Will Former U.S. Coach Bruce Arena Sign Former U.S. Captain Claudio Reyna to New York's Roster?

Although New York City was once home to the greatest soccer team in the United States, the time of the Cosmos' success has long since passed. Although the former-Metrostars have made numerous play-off runs, the team has never managed to win the MLS Cup. Not long after being dismissed by the U.S. Soccer Federation, Bruce Arena took the reigns in New York with the hopes of building a winning side.

Arena's New York side was led by a variety of international players including the Honduran captain Amado Guevara, French legend Youri Djorkaeff, former Austrian captain Marcus Schopp, and Ukrainian midfielder Dema Kovalenko. This globally flavored team also featured Peter Canero of Scotland and Jean Phillipe Peguero of Haiti. Despite the organization's efforts to sign talent from abroad, the team limped its way in and out of the play-offs.

By the end of the season, the Red Bulls had lost some of their international flavor. Peguero signed with Brondby of the Danish League, and Youri Djorkaeff announced his retirement from professional soccer. On top of losing Peguero and Djorkaeff, Arena waived Canero from the Red Bull roster about a week ago.

Canero was quickly replaced in the "Waiver Draft" by former U.S. Olympic Team defender Eric Denton, who had been waived by the Colorado Rapids. Denton will join Todd Dunivant, who spent a significant amout of with the U.S. National Team before the 2006 World Cup, in the New York backline.

Big Apple Soccer has reported that the former captain of the U.S. National Team, Claudio Reyna, will likely be joining the Red Bulls next season. A recent article reports that there are currently "discussions" happening between Reyna and the league.

Reyna's career is studded with success. While under the direction of Bruce Arena at the University of Virgina, the school captured three NCAA soccer championships. Reyna then traveled to Germany and played with both Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. After that, he left the continent to play for Rangers in the Scottish Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Reyna is currently with Manchester City in the English Premier League, but the 33 year old is likely looking for a change as he approaches retirement.

Reyna is largely seen as a replacement for Djorkaeff and perhaps Amado Guevara. There has been speculation that Guevara will be sent to Chivas USA in exchange for either a "Designated Player" spot or American midfielder John O'Brien. O'Brien has been a favorite of Arena's for sometime. Arena placed O'Brien on the U.S. National Team roster for World Cup 2006 despite several lingering injuries.

If the team were to pick up John O'Brien and bring Tony Meola back into fold after placing him on waivers, the Red Bulls will essentially be a "Team USA". The international experiences of Meola, Denton, Dunivant, O'Brien, and Reyna would certainly serve New York well, but this roster would also be older and injury proned. Whether or not these moves would actually prove beneficial for New York remains to be seen, but given Bruce Arena's history, these signings seem likely. The Austrian owned Red Bull New York may soon become "Team USA".