Red Bull New York

1996:On April 13th, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the MetroStars would play their first-ever match, a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. A week later, they would play their first home game in front of 46,826 fans. That, too, would end in defeat for the Metros as they dropped a 1-0 decision to the New England Revolution. The stars included Tab Ramos, Giovanni Savarese, and coach Eddie Firmani. In the middle of the season, Firmani would resign, and Carlos Queiroz would take over. The MetroStars would play well the rest of the way and earn a playoff berth with a record of 15-17. Their playoff run would be short-lived as they were swept by eventual champions DC United. In December, Carlos Quieiroz would resign to take a coaching position in the J-League in Japan.

1997:In February, the MetroStars announced the signing of their new coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached Brazil to the World Cup championship three years earlier. But it wouldn’t help the team much as they missed the playoffs with a record of 13-19. Parreira would leave the MetroStars searching for a coach again as he would accept the head coaching job for the Saudi Arabian national team.

1998:The MetroStars’ new coach, Alfonso Mondelo, would become the fourth in the team’s history. Under Mondelo, the Metros would improve and finish with a record of 15-17. In the playoffs, the Metros would lose in three games to the Columbus Crew. Mondelo would be fired in the middle of September following a six-game losing streak.

1999:Under Bora Milutinovic, who led the USA to the second round of World Cup USA ’94, the MetroStars would struggle immensely and finish with a record of 7-25, which was the worst in league history. Following the season, Milutinovic would be fired and replaced by Octavio Zambrano.

2000:In addition to Zambrano, the MetroStars would acquire German star Lothar Matthaus. The acquisitions would seem to spark the MetroStars as they would grab hold of first place in the Eastern Division in July and never look back. After posting the worst record in MLS history the year before, the MetroStars won the division and were seeded 3rd in the playoffs with a record of 17-12-3. In the playoffs, the Metros kept the momentum going as they swept the Dallas Burn in the first round. In the next round, they would go up against the Chicago Fire. The MetroStars would win one game, but the Fire would recover and win the next two to end the Metros’ historic season.

2001:In Zambrano’s second season as coach, the MetroStars would suffer a significant loss as Clint Mathis sustained an ACL tear while practicing for the US National Team, missing the remainder of the season. But there were other stars to take his place. Goalkeeper Tim Howard and Mike Petke would help the Metros to a 13-10-3 record and the sixth seed in the playoffs. The MetroStars would hold a four points to one lead on the third-seed Los Angeles Galaxy, but the Galaxy would win the third game and the series tiebreaker, sending the MetroStars home for the winter.

2002:The largest trade in MLS history occurred in May as the Metros acquired Mamadou Diallo, Andy Williams, and Ted Chronopoulos from the New England Revolution. The Revs, in turn, received Brian Kamler, Diego Serna, and Daniel Hernandez. The trade wouldn’t do much for the MetroStars as a late-season slump bumped them out of the playoffs with a record of 11-15-2. Following the season, Octavio Zambrano was relieved of his coaching duties.

2003:The MetroStars would hire away Bob Bradley from the Chicago Fire to help bring the team to the next level. In the middle of July, goalkeeper Tim Howard was allocated to Manchester United. The Metros, with 16-year-old surprise star, Eddie Gaven, played well and qualified for the playoffs with a record of 11-10-9. But the MetroStars would lose their aggregate goal series to the New England Revolution, three goals to one.

2004:The MetroStars season would get off to a rough start as they posted a 5-5-4 record in the first three months. Among the bright spots on the Metros was Armado Guevara, who would have a terrific season, capturing All-Star and regular-season MVP honors, while sharing the scoring title with Pat Noonan of the New England Revolution. Once the All-Star Game was behind them, the club continued their mediocre play, finishing with a record of 11-12-7, good for 3rd in the Eastern Conference. However, their stay in the playoffs was brief as the Metros were shut out by DC United, 2-0 in both games.

2005:Hosting Real Salt Lake’s first game with a scoreless tie would send the MetroStars in a slide in which they won only five of their first 14 games. When they acquired Tony Meola from Kansas City in July, their playoff chances wouldn’t get much better as a mediocre late summer, and early fall put the club in jeopardy. A three-game winning streak would be just enough to put them in the playoffs ahead of the Wizards with a record of 12-9-11. In the first leg of their playoff series with New England, the Metros seemed well on their way to an upset with a 1-0 win. The team looked just as solid in the second half of their second game, going up 2-0 on aggregate. But as they had all season, the Revolution rallied and scored three unanswered goals to stun the MetroStars and end their season.

2006:Immediately upon purchasing the club, the Red Bull company rebranded the MetroStars to the New York Red Bulls. A horrible first two months without a win left the Bulls in dead last in MLS going into June. Following a failed World Cup campaign, Bruce Arena would arrive to the Red Bulls sidelines as coach. Arena, as well as youngster Jozy Altidore would help the Red Bulls to the final Eastern Conference playoff spot with a record of 9-11-12. Despite Altidore’s best efforts, DC United would end the Bulls’ season, 2-1.

