For the Red Bulls, It's Win the 2011 MLS Cup or Bust

New York, NY—Now with the 2011 MLS SuperDraft over, the New York Red Bulls have made it clear that they have every intentions of being a team that will attack the net in the 2011 MLS Season.

With their draft selections of forward Corey Hertzog (R1; 13th pick), midfielder John Rooney (R2; 25th pick), defensive forward Tyler Lassister (R2; 30th pick) and midfielder Billy Cortes (R3, 38th pick) joining Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream, Dane Richards, Joel Lindpere and Juan Agudelo, the New York Red Bulls are in position to win their first MLS Cup.

While the 2010 MLS season was a memorable one for the Red Bulls, 2011 minus Juan Pablo Angel has yet to be written. Last season, Red Bull Arena opened for its inaugural season.

Along with the acquisitions of Joel Lindpere, Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, the New York Red Bulls went from worst team in MLS to the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Helping lead last year's transformation from worst to first was the excellent goalkeeping of Bouna Coundoual, the emergence of Dane Richards, the maturing of Tim Ream and Tony Tchani, and the surprise play of Juan Agudelo. However, it wasn't enough as they were eliminated by the San Jose Earthquakes in convincing fashion.

Despite the release of Juan Pablo Angel and the retirements of Mike Petke and John Wolyniec, the Red Bulls enter the 2011 MLS season as a team consisting of veteran World Class caliber players and young but aggressively fast players who aren't afraid of attacking the net.

With all that talent, there's no reason why the Red Bulls should be a mediocre defensive team in 2011 who squeaked to the Eastern Conference title in the regular season. In order to be taken seriously, they're going to have to win convincingly from the very beginning and maintain that pace up until the playoffs.

Aside from player talent, the Red Bulls play in the best Soccer Specific Stadium in the country with rabid supporters group hoping to see their beloved team win their first championship. Anything less will be a disappointment and another remainder that the Red Bulls have never won a MLS Cup.

Cesar Diaz covers soccer for Latino Sports. You may follow him on Facebook at Covering Soccer and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer and @LatinoSports143. Please email your questions and comments to Cesar at [e-mail].