Schwartz: Red Bulls' Kljestan Is Sitting On Top Of The World

By Peter Schwartz
» More Columns

The way things have been going recently for Sacha Kljestan, you had to figure that something good was in the cards for him Thursday night.

In a CONCACAF Champions League match at Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls and Alianza FC were scoreless when the veteran midfielder entered the game as a substitute in the 62nd minute. Kljestan would set up Gonzalo Veron for several scoring chances, but in the 90th minute, Veron set up Kljestan for the game-winning goal in a 1-0 Red Bulls victory.

That's just par for the course with Kljestan's life in recent months.

A couple of months ago, Kljestan and his wife, Jamie, found out they were expecting their second child. The Red Bulls are fighting for first place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference. And Kljestan was brought back to the U.S. national team and helped it to a pair of World Cup-qualifying wins.

"It's definitely been a high and has been a very positive moment for me and my family," Kljestan told WFAN.com. "I've been flying high for the last couple of weeks here."

For Kljestan, it's been an unbelievable season so far.

In 27 MLS games, he has five goals and 15 assists. He's built up some nice chemistry with forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, who has amassed 18 goals in 29 matches. The teammates have combined for a pretty lethal 1-2 offensive punch.

"Bradley and I have had a very good season, and we're starting to get some recognition for that," said Kljestan, a native of Huntington Beach, California. "People are talking around the league, which is nice."

The 31-year-old Kljestan's play has been so good this year that he got the call from U.S. national team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann to join the club for the Sept. 2 World Cup-qualifying match at St. Vincent and the Grenadines. All Kljestan did was notch a goal and two assists in a 6-0 USA victory.

"I got the call from Jürgen," Kljestan said. "I've been playing well this season, and I was given the chance to come back to the team, and I feel like I made the most of my opportunity."

Kljestan got another chance in a home match in Jacksonville, Florida, on Sept. 6 against Trinidad and Tobago and scored the USA's opening goal in a 4-0 victory. Having success on a club team is one thing, but helping your country win critical matches takes things to a whole different level.

"It's awesome to do it with the national team because it feels more magnified," Kljestan said. "I wanted to do my best to help the team win, and fortunately we were able to put on a couple of good performances."

Kljestan has certainly played his way into contention to stick with the national team when it begins the next leg of World Cup qualifying on Nov. 11 against Mexico and Nov. 15 against Costa Rica. In the meantime, the former Seton Hall star is focused on some unfinished business with the Red Bulls.

After winning the Supporter's Shield last year as Major League Soccer's best regular season team, the Red Bulls came up short of their goal to win the MLS Cup when they lost to Columbus in the Eastern Conference final.

After a rough start to this season, the Red Bulls are in second place in the East with 44 points, just two points behind Toronto FC heading into Sunday's showdown north of the border at BMO Field. It's a very important three points for the Red Bulls, but it's also a chance to keep three points away from Toronto.

"Every game right now down the stretch is very important, but this one gets magnified because it's one against two," Kljestan said.

Toronto FC is led by striker Sebastian Giovinco and a pair of Kljestan's national club teammates, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley. Toronto has a solid backline as well, so this will be no walk in the park for the Red Bulls.

"It's no surprise that they're in first place," Kljestan said. "They're a very good team, and we know it's going to be a big challenge on the road in a tough place to play. But I think at this point in the season, we're ready for it."

A road victory on Sunday would certainly go a long way in removing the bad tastes in the Red Bulls' mouths after this past Sunday's 2-2 tie with D.C. United at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls had a 2-0 lead before D.C. scored in the 89th minute and then again in stoppage time to level the score. In fact, it was the third time this season that the Red Bulls squandered a two-goal lead in the second half.

I joked with Sacha that perhaps the Red Bulls should just grab a 1-0 lead and stop right there. At least he had a sense of humor about it.

"Ha!" Kljestan chuckled. "It's when we have that 2-0 lead when we starting giving up goals, huh? Yeah, it's something we need to address. Having said that, I'm still pretty positive about the team."

For Kljestan and the Red Bulls, the 2016 season didn't start off very well at 1-6. But they now find themselves in the middle of a 13-game unbeaten streak and in contention for first place in the East. Aside from that sluggish start, it's been a magical time for Kljestan. The Red Bulls are doing well, he's back on the national team and he's going to become a daddy for the second time.

With his primary attention currently on a Red Bulls run to a championship, Kljestan has every reason in the world to be confident.

"At any point during this season, we probably could have crumbled and just packed it in, but we've kind of grown stronger as the season's gone on," Kljestan said. "I don't think anybody wants to play us right now. Everyone that plays us knows that we're very difficult to beat. I'm very positive about the playoff push."

There are five regular-season games remaining for Kljestan and the Red Bulls. Factor in the upcoming World Cup-qualifying games for the United States in November, and Kljestan's 2016 magic carpet ride doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon.

In a perfect world, it will end Dec. 10 with an MLS Cup victory.

Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter at @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow @SachaKljestan and @NewYorkRedBulls.