the Red Bu

photo by Matt Kremkau To fill the vacancy created when former assistant Bradley Carnell left to be the head coach of MLS expansion side St. Louis City SC, the New York Red Bulls added Troy Lesesne to Gerhard Struber’s coaching staff, the club announced today. Lesesne has joined New York at their Florida Camp in IMG Academy. Lesesne, a West Columbia, South Carolina native, most recently served as Head Coach and Technical Director of the United Soccer League Championship club New Mexico United. He was named New Mexico’s first head coach and technical director when the club entered the USL in 2018. During Lesesne’s three-year stint with New Mexico, he accumulated a 34-29-26 record with two playoff appearances and was named 2020 USL Co-Coach of the Year. “Troy is a coach with smart ideas and big ambitions to go deep in our identity,” said Head Coach Gerhard Struber. “He has experience in different areas and will be able to help the team to develop in many directions.” Lesesne began his coa

photo by Matt Kremkau As the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season draws closer the team has opted to head to California to prepare their players for the preseason. The team will begin their 2022 preseason at IMG Academy for ten days starting on January 19, and then continue to train in California for two weeks in February (7 - 19) to compete in the Coachella Valla Invitational, hosted by LA Galaxy. New York has already begun this year’s preseason on Sunday with the first official training and will stay in New Jersey until Wednesday. The Red Bulls will travel South to train at IMG Academy for 10 days, which includes two scrimmages. New York will have an exhibition match against Florida Gulf Coast University on January 22 and then conclude with the Under-20 United States Men’s National Team on January 29. The Red Bulls will then return to New Jersey for one week before flying out to California for two weeks. In California, New York is slated to play in the Coachella Valley Invitationa

photo from Thomas Eisenhut/Getty Images The second half of the Bundesliga season began in style for RB Leipzig and new head coach Domenico Tedesco with a resounding win over Mainz 4-1. Still, the team finds themselves in ninth place, five points off of fourth place Freiburg for the last spot in the UEFA Champions League. Now, as they prepare for a trip to Stuttgart on Saturday, Tedesco and company how to correct what was an atrocious away form in the first half of the season. "That's in the players' minds," said Tedesco about the team's lack of victories away from Red Bull Arena. "It's a little crazy that we haven't won an away game in the league since April. At some point the spell will break, so why not now against Stuttgart?" Stuttgart is in 15th place and just four points from the relegation zone. They have just one win in their last five games and were dominated by Leipzig the last time they played. The only difference is that they will not

photo by Matt Kremkau New York Red Bulls captain Sean Davis has departed the club after becoming an MLS free agent, deciding that Nashville SC is where he wants to take his talents. While it may seem like a blow to New York to lose such a long-term player, it does show that the team is able to groom players from the academy into important positions on the first team. Davis, a product of the Red Bull Academy, started with the club in the U-23 team and worked his way up to the MLS club in record time. He was a part of the star-studded 2016 New York Red Bulls II team, overshadowed by the likes of Tyler Adams, Aaron Long and Derrick Etienne Jr. As time would show, Davis become the most consistent for New York, logging a record number of appearances and earning the captaincy through several coaching changes.  While it may hurt some fans to see such a player leave, Davis put his time in and proved that the club is willing to nurture young players to their full potential. With him departing t