New York Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz confirmed on Thursday that veteran goalkeeper Carlos Coronel will not be in the starting lineup for the team’s season finale on Saturday in Columbus against the Crew.
Veteran keeper John McCarthy, acquired from the Los Angeles Galaxy in August, will get the nod instead. The decision comes after “very clear and open conversations” in which Coronel was “very, very respectful.”
Should things continue on their current trajectory — Coronel’s contract expires after this season — the 28-year-old Paraguayan international’s last game with the Red Bulls would have been the home finale two weeks ago against FC Cincinnati, in which he was given the captain’s armband.
It’s a fitting send-off for Coronel despite his club missing the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. He spent the last five seasons with New York after leading its sister club, Red Bull Salzburg, to a pair of Austrian league titles in consecutive seasons.
He appeared in 169 matches across all competitions in New York, while recording 47 clean sheets. That ranks second in franchise history behind only the great Luis Robles.
“He has great, great character,” Schwarz said. “He has been in this organization for so long… He was a professional at his job each day and very clear within our conversations and relationships.”
Coronel backstopped the Red Bulls during their unlikely run to an Eastern Conference title last season, recording three clean sheets out of their first four postseason matches to advance all the way to the MLS Cup Final as the No. 7 seed.
“When I, when I’m looking back to the to the playoffs last year, it was amazing what he has done for the team,” Schwarz said.
