Emil Forsberg (Photo courtesy of the New York Red Bulls)
HARRISON, N.J. — This sort of responsibility is nothing new for Emil Forsberg.
During his decade-long stint with Red Bull Leipzig, the 32-year-old Swedish international midfielder helped gain promotion to Germany’s top flight, the Bundesliga, and then proceeded to lead them to the UEFA Champions League six times in nine years while winning two German Cups. With it has come calls from the Sweden national team where he’s represented his country at two European Championships and, most notably, at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The stage is now smaller and the lights are not necessarily as bright, but Forsberg is being tasked with the same objective here in the United States — finally lead the New York Red Bulls to the top of Major League Soccer.
“I’ve been playing under pressure my whole life,” Forsberg said. “I love the pressure and I’m excited, very comfortable, and convinced about the quality of the team — what I’m going to bring to the team. I’ve done the journey with Leipzig as well, and the most important thing is the team and that we come together. The quality is very, very high in the team… I’m going to keep pushing. I’m here to win. Nothing else.”
The Red Bulls have seemingly been stuck in neutral for a half-decade. While they’ve made the playoffs in each of the last 14 seasons, the club has yet to win an MLS Cup and has been bounced from the first round of the postseason in each of the last five years. It has prompted head of sport Jochen Schneider to make sweeping changes, most notably moving on from head coach Troy Lesesne and bringing on former Bundesliga boss Sandro Schwarz as manager. Player exits were significantly higher than new signings, but it appears philosophy is quality over quantity — and Forsberg certainly hammers that point home.
“This is an amazing signing for our club,” Schneider said. “Emil is not only an outstanding payer but…
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