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<H1 class=red>Red Bulls give their midfield a double boost in draft </H1><DIV class=subhead><DIV class=subhead></DIV></DIV><DIV class=byln>Saturday, January 13, 2007<DIV><DIV>BY FRANK GIASE</DIV></DIV>Star-Ledger Staff </DIV>
Devoid of a first-round pick and with little to offer to acquire one, the Red Bulls used their two selections at yesterday's Major League Soccer SuperDraft to stockpile players at their weakest position.
With the sixth pick in the second round (No. 19 overall), the Red Bulls selected Dane Richards, a 5-7, 153-pound forward/midfielder out of Clemson. They used their third-round pick (No. 33) on Sinisa Ubiparipovic, a 5-9, 155-pound forward/midfielder from Akron.
Seven midfielders were taken before Richards, including Maurice Edu, a junior out of Maryland, selected with the No. 1 overall pick by expansion club Toronto FC.
"They both fit some needs we have on the team," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said of his picks via conference call from Indianapolis, the site of the draft. "Dane has the pace of (Marvell Wynne, the team's fastest player). Sinisa is a good passer of the ball.
"Sinisa is more of a central (midfield) player. Dane can play on the right (of midfield) or forward. We have a little bit of a void on the flank. He gives us capabilities out wide. I think they have good potential in MLS."
Richards, 23, collected 23 goals and 17 assists in his two years at Clemson after earning National Junior College Player of the Year honors in 2004 at San Jacinto JC in Houston.
Richards, a native of Jamaica, has three caps with the Jamaican national team, including one against the United States last year.
"Bruce Arena called me earlier in the week and let me know that he was interested in drafting me," said Richards, who will count as a junior international because he does not have a green card. "My only family in the United States lives in the New York area and I'm excited to play for the Red Bulls."
Ubiparipovic, 23, had 34 goals and 24 assists in three years at Akron and one at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he played as a freshman.
"I'm very pleased to get both of these players," Arena said. "I wasn't certain they'd be around. I thought they'd go in the first 18 picks."
The Red Bulls also traded 18-year-old forward David Arvizu to Chivas USA for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft.
Arena said the team accommodated a trade request by Arvizu, who said he wanted to be closer to his home in Santa Ana, Calif., due to family issues. Arvizu did not see action last year after being acquired in a leaguewide weighted lottery on Feb. 8, 2006. <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
Notes: Rutgers midfielder Nick LaBrocca, chosen in the third round (No. 35 overall) by the Colorado Rapids, was the only player from New Jersey selected in the four-round draft. ... The first six selections were from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including two each from Maryland and Virginia. </BLOCKQUOTE>
Devoid of a first-round pick and with little to offer to acquire one, the Red Bulls used their two selections at yesterday's Major League Soccer SuperDraft to stockpile players at their weakest position.
With the sixth pick in the second round (No. 19 overall), the Red Bulls selected Dane Richards, a 5-7, 153-pound forward/midfielder out of Clemson. They used their third-round pick (No. 33) on Sinisa Ubiparipovic, a 5-9, 155-pound forward/midfielder from Akron.
Seven midfielders were taken before Richards, including Maurice Edu, a junior out of Maryland, selected with the No. 1 overall pick by expansion club Toronto FC.
"They both fit some needs we have on the team," Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena said of his picks via conference call from Indianapolis, the site of the draft. "Dane has the pace of (Marvell Wynne, the team's fastest player). Sinisa is a good passer of the ball.
"Sinisa is more of a central (midfield) player. Dane can play on the right (of midfield) or forward. We have a little bit of a void on the flank. He gives us capabilities out wide. I think they have good potential in MLS."
Richards, 23, collected 23 goals and 17 assists in his two years at Clemson after earning National Junior College Player of the Year honors in 2004 at San Jacinto JC in Houston.
Richards, a native of Jamaica, has three caps with the Jamaican national team, including one against the United States last year.
"Bruce Arena called me earlier in the week and let me know that he was interested in drafting me," said Richards, who will count as a junior international because he does not have a green card. "My only family in the United States lives in the New York area and I'm excited to play for the Red Bulls."
Ubiparipovic, 23, had 34 goals and 24 assists in three years at Akron and one at the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he played as a freshman.
"I'm very pleased to get both of these players," Arena said. "I wasn't certain they'd be around. I thought they'd go in the first 18 picks."
The Red Bulls also traded 18-year-old forward David Arvizu to Chivas USA for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft.
Arena said the team accommodated a trade request by Arvizu, who said he wanted to be closer to his home in Santa Ana, Calif., due to family issues. Arvizu did not see action last year after being acquired in a leaguewide weighted lottery on Feb. 8, 2006. <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
Notes: Rutgers midfielder Nick LaBrocca, chosen in the third round (No. 35 overall) by the Colorado Rapids, was the only player from New Jersey selected in the four-round draft. ... The first six selections were from the Atlantic Coast Conference, including two each from Maryland and Virginia. </BLOCKQUOTE>
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