New Red Bulls sporting director Julian de Guzman promising significant attacking changes

Julian de Guzman, the New York Red Bulls’ new head of sport, made it abundantly clear that the “Red Bull Way” is changing, and the onus is going to be on revamping things up front in attack.

“I’m very certain that based on the philosophy that we want, the playing style, we will see something different compared to what we’ve seen in the past 12 years,” the 41-year-old said during his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “We’ve been a high-intensity, energetic team, but I think we could add a lot more in terms of the playing style, bringing in players with high footballing IQs. You want guys who could perform and with excitement in the attack, and we want to play fun football that allows us to succeed, win, and develop players.”

Sweeping changes have arrived at Sports Illustrated Stadium following a 10th-place finish in the Eastern Conference this season, resulting in the Red Bulls’ first playoff miss in 16 years. While head coach Sandro Schwarz was dismissed, former head of sport Jochen Schneider has decided to step away from the club to be closer to his family in Germany after his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor in September.

In his three years at the position, Schneider helped build the Red Bulls up to a team that went on a Cinderella run last season to win the Eastern Conference as a No. 7 seed before falling in the MLS Cup Final to the Los Angeles Galaxy. He brought in significant overseas talent to bolster the roster, specifically Swedish midfielder Emil Forsberg and ex-Bayern Munich star Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting — both veterans of the high-profile German Bundesliga — but the club often took a backseat in the transfer market as other international stars made their way to North America.

Much of that had to do with the Red Bulls’ philosophy of developing talent within its academy ranks, and it certainly has done that in recent years, whether it be Tyler Adams, John Tolkin, or even currently with 17-year-old wunderkind Julian Hall.

But the reality is that the MLS landscape has changed. America’s best-developed talent is going to search for greener pastures in larger leagues. Adams is currently with Bournemouth in the Premier League. When Tolkin made the move to Holstein Keil in Germany, they were in the middle of a relegation battle in the Bundesliga. Other academy products, like Matt Miazga, eventually moved on to a brief spell at English giants Chelsea.

The Red Bulls are already, and understandably, warding off European interest for Hall, as well. His departure is not a question of if, but of when.

Simply put, accruing homegrown star power that can pave the way toward perennial championship contention is not a sustainable product anymore. That is not lost on de Guzman, who is going to have a busy offseason.

“It’s not the old-school Red Bull that we’ve been used to seeing for many years… We could add more,” he said. “We could add more flavor, we could add more style, we could add more creativity, especially on attack, and not be so dependent on [Forsberg and Choupo-Moting] to convert goals for us. I think there’s a lot more we can add to the roster.

“They need more support. The players that come in are going to be guys not just supporting them, but they’re going to be difference-makers, and I think in the attack, that’s going to be a big highlight as to who we bring in going into next season.”

It is now doubtful that Timo Werner, the ex-German international who had been in extended talks with New York about making a move to MLS from Bundesliga powers Red Bull Leipzig, will offer such support. Talks intensified especially during the August transfer window, but differences in wages proved to be a stalemate too large to overcome.

“Would he have made sense to Red Bull based on what we want to see, especially in the future? Probably not,” de Guzman said.

Being without Scotland international winger Lewis Morgan for all but three games further exacerbated the need to bring on legitimate attacking help. The 28-year-old, after playing just five games in 2023 due to a rare hip injury, won the 2024 MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award and was even called into the Scotland side for Euro 2024. But a knee injury that required surgery and a nagging quad issue derailed this season for him.

Still, he is a fixture in de Guzman’s plans.

“Absolutely [he can be relied on in 2026],” he said .”I’m seeing Lewis Morgan every day. You can see the smile grow more and more when he’s getting closer to kicking the ball again. It’s been frustrating for him. I feel for a player like Lewis because he’s gone through this already. The fire he has to come back onto the field as to what he’s shown in 2024. This is the hope that we have for him in 2026.

“We’re being patient with him. Will we push him? For sure, because we need him. But this is a guy who’s going to push himself to the limits, and we have to make sure we’ll be careful. Everything is pointing in the right direction for Lewis, and he’s making some really positive progress.”

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