Located in Harrison, New Jersey, the New York Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference of MLS. As they are one of 2 MLS franchises in New York City, the New York Red Bulls hold an avid rivalry with neighbouring team New York City FC and take them on in what has been dubbed the ‘Hudson River Derby’ every season.
The New York Red Bulls originally entered MLS under the name ‘New York MetroStars.’ However, the club was bought by energy drink company Red Bull, and in 2006 the franchise was re-branded and the team name was changed to New York Red Bulls. Accordingly, the team’s mascot is a red bull, and appears in front of the Bulls’ home crowd at the Red Bull arena.
The New York Red Bulls are not the only team that the Austrian beverage company have purchased and rebranded. As well as the MLS franchise, the company also own several other soccer clubs, including RB Leipzig who play in the German Bundesliga, and also have USMNT youngster Tyler Adams representing them.
The Red Bulls have signed a fair-share of high-profile players. In July 2010, the New York Red Bulls signed French international Thierry Henry. In 2012, the club signed goalkeeper Luis Robles, who quickly implemented himself and earned the starting goalkeeper role in the 2013 season. In 2015, new head coach Jesse Marsch used players such as Bradley Wright-Phillips to build a new tactical system in an attempt to reshape the Red Bulls.
Right Wing Back
Attacking Midfielder
Center Forward
Left Wing
Sweeper
Sweeper
Right Back
Center Back
Goalkeeper
Sweeper
Originally owned by John Kluge and Stuart Subotnick, the club was founded in 1994 and made their Major League Soccer debut in 1996. The New York Red Bulls’ first player was Tab Ramos- the first ever player to sign with MLS- and their first coach was Eddie Firmani.
The club entered the MLS with a promising pool of players, and many high expectations were consequently placed on them. However, in their early years, the MetroStars (as they were known back then) saw only mediocre success; the players just couldn’t seem to connect on the field.
In the early 2000s, things picked up for the MetroStars. In August 2000, MetroStars player Clint Matis broke the Major League Soccer record for most goals scored in a singular game, when he scored 5 goals against the Dallas Burn.
In 2003, the franchise hired a new head coach in Bob Bradley, in the hopes that he would lead the team to the glories expected of them upon their entry into the League. Bradley led the MetroStars to various major milestones but was eventually fired when the Red Bull takeover took place.
In 2006 the MetroStars were bought by energy beverage company Red Bull, and the team name was changed to New York Red Bulls. In 2007 and 2008, the team’s rebranding was proven to be effective, when the Red Bulls qualified for playoffs- going as far as the 2008 MLS Cup Finals, but eventually losing 3-1 to the Columbus Crew.
Since then, the club has won 3 supporter’s shields and reached a US Open Cup Final, but are yet to reach another MLS Cup final.
Season Records
| Year | MLS Regular Season | Ranking | MLS Cup Playoffs | US Open Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | PTS | W | GP | GP | GP | GP | Conf | League | |||
| 2019 | 34 | 48 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 53 | 51 | 6th | 12th | 1st round | 4th round |
Honors
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Supporters' Shield | 3 | 2013, 2015, 2018 |
From 1996-2009, the Red Bulls played their home games at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey- the stadium that soccer legend Pelé played his final soccer game in. The stadium also hosted several games from both the 1994 FIFA Men’s World Cup, and the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In 2010, the Red Bulls moved to the Red Bull Arena, with a seating capacity of over 25,000 seats. As well as housing the NY Red Bulls for their home games, the stadium has also hosted several other major soccer events- including USWNT, USMNT and college soccer games.
On November 18th, 2019, it was announced that the Red Bulls would share the Red Bull Arena with women’s soccer team, Sky Blue FC of the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). Sky Blue, led by USWNT forward Carli Lloyd used the stadium for some of their games, and drew crowds way beyond what they had attracted at their previous venue.
Home Kit
During the Red Bulls’ rebrand, their logo was also changed from the old MetroStars crest. It now compiles of a white shield, the ‘Red Bull’ brand name and the 2 iconic Red Bulls. The team’s home kit, like all MLS kits, is produced by Adidas, and is sponsored of course by Red Bull. Since the Red Bulls rebrand, the team have almost exclusively worn a white home jersey with red shorts- however that has been rumoured to change to a red jersey in their next MLS season. Their away jersey has traditionally flitted between navy and yellow respective of season, however that was changed in 2018 when a red away kit was introduced.