New York Red Bulls’ midfielder, Cristian Cásseres Jr., started the new year taking part in the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament with Venezuela’s Under-23 National Team.

Cásseres Jr.'s Venezuela played against Chile, Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina, which he considers helped him a lot to arrive in great shape to the club’s second preseason camp.

“Those four games helped me a lot,” he said. “They were games with a lot of intensity, which I think helped me a lot since I was coming off two and a half months without playing because I was recovering from a posterior thigh injury. Thanks to those minutes I played, I arrived in the best shape.”

After being named into MLS’ 22 Under 22 List, Cásseres Jr. feels ready to give his best year since arriving to the club in 2018.

“More than responsibility, I always work for myself, to be the best, and this is a very important year for me,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been planning a lot for many years, and this has to be my best year, so I can help the team the best I can. I want to win what I’ve been wanting to win since I got here, to finish champions, to have a championship.”

Last Saturday, the Venezuelan midfielder observed the Red Bulls’ 2-1 win over Copa Sudamericana champion Independiente del Valle and liked what he saw.

“I saw a very united team, a family, where everyone ran to the same place, and everyone went for the ball,” Cásseres Jr. said. “Thanks to what we showed, we were able to get a good result.”

In Arizona, the Red Bulls will play against MLS opponents, all of which will be difficult Cásseres Jr. believes.

“These games will be important for the team, in order to arrive in the best shape for the new season,” he said. “They’re going to be complicated games because the opponents will be very good, like us, but we’re going to work what we’ve always showcased to get the four wins and arrive in the best shape, with a lot of confidence into the season.”