When Red Bull bought the MetroStars five years ago, having a "sister team" in Austria gave many starry eyes. Never mind that the Austrian league is not exactly better than MLS or that the Austrian national team has been sliding into oblivion during the past decade. This was a chance to partner with Red Bull Salzburg, a Champions League qualifying contender! This was a chance to circumvent MLS salary cap rules with some loan-based roster shenanigans!

Flash forward to today. Needless to say, the partnership with Salzburg has not worked out. The first player to move across the pond was Markus Schopp, with the Austrians supposedly picking up a huge chunk of his million-plus salary. After a year and a half stateside, the former Austrian national captain went down as one of the worst players in Metro history. This is when he was able to get on the field, as he spent the majority of his time injured. (Oh-oh. We feel a theme coming on.)

Metro's next attempt to share resources with Salzburg came in the form of Ernst Oebster, but the Austrians did not want to loan a player who wasn't even able to make their first team. After a year-plus courtship, Metro waited for Oebster to finish his Salzburg contract, signed him midway through the terrible 2009 season, and didn't get much production. Before 2010 kicked off, Oebster went back to his homeland, free from the Red Bull grasp, signing with Wacker Innsbruck.

And then there is Brian Nielsen. Oh, how pollyannas welcomed his signing! A Danish youth international, someone poised for great things! Overlooked was that Nielsen was playing in the Danish second division. Overlooked were his supposed behavioral issues. Overlooked was that he is as fragile as a crystal vase. And, what's worst of all, is that his sole presence on the roster is having an immense negative impact on the team.

How did Metro acquire Nielsen? Well, last year he was on loan from his Danish side, Velje. This year, he signed a contract with Red Bull, and Nielsen is supposedly loaned from Salzburg, primed to go to Austria... at some point.

Now, when Nielsen got on the field last year, he wasn't all bad. The winger showed flashes of good play, but was only limited to five matches in all competitions, most of his time coming in the Open Cup. Then injuries set in, and whatever promise was shown, was put on pause.

Then the offseason came. Many expected Nielsen to go to Salzburg, and he even stated in a preseason interview that he is not exactly enjoying his time here, to put it mildly (enjoying the nightlife is a whole other story). But Nielsen was kept on the roster, and on the roster he stayed. Every week we hear rumbles that he might return soon... so far, he hasn't. He did make the bench last weekend for the first time all year... Good for him? Bad for us.

Not only is Nielsen taking in a $120,000 salary for riding the bench (that's the official number, who knows what he is getting from Salzburg on top of that), he is also taking up an international slot. The same slot Metro was forced to dump Austin da Luz for in midseason, and say what you want about da Luz, he has contributed more in his short time in MLS than Nielsen has, and then some. And that 120K cap number? Well, perhaps Metro wouldn't be so scrapped for depth if that salary space was still available, instead of being wasted on a broken player.

Oh well. There are still six regular season games (and possibly playoffs?) left for Nielsen to prove that he is a player. For him to prove that he can make a contribution to New York's soccer team, not just its nightclubs. For him to show that there are some positives that can be reaped from the Salzburg connection.

But we're not holding our breath.