Mike Petke has played more games than anybody in Red Bulls annals, but as a 37-year-old rookie coꦡach, he’s learning on the jo❀b. And he has his team in first place because he knew enough to know when he didn’t know it all, from managing egos to massaging lineups, switching formations to changing training regimens.
The former no-nonsense defender came into the season adamant about being an attacking team and insisting on playing a free-flowing 4-3-3 that would play to the strengths of attack📖ing players such as Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and even Juninho. But an inability to hold leads in San Jose and Portland and a devastating loss in Chicago convinced him to scrap that for a more pragmatic 4-4-2.
“I think I’ve changed a lot a lot of little details♊,’’ Petke said. “I had a lot of assumptions heading into the season having just stepped off the field, and the basic thing was a 4-4-2 formation.
“There’s been a lot [of lessons]. I look at all preseason saying I want to play 🍌a certain way, sticking൲ with it, pushing it, then changing it after the first two or three games. One of the biggest pierces of advice I got from people was if I trust it, stick with it. But I really swallowed my pride and go back on my thought process because it’s the right thing to do.’’
Though the Red Bulls sit atop the Eastern Conference heading into Sunday’s game with FC Dallas, Petke acknowledged he has learned a lot and changed a lot over his rookie campaign on the sideline — and some of the biggest lessons aren’t about playing but personalities.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to get everybody on same page, attention to detail, player management,’’ Petke said. “When I started in the league, it wasn’t a big thing: I didn’t talk to many of my coaches. You have to know who you can get into and who you have to put your arm around.”
Petke had a highly publicized altercation with Henry, the team’s captain and arguably MLS’ most well-known player. At that point, the Reꩵd Bulls were mired in a three-game winless skid and just 1-5-1 on the road. But they have won three straight since, and Petke admits managing personalities is a far bigger deal than it was when he was a rookie.
“The league has changed,’’ Petke said. “There are more teams, more players, more personalities. And you also throw in all that social media stuff, the players are under a microscope and they’re getting critiqued at all angles. It makes the players a little more touchy. They ask why they’re not starting because it’s all over Facebook, MLSsoccer.com and Twitter.
“It’s blowing up. I call it the LeBron Syndrome. He came out of high school and was given a huge contract before anyone knew if he could play in the league. You look around our league and there are some who’d rather that than to earn it, and when things don’t fall their way, it’s a t🍃ouchy situation. It’s just a different day and age.”