LANDMARK DEAL Metros sale to Red Bull done, expected to be announced on Thursday
Asked what he would do if he was in charge of Red Bull, Giorgio Chinaglia replied, "Get rid of everybody. You're going to bring in new blood, new ideas and new coaches. Players who can win games." Photo by Michael Lewis
By Michael Lewis
BigAppleSoccer.com Editor
It’s done.
The landmark deal in which the Anschutz Entertainment Group would sell the MetroStars to Austrian energy drink giant Red Bull was close to being finalized Wednesday.
The deal, would include Red Bull naming rights to the Harrison, N.J. stadium, could run in the neighborhood of $100 million after some other costs are factored in, which would be the highest team price tag in league history, according to league-wide sources.
On Tuesday, the Metros front office was instructed to get rid of all things associated with the Metros name, according to sources close to the team.
"The deal is done," another source said Wednesday afternoon.
The MLS board of governors approved the sale at its meeting Wednesday, according to league sources.
The league, however, is expected to issue an official statement sometime Thursday, according to an MLS spokesman.
It was not known whether anyone in the current Metros front office will be safe from the Red Bull axe, but there were indications the new owners planned to make sweeping changes, sources said.
While it has been widely reported that Red Bull will erase the Metros' 10-year history and start from scratch, like it did when it took over SV Wüstenrot last year but an MLS source speaking with anonymity said he was not sure if that was going to happen.
Former Cosmos star striker Giorgio Chinaglia spoke with his ex-teammate Franz Beckenbauer at a World Cup dinner in Manhattan Feb. 23. Beckenbauer, head of the 2006 WC Organizing Committee, asked Chinaglia to be a part of the team's new management, although the ex-Cosmos admitted he had no idea on what his role would be.
"I said fine, no problem," Chinaglia said.
Beckenbauer, the only person to coach and captain a team to a world championship, is good friends with and an advisor to Red Bull owner and Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz. Beckenbauer, also president of Bayern Munich, lives in Kitzbühel, Austria, just over the German border.
He probably is a long shot to operate the team on a daily basis because of his commitments to the World Cup through July 10. He also is considering making a bid for the UEFA presidency against former French international midfielder and coach Michel Platini.
Asked what he would do if he was in charge, Chinaglia replied, "Get rid of everybody. You're going to bring in new blood, new ideas and new coaches. Players who can win games."
Chinaglia said such sweeping changes could be done quickly.
"Why not?" he asked. "This isn't Serie A or the (English) Premiership, you know."
Reached in Carson, Calif. where his team dropped a 3-0 pre-season decision to Chicago, coach Mo Johnston said he wasn't concerned about the sale.
"It's something you can't prevent," he said. "I'm not worried about it."
Asked if the sale talk had affected the team’s performance, Johnston replied with a chuckle: “No. It’s like everything else. There has been speculation out there. Have they been talking about it? Certainly. They’re smart kids. They’ve read about it on the internet and talked about it with players from other teams.”
Michael Lewis can be reached at BigAppleEdit@aol.com. He will only answer letters and e-mails that are signed or have names.
