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New York Red Bulls

Endless running, dealing with haters: The life and times of Alex Muyl of the New York Red Bulls

HANOVER, N.J. — Alex Muyl is misunderstood.

Among his New York Red Bulls teammates and coach, he’s known as a fighter, a worker.

Among some of the team’s fanbase, the 23-year-old winger is the weak link of a talented MLS Cup contender, the player they love to hate — at least on social media.

Muyl, who might be the most polarizing player in Red Bulls history, disagrees with both assessments.

“I think what I’m good at is I make very good runs and because I’m so fit, I make a lot of them,” Muyl told Pro Soccer USA. “If you make a lot of very good runs, you’re going to be in a lot of dangerous situations.”

That’s been the case lately, with the Homegrown standout registering one goal and three assists in the club’s last six games. Feeling forgotten earlier in the season, Muyl is again an indispensable ingredient to a club that is enjoying the best regular season in franchise history and a third Supporters’ Shield run in the last five years.

“He’s certainly what we’d call a philosophy player, one that understands how to fit tactically and play against the ball like he does,” Red Bulls coach Chris Armas said.

Muyl has been lauded for his work rate, especially of late. He seemingly put in the extra effort to race toward the endline to keep a ball in play, one that he delivered to Brian White for his first MLS goal, the winner against the Houston Dynamo in late August.

The same was true of his assist on Tim Parker’s insurance goal against Atlanta United last month, sliding to beat Brad Guzman to a ball in the box that Parker tapped in.

Television analysts and reporters alike were impressed; Armas raved in his postmatch press conferences. But Muyl doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.

For the New York City native it was very simple: See the space, run into the space.

“I just play with my instincts, and I think I just gravitate toward space,” Muyl said.

Muyl isn’t sure where it came from — neither of his parents were athletes — but he’s got an unbelievable engine and the statistics bear that out.

In the 2-0 win against Atlanta, Muyl’s GPS tracking vest indicated he covered 499 meters running at high speed for a sustained period when the Red Bulls had the ball, almost 200 more meters than his next closest teammate. Against the ball, it was 350 meters.

“It’s incredible the numbers he hits,” Armas said.

It’s that ability, Muyl said, that makes up for other shortcomings.

“Brad’s very fast. I’m not that fast, but I can run a lot,” Muyl said of Bradley Wright-Phillips. “Guys like Tim are very strong, very fast. I’m not that fast, not that strong, but I can run a lot.”

It’s more than endurance, though, according to Parker, who lauded his teammate’s first touch and decision-making in a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night.

“I think he provides qualities in spots on the field that maybe other guys can’t,” Parker told ProSoccer USA. “His runs, and timing of his runs are so good. When we get the pass to him, and how he takes it and thinks ahead of what he’s going to do is really important. [Against San Jose] he was making those runs and getting in good spots and his first touch put him in an even better position than he was when he was running into the space.”

Veteran centerback Aurelien Collin called Muyl “a great reflection of the Red Bull mentality,” saying the same is true of fellow Homegrowns Tyler Adams and Sean Davis.

Some Red Bulls fans, including many on Twitter, have been less positive about Muyl. He’s been their favorite whipping boy, and Muyl responded in kind, putting his hands behind his ears when he scored against Minnesota United in March and then closed his eyes and put his index fingers in each ear after a goal in Columbus three months later.

“I felt like for a long time it was just me and bull all the time,” Muyl said of the ongoing criticism. “I try not to read it, but then I think about my family reading it and that’s what bothers me, that they probably feel bad for me. I don’t want them to feel that way.”

Muyl said he’s not fueled by the haters — “I’d rather just be loved by everybody all the time. That would be nice, but that’s not how it is for me right now.”

But he also gets the passionate takes, even if many toward him have been negative. While acknowledging his own shortcomings as a finisher, Muyl said he’s his own harshest critic.

“They [freaking] love the team and they want the team to do well,” Muyl said. “I’m sure it does come from a good place and a place we can respect because we love this team, too. It’s an interesting time to be an athlete, especially when you can interact with people. But in person, I’ve never had anyone say anything to my face.”

In his third season with the Red Bulls, Muyl’s starts and minutes are down, although his statistical production is up. He called a stretch of being an unused substitute after regularly featuring in the starting XI his first two seasons the lowest point of “a very interesting year.”

“There were times where I felt like I wasn’t even picturing into the team, into the equation,” he said. “Especially when you’ve been playing more in the last two years and now you’re playing less. It’s hard as a young player to deal with that, but it’s 100 percent part of it. I’m grateful to go through that because you learn almost more from those times.”

Muyl’s ability to deal with that in a positive way also speaks to his maturation as a professional this season.

“You see his confidence grow, understanding his role as a starter, off the bench, what the games need,” Armas said. “Above all, we’ve said he has the will to win, which is very strong.”

Finally, something all sides can agree on.