Tainio is a veteran Finnish international with Premier League experience, while Keel has featured in the USL and trialled with the Red Bulls for a month during the preseason.
“The club is thrilled about adding a player of Teemu’s class,” said Red Bull New York Sporting Director Erik Soler in a release. “He is a versatile player with a vast amount of experience and we are confident that he will fit right in with the team and become a valuable contributor immediately.”
Tainio, age 31, is a versatile midfielder who joins the Red Bulls from Dutch powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam. He has also featured Birmingham City, Sunderland and Tottenham in the English Premier League between 2005 and 2010, winning the 2008 League Cup with Tottenham. Prior to his premier league stint he played for TP-47 and FC Haka and Finland, as well as AJ Auxerre in France, where he won two French Cups. Tainio has been capped 51 times for Finland and has scored six goals at the international level.
Tainio will likely line up for New York at right back, where he has seen time in preseason, as opposed to the midfield role he filled in Europe.
Keel, 27, most recently played with the Portland Timbers in the USSF Division 2 Pro League, where he played since March 2009, and helped the Timbers to the 2009 USL First Division Commissioner’s Cup. Prior to joining the Timbers, he spent five years with the Colorado Rapids, featuring largely for the reserve team while appearing six times for the senior side. He also spent the 2006 on loan with the Seattle Sounders, then in the USL First Division.
“We are excited to sign Stephen and have him officially join our club. He has impressed us in training and in our preseason matches and will provide depth to our back line,” said Soler in regards to Keel.
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New York Red Bulls Add Teemu Tainio And Stephen Keel