In an exclusive interview, New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe talks about the Emirates Cup win, his team ethos, football as an increasingly popular sport in the US and his favourite player to watch growing up...
When did your passion for soccer start?
Oh, very early, probably when I was six or seven years old back in Stockholm, so yes, very early... both ice hockey and soccer were the main sports for me.
Which club or player did you admire when you were younger?
I would say probably Juventus. In the seventies Juventus became my favourite team. And there was a centre back, an Italian player, his name was Geatano Scirea, he became my absolute favourite at that time.
What has been your career highlight so far?
I think working with the Swedish national team at the Italia 90 World Cup… that was definitely a highlight, but also winning four championships in Denmark with FC Copenhagen and Aalborg.
What does it mean for you now to coach New York Red Bulls here in the USA?
It is a huge challenge, because this franchise hasn’t won anything for many, many years… that’s the challenge… to win the MLS Cup with this team. But it is also tough because I work here with very young players and try to develop them as best I can. We are working very close with the Academy to get the young guys up to the first squad, but it is a bit more difficult here in the US compared to Europe. You know, it’s tricky, the guys here are going to college and then they go into the draft, so we don't know if we can keep all of them unfortunately. But anyway, we want to develop them and their soccer skills. That’s what we want.
Katharina Krutisch
In Europe, soccer is really a big deal, but in the US this sport is still growing. Is it also a challenge for you to bring the sport a bit closer to the 'Big 4' – baseball, American football, basketball and ice hockey and to bring the European influence to the US?
Yeah, I think so. One way is of course that we get the high profile players like Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez to the US. It is important because you also get through that more attention from the media and the press and players like Henry make a club more attractive… it shows that even when they are older they are hungry to play in the US. And actually football is the biggest sport here when you look at the youth all over the country. The problem is after college they choose other sports. But now more and more professional clubs in the MLS are building real football stadiums and I am sure that will help to increase the interest more and more.
How was the last week for you? First you coached the MLS All-Star Team against Manchester United and then you won the Emirates Cup with New York Red Bulls in London...
This was a massive week with the All-Star Game and the Emirates Cup… the Emirates Cup was… I am still a bit in shock… or not in shock, but I have to admit that I was really surprised that we won the cup. I mean we only let in one goal, we picked up four points in Europe against teams like Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain and actually won the tournament. How the team performed in London was really phenomenal in my eyes.
Who do you think has the best repertoire of soccer tricks at the moment?
I don’t like to point out single players, in my mind it is all about the team effort because you will never win anything when you don’t have the right team.
Yes, I understand, London was the result of a great team effort – so do you think that the victory gives your team the necessary push for the rest of the season to win the MLS Championship?
I hope so. We have a good schedule now in August, September and October to finish the season. Everybody knows now after the Emirates Cup that it is all about the team winning something so I hope we can carry on with the memory of this moment in London to finish the season as the MLS champions in 2011.
After such an exciting week, how do you relax best and what is your favourite hotspot in New york or New Jersey?
Oh, good question…I am not so sure. Actually I haven’t seen that much so far because it has been very busy with all the games, the travelling and all the training sessions, so normally when I am at home I stay where I live, but when I have time I really like to walk around in the city, especially in Greenwich Village and West Village. This is a really nice area in New York for a long walk in Manhattan.
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