2007:Starting the season with a 3-0-1 stretch brought a touch of optimism to New York as the Red Bulls. But the club went through a tough stretch of mediocrity, winning at least one game in every month, but showing signs of slipping. At season’s end, the Red Bulls were in fourth place in the East with a record of 12-11-7. In the playoffs, the Red Bulls fell victim to Taylor Twellman’s goal in the second leg of the series and dropped their aggregate goal series, 1-0. In the off-season, Bruce Arena was relieved of his duties and replaced by Juan Carlos Osorio.

2008:Under new Coach Juan Carlos Osorio, the Red Bulls got off to a good start, despite some injuries. A big reason for the good play early in the season was South African midfielder Danleigh Borman, who made an early push for Rookie of the Year after scoring two goals in two games. However, in the middle of the season the departures of Jozy Altidore, who signed a six-year deal with La Liga club Villarreal CF for a record $10 million transfer fee, the highest for any American soccer player, and the retirement of Claudio Reyna threatened to derail Red Bull New York’s playoff hopes. However, Jorge Rojas, Juan Pietravallo, Diego Jimenez, and Gabriel Cichero all played a vital role as the Red Bulls made a late-season playoff push becoming the last team to get into the playoffs despite finishing in fifth place with a 10-11-9 record. Slipping into the playoffs, the Red Bulls were in the Western Conference playoff bracket as they posted a better record then the fourth-place Colorado Rapid. Matched up against the two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo the Red Bulls were not given much of a chance of advancing in the playoffs. However, with a stunning 3-0 win in Game 2, the Red Bulls won the aggregate series 4-1. In the semifinals, the Red Bulls continued their stunning run, as Dave van den bergh scored the lone goal beating Real Salt Lake 1-0.

2008 MLS Cup:In the MLS Cup for the first time, Red Bull New York faced the regular-season champion Columbus Crew in suburban Los Angeles. The date on the calendar said November 23rd, but it might as well been midnight, as the Red Bulls miraculous run came to a disappointing end with a 3-1 loss to the Crew.

2009:A 3-0 loss in the season opener to expansion Seattle Sounders FC seemed to be a harbinger of tough times in the season for the Red Bulls a year after losing in MLS Cup, going on two separate five-game losing streaks and not winning a single game on the road. At the end of the season, the Red Bulls sat dead last in MLS with a very disappointing 5-19-6 record.

2010:In their first match at brand new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, the Red Bulls defeated the Chicago Fire, and it would set the team off to a worst-to-first campaign, winning five of their first six games. After some inconsistent play in the final months, the Red Bulls would hold off a late charge by the Columbus Crew to finish on top of the East at 15-9-6. But in the conference semifinal, the Red Bulls would concede a late goal and lose their aggregate series to the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2.

2011:With their first full season with Thierry Henry on board, the Red Bulls would start of the season on a good note, going on a 4-1-2 stretch out of the gate before stumbling into four ties in a row during the late stages of the spring. As they slogged through the summer, the Red Bulls’ participation in the US Open Cup seemed to have put a fatigue factor in their playoff race, but they managed to grab the final wild card spot with a record of 10-8-16. In that game, the Red Bulls shut out FC Dallas before losing in the next round to the LA Galaxy 3-1 on aggregate.

2012:The Red Bulls would get off to a fast start, winning eight of their first twelve matches to establish themselves as a contender in the East with Kenny Cooper’s 18 goals leading the way. But a midseason stretch of alternating wins losses and ties brought the team back down to third place, and they made the playoffs with a 16-9-9 record. Against DC United, the Red Bulls were both the victims and beneficiaries of own-goals in a 1-1 draw. Following a snowstorm that pushed their home leg back a day, the Red Bulls’ season came to a disappointing end as they had a retaken penalty kick saved and were scored on just before stoppage time.

2013:After their disappointing playoff exit, the Red Bulls hoped this year would be different. The club endured a mediocre start and several off the field incidents to the year to go on a seven-match unbeaten run and closed out the year with a 6-0-2 stretch to finish first in the overall standings at 17-9-8 one point ahead of Sporting Kansas City. But it would be the familiar feeling of playoff futility for the Red Bulls in the playoffs as the Houston Dynamo rallied and knocked them out 4-3.

2014:There seemed to be a hangover for the Red Bulls coming off a Supporter’s Shield-winning season as the Bulls won only three of their first fourteen matches, and speculation arose that Thierry Henry would retire at the end of the season. The Red Bulls would have an up and down year struggling with inconsistent play and injuries to end up in fourth place at 13-10-11. Against Sporting Kansas City, NYRB put an end to SKC’s reign with two goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips, who led the team with 27 tallies during the year. The Bulls didn’t stop there as they stunned DC United 3-2 on aggregate in the semifinals. Against New England in the East Final, the Red Bulls dropped a 2-1 decision at home and fought back to tie the Revolution in the second match. Needing one score to go through on away goals, the Red Bulls couldn’t get it as the Revs hung on 4-3 on aggregate.

2015:After a degree of roster turnover with the retirements of Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill and new coach Jesse Marsch, Red Bulls fans were pessimistic of returning to the top of the league. The Bulls would debunk worries early on, starting out unbeaten in their first seven games. A four-match losing streak through May and June seemed to confirm early fears, but the Red Bulls, led by Bradley Wright-Phillips 18 goals, became one of the leagues hottest clubs over the summer and fall, finishing in first place in the East at 18-10-6 and edging out FC Dