is an
American professional
Soccer organization based in
New Jersey that currently plays in
Major League Soccer . While the organization is Red Bull New York, the actual team and playing squad is officially and commonly known as the '''New York Red Bulls'''. The team plays their home matches at
Giants Stadium located at the
Meadowlands Sports Complex in
East Rutherford , New Jersey but is currently constructing a new stadium named
Red Bull Park . The team's headquarters are located in
Secaucus , New Jersey. The team colors are blue and red.
Although the team has been in the league since its inaugural season (
1996 ), it has gone through several name changes. The team was originally known as the through 1997. From the 1998 season until right before the 2006 season, the team was known as simply the '''MetroStars'''. On March 9, 2006, it was sold to
Red Bull , and the name changed to ''Red Bull New York''. The team's playing squad is referred to as the ''New York Red Bulls''. 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
FC Red Bull Salzburg .
The team plays its home matches at Giants Stadium located at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford; the headquarters are located in Secaucus. During the team's first season, the MetroStars had solid black or solid white jerseys and during all other seasons, the home jerseys had red and black vertical stripes. The MetroStars were known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars through 1997, after which the NY/NJ part of the name was gradually phased out and then dropped altogether. Currently, the team's head coach is former
U.S. National Team manager
Bruce Arena .
The team's 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 reaching 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 .
The team's main and bitter rival is and the
Chicago Fire . Red Bull New York is also developing a rivalry with the new MLS expansion side
Toronto FC due to the little distance between both teams.
The team was sold to Austrian energy drink producer Red Bull and then was renamed Red Bull New York in 2006 The team currently has plans to build a new stadium named
Red Bull Park . The team colors are red, white, and blue.
Some of the high-profile international players that played for the team were ,
Tab Ramos ,
Tim Howard ,
Alexi Lalas (who was also the team's General Manager, for a brief time),
Clint Mathis , and
Eddie Pope have all played for the team.
When the league began play in 1996, it was expected that the MetroStars would quickly become the league's dominant team. Despite famous players and high-profile coach, the team never seemed to gel. Firmani left after eight games (3-5) and was replaced by former Portugal coach
Carlos Queiroz who did no better than even (12-12) the rest of the season. The team made it into the playoffs, only to lose to eventual champions
D.C. United .
Ten Years Ago: The playoffs that changed everything article via Metrofanatic
Tab Ramos , the first player to sign with MLS, became the first MetroStar, and was soon joined
1994 World Cup teammate
Tony Meola and
A.C. Milan star midfielder
Roberto Donadoni .
1990 World Cup player
Peter Vermes was named the first team captain, but it was the previously unknown
Venezuela n
Giovanni Savarese who became the Metros' first breakthrough star. The team's first coach was
Eddie Firmani of
New York Cosmos fame.
Italian Star Signs With MetroStars article via New York Times
The team continued to flounder season after season. The combination of talented players and insipid play earned the team the sobriquet, RotMasters, from Paul Gardner, a curmudgeonly columnist at
SoccerAmerica . Gardner coined the name by rearranging the letters spelling MetroStars.
Starting in 1998, the team stopped referring to itself ''NY/NJ'', but it took a few years for the media and fans to catch up. The team went by just ''MetroStars'', with no city or state attached to it, a rarity in American sports.
The club's original name was Empire Soccer Club, which gave birth to the name of the team's largest supporters' group,
Empire Supporters Club . Kludge's company MetroMedia gave the team the Metro part of its name; Nike wanted the full name to be MetroFlash, but a more sensible MetroStars was selected.
Over the years, the MLS front office has attempted to help this team, which sits in the middle of the nation's media center of New York City by bending the rules to move high-profile names to the team.
How MLS bends its rules, hoping against hope to help the MetroStars. article via soccer times However, that practice was abandoned since the sale of the team in 2001 to the
Anschutz Entertainment Group ; in fact, AEG President Tim Leiweke commented on neglect towards the franchise under its previous owners.
Lalas named GM, president of Metros via mlsnet
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.
The biggest story of the 2003 season was the sale of
Tim Howard to
Manchester United . The rumors started before the season began, and were brushed off. But in July, here was Tim Howard holding up a Manchester United jersey. His last game, a three-goal comeback to get a 3:3 tie in New England, would never be forgotten. The MetroStars continued to play under melancholy success.
Looking to build on 2003, . It is the overall failure of this trio that led to the eventual MetroStar downfall in 2004.
The Metros peaked in the middle of the season, as
Amado Guevara showed that he was probably who are taking a free-kick in
Giants Stadium on June 17, 2006]]the best player in MLS at the time. His ten goals and ten assists for 30 points that led the league at the time of the season, the MetroStars looked like this could finally be the year. the MetroStars went scoreless in a two game DC United playoff run.
Nick Sakiewicz was fired in June of 2005, and two months later, the building of a stadium in Harrison (
Red Bull Park ) for 2007 was announced. The new GM,
Alexi Lalas . There were two key midseason acquisitions,
Ante Razov and
Tony Meola . Bob Bradley did not last long under Lalas, as he was fired with three games left in the regular season despite a winning record
MetroStars fire Bradley as coach usatoday.com. retrieved 8-07-12..
Assistant . Unfortunately it was just another season to end in disappointment after they were knocked out of the playoffs with a 3-2 loss to the
New England Revolution .
When Red Bull purchased the MetroStars in 2006
"MetroStars Sold to Red Bull" , ''USA Today''
"MetroStars sold and renamed Red Bull New York" , ESPN Soccernet, it decided to completely re-brand the franchise, changing the name, colors, and logo. The team's purchase by Red Bull generated controversy 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. While some fans were disappointed with the loss of Metro identity, others found fault in corporate branding, or with labeling the franchise as New York, when it plays and is headquartered in New Jersey. Some fans even went to the extent of leaving the team. Other fans have welcomed the change, in light of the MetroStars' lack of success on the field, and waning support in the stands.
In 2006 the Red Bulls managed to defeat German powerhouse
Bayern Munich 4–2 in a friendly game in
Giants Stadium which was a sign of progress.
Metro Reds continue to own Bayern Munich article via Metrofanatic
Major League Soccer Commissioner
Don Garber has stated that a second franchise in the New York area can come "as early as 2010, but not before that." Whether that new team will be known as the MetroStars, and whether it would inherit the team's pre-2006 history from the New York Red Bulls, is not known, but seems unlikely since Red Bull has announced that it will acknowledge MetroStars history from the team's inception, regarding the New York Red Bulls as a continuation of that history and not a separate franchise. Despite the claim, the Red Bull New York media guide claims that the club was founded in 2006Red Bull New York Media Guide, 2007.
After a disappointing world-cup run,
Bruce Arena immediately helped the new Red Bulls. They made it to the playoffs and after a late goal by
Jozy Altidore seemed they could go further. Unfortunately a late goal was scored by
DC United ending the playoff run and dreams of players and fans.
See Also: Giants Stadium
Red Bull Park
The team 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.
The team 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 2009 with a 25,000 expected capacity. The team's old owner,
Anschutz Entertainment Group , will own 50 percent of the stadium. Red Bull and AEG will build 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.
Red Bull New York recently announced plans to build a permanent training center in Hanover, N.J.
Press Release Red Bulls training grounds to be constructed in Hanover, N.J. , The facility will include six soccer fields, a 50,000 square-foot two-story building and a one-story fieldhouse. Construction is to begin fall of 2007 and is to be completed by December 2008. The main centerpiece of the complex will be the training center that will house the sporting and business sides of the club.
Amenities for the Red Bull New York first team and academy teams, include multiple locker rooms, a players lounge, and a weight room. A trainer's room will be located on the first floor and the second floor will be the front office's headquarters. Of the six soccer fields, five will be outdoors while one will be covered by a Tension Fabric Frame Structure which can be used during periods of inclement weather or at night. Four of the six fields will be equipped with lights for evening and night activities. The fields will be a mix of natural and synthetic surfaces. Red Bull New York has released a video tour and can be found
here .
The team's oldest supporters group is the
Empire Supporters Club , which was created before the team's inception and is still very popular.
Empire Supporters Club is, in actuality, Red Bull New York's oldest and most influential supporters group. Another popular supporters group, called
Raging Bull Nation , was organized prior to the 2005 season as MetroNation, but when the MetroStars were purchased by
Red Bull the supporters group was renamed
Raging Bull Nation . The team's oldest biggest fan and media website is ''
MetroFanatic.com ''.
In 2007, knowing a new stadium was being built in their neighborhood, another supporters group from
Kearny was started, called
Kearny Army .
Kearny Army is one of the newest supporters groups, but also one of the largest. Cobra Kai Metro Firm, and the First Row Idiots are two other (smaller) supporters groups. The Empire Supporters Club sits in section 101. Raging Bull Nation is in 115, and Kearny Army is located in 117.
{Link without Title}
Red Bulls matches are televised by
MSG and its sister channel
FSN New York . Some matches will also be telecast by
Fox Soccer Channel ,
HDNet and
ESPN2 (and
ESPN2HD ).
JP Dellacamera ,
Shep Messing , and Steve Cangialosi are the MSG/FSN NY announcers.
All matches are broadcast in Spanish on
WADO or
WQBU radio announced by Ernesto Motta and Robert Sierra.
