is a professional
Soccer club based in
New Jersey that participates in
Major League Soccer . The club plays its home matches at
Giants Stadium located at the
Meadowlands Sports Complex in
East Rutherford ; the headquarters are located in
Secaucus . The club was known as the '''
MetroStars ''' from
1995 to
March 9 ,
2006 , when it was sold to
Red Bull . The club's playing squad is referred to as the '''New York Red Bulls'''. The team colors are red and white.
The MetroStars have been in the league since its inaugural season (
1996 ) and were known as the ''New York/New Jersey MetroStars'' through 1997. The sale of the team has been controversial among some fans of the MetroStars, not dissimilar to the situation in
Austria , where Red Bull bought ''SV Austria Salzburg'' and renamed it
Red Bull Salzburg . See the
MetroStars article for details on the supporters
Schism .
The club's oldest supporters group is the
Empire Supporters Club , which was created before the team's inception. Another popular supporters group, called
MetroNation , was organized prior to the 2005 season.
The team has underachieved since its inception, with its best result in MLS play being the
MLS Cup semifinals in 2000. In the
US Open Cup , the MetroStars reached three semifinals (1997, 1998, 2000), before finally getting to their first final in 2003, losing 1-0 to the
Chicago Fire . On
August 26 ,
2000 , the Metros'
Clint Mathis set an MLS record by scoring five goals in a game against the
Dallas Burn .
Despite their poor domestic record, the MetroStars became the first (and at this point, only) MLS team to win a trophy outside of North American soil – a 2004 victory in
La Manga Cup . The MetroStars defeated Ukraine's
Dynamo Kyiv 3-2 in the semifinals before edging Norway's
Viking FK 1-0 in the final.
Some of the high-profile international players that played for the Metros were
Roberto Donadoni ,
Branco ,
Lothar Matthäus ,
Adolfo Valencia , and
Youri Djorkaeff . The team has had its share of famous coaches as well, including
Carlos Queiroz ,
Carlos Alberto Parreira , and
Bora Milutinović . American stars
Tony Meola ,
Tab Ramos ,
Tim Howard , Clint Mathis, and
Eddie Pope have all played in the red and black. Currently, Djorkaeff and Honduran star
Amado Guevara are two of the best players on the team. The current head coach is Scottish legend
Mo Johnston .
The club's main rival is
D.C. United , with whom they compete annually for the
Atlantic Cup , a minor title instituted by the two teams' management. Other rivals are the
New England Revolution and the Chicago Fire.
The club currently plays in
Giants Stadium . The stadium is located in
East Rutherford, New Jersey ; just outside of New York City. The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) owns Giants Stadium along with
Continental Airlines Arena . Currently, the New York Red Bulls training facilities are located at Giants Stadium. Directions to the stadium can be found
here .
The club is planning to move to a new
Soccer-specific Stadium ,
Red Bull Park , in
Harrison, New Jersey , a suburb directly across the
Passaic River from
Newark , in 2008. The team's old owner,
Anschutz Entertainment Group , will own 50% of the stadium. Red Bull and AEG will be building the stadium without taxpayer money. The reported $100 million sale price for the franchise included $45 million for a stake in stadium's ownership, $25 million for the team itself, and $30 million for stadium naming rights.
''As of April 21, 2006''
Source: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/players/roster.jsp?club=rbn
- MLS Regular Season: 125 wins-146 losses-35 ties
- MLS Playoffs: 6-11-2
- US Open Cup: 12-9
- International (2001 Copa Merconorte): 3-3
- All-time Competitive Record: 146-169-37
''regular season/playoffs''
- 1996: 23,898/14,416
- 1997: 16,899/missed playoffs
- 1998: 16,520/11,686
- 1999: 14,706/missed playoffs
- 2000: 17,621/15,172
- 2001: 20,806/12,817
- 2002: 18,148/missed playoffs
- 2003: 15,822/10,211
- 2004: 17,194/11,161
- 2005: 15,077/10,003
- All-Time: 17,957
