CARSON, Calif. - There are no more practices, no more media availability. There is little more that Juan Carlos Osorio can tell his team as the New York Red Bulls prepare to play in their first MLS Cup Final in the club's 13-year history.
"Right now I'm just getting ready to see my family and spend some time with them, talk to the team tonight, show them a video and that will be it for us," Osorio said at the team hotel on Saturday. "We'll be ready to go."
The Red Bulls held their final pre-Cup training session on Saturday afternoon on the Home Depot Center stadium field. The group was as loose as it has been during this entire miraculous playoff run, cracking jokes during games of keepaway.
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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
"We've kept everything pretty light, a good bunch of guys helps, a lot of characters on this team who like to joke around. ... We have a bunch of witty guys on this team that make things interesting," John Wolyniec said. "You can't make too many mistakes because guys will get on you. It keeps you sharp."
When the whistle blows on Sunday afternoon and the Red Bulls and Columbus Crew compete for Major League Soccer's most coveted prize at The Home Depot Center, it will be just another game. But that's not the case in the days and hours leading up to the match.
For many on the New York Red Bulls, this is their first appearance in the MLS Cup Final. Veterans like Wolyniec and Chris Leitch had endured some lean years and finally have their opportunity to win an MLS Cup.
"It's been seven years, but this is why you play the game, why you suit up every year, why you put the work in from the preseason until the end of the regular season," Leitch said. "Our hard work has paid off and this is kind of the reward. We get to play in a final, which you don't get to do every day."
Others, like Juan Pablo Angel and Dave van den Bergh, have had their share of big-game experience in domestic leagues abroad.
"My first game was a final," van den Bergh said. "I debuted on the first team of Ajax in the European Supercup. We won it and I was like, 'Oh, this is fun. I'll take this any day.'"
While some have dubbed them a team of destiny, the Red Bulls know that the MLS Cup won't be gifted to them. The Columbus Crew has been the most consistent team in Major League Soccer, as evidenced by winning the Supporters' Shield.
Sure, New York has won two of the three meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals this year, but that means little in a one-off championship game.
"As I said to the players you never know when you play a final," Osorio said. "You have to make the most out of the opportunity. We have to give our all, put all-out efforts and all hands to the pump and compete for 90 minutes and hopefully we can do well to get a good result."
One thing is for sure, there will be no secrets when the two teams step onto the field in front of a sellout crowd at the Home Depot Center on Sunday.
"We know them very well, they know us very well," van den Bergh said. "It's just a matter of who shows up, who shows up hungrier, more willing to fight and play good soccer. For us, to contain them is to contain set pieces."
Set pieces are where Guillermo Barros Schelotto is most dangerous. His ability to play in perfect balls is a big reason why the Crew are in their first final and why the Argentinean was named the MLS MVP earlier in the week.
Defending set pieces was a major cause of concern during the regular season for the Red Bulls. But in the playoffs, they've done much better. They are fouling less in their defensive third and when the opposition has a chance, the Red Bulls are defending as a unit.
"You're not going to improve your fitness, your ability to play the game in the last game of the season," Angel said. "It's just about to make as (few) mistakes as you can and try and take your opportunities. It's going to be a very intense game, it's going to be warm here so it will be difficult to play. Hopefully we'll be full of concentration and we'll take our chances and try to stop their chances."
Venezuelans Gabriel Cichero and Jorge Rojas rejoined the team after a friendly against Angola on Wednesday in Caracas and, while there are always assorted knocks and injuries at this time of year, the Red Bulls are relatively healthy heading into Sunday's final.
It's taken Leitch seven years to get to within 90 minutes of the ultimate goal in U.S. soccer. The fullback isn't about to take it for granted.
"When I (leave) the field, I'm hoping someone is going to have to carry me off," Leitch said. "You're holding nothing back."
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