RBNY News and Rumors 2/5 - Hack to Zürich, Bogacz, Bagüí & Morigi

The 2026 Major League Soccer season is almost two weeks away, and Red Bull New York is in the midst of its final preseason preparations, having traveled to Dallas for the Torneo de Tejas on Wednesday.

Let's catch up on all the news and rumors that came out today:

Alexander Hack Sings for FC Zürich of the Swiss Super League

Former Red Bull New York center back Alexander Hack was announced as the latest signing for Swiss Super League club FC Zürich on Thursday.

Hack, 32, joined RBNY at the beginning of 2025, reuniting with former manager Sandro Schwarz, whom he had played under at Mainz in the Bundesliga. In his only season at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Hack featured in 25 matches and scored one goal before agreeing to a mutual contract termination last month.

A talented defender, Hack's aerial ability and decision-making on the ball were bright spots during his time with New York, situating himself in the 91st percentile of MLS defenders for accurate long balls (99) and the 86th percentile for aerial duels won (102). 

However, it was clear that age had caught up to the German defender, as he was often victimized and targeted for his lack of pace. As a result, he was in the 13th percentile for MLS defenders for number of times dribbled past (15). With New York looking to get quicker and younger under new manager Michael Bradley, releasing Hack and his $1,031,400 guaranteed compensation TAM deal became a necessity.

He joins a bottom-half Swiss side in Zürich, which currently sits in ninth of 12 in the Super League.

Source: Wiktor Bogacz "Couldn't Handle the Mental Side of Moving to the USA"

As Wiktor Bogacz's move to KS Cracovia inches over the finish line, more news from Poland has come out about the player's struggles in his only season in MLS thus far. His loan move to the Kraków-based club is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Bogacz, 21, joined RBNY from second-tier Polish side Miedź Legnica on a four-year U22 Initiative contract at the beginning of 2025. In 24 first-team appearances in 2025, Bogacz scored one goal and assisted three. He also scored two goals in two appearances for RBNY II. 

According to Polish journalist and broadcaster Kamil Warzocha in a translated tweet, Bogacz's struggles were because the player "couldn't handle the mental side of moving to the USA." Furthermore, Bogacz's team has been talking about a transfer, particularly a return to Poland, for quite some time, with Warzocha revealing that they believed, "The jump to NY was too quick, and taking a step back will be a good idea."

Gustavo Guimarães: RBNY "Unlikely" to Sign Diogo Bagüí

As Red Bull New York searches for a replacement for outgoing center back Noah Eile, the first name that came out was that of 20-year-old Ecuadorian defender Diogo Bagüí of Emelec. 

While Joe Pantorno of amNewYork revealed on Twitter that there was initial interest in Bagüí shown by the club, and told Mark Fishkin on the Seeing Red podcast that New York is still actively looking for another center back, it does not look like that player will be Bagüí.

In a tweet on Thursday, journalist Gustavo Guimarães of Pitchside US and Territorio MLS shared, per a source, that the Red Bulls are "unlikely" to be signing Bagüí, adding that the search for a new center back will continue.

Rumor: RBNY II Looking at Venezuelan Attacker Marco Morigi (2007)

With their 12 international roster spots locked up, RBNY II has reportedly been looking in South America for their latest reinforcements. 

According to Venezuelan reporter Mario Alberto Sánchez, New York is interested in 2007-born midfielder/attacker Marco Morigi, currently at Caracas FC of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional Venezolano, and an agreement could be approaching the advanced stages.

According to Sánchez in a translated tweet, Morigi is "just a few small details away from becoming a new player for [Red Bull New York] in the United States." However, "some documentation issues still need to be resolved." Stop me if you've heard this last part before, Red Bulls fans.

Morigi, 18, has amassed 13 appearances across all competitions since joining Caracas's first team in 2024. The Lara, Venezuela native spent the summer of 2025 with the Bayern Munchen Pathway's World Squad initiative, impressing in multiple friendlies for the German giants. 

He was not featured in the squad for Caracas's opening match of the 2026 Primera Division season, a 2-2 draw for "Los Rojos del Ávila" against Estudiantes Merida.

RBNY II Defeated 3-0 by USL League One Side Westchester S.C. in Opening Preseason Match

In their first exhibition match of the 2026 preseason, RBNY II fell 3-0 to USL1 side Westchester SC on Wednesday at the Red Bulls Training Facility in East Hanover, NJ. The match was held behind closed doors.

Like with the first team, manager Dominik Wohlert heavily rotated the lineup for the match, featuring two entirely different elevens in each half.

Former RBNY academy product and Marist Red Fox opened the scoring for "The Golden Apple." The Rock Hill, NY-bred midfielder scored the lone goal of the first half, a 28th minute strike.

Hofstra alumnus and Løvenstad, Norway native Daniel Burko scored two goals just three minutes apart from one another in the second half to give Westchester the 3-0 victory.

In other RBNY II news, midfielder Paul Sokoloff captained the USYNT U-17s in their opening CONCACAF qualifying match against St. Vincent and the Grenadines, scoring two second-half goals en route to a dominant 8-0 victory.

Empire Soccer Report Episode 5 is live!

In the latest episode of Empire Soccer Report, James Birle is joined by Anthony Merced of AJM Sports FC. With plenty of transfer news/rumors, James and Anthony analyze the departure of Noah Eile, the arrivals of Ethan Horvath and DP Jorge Ruvalcaba and more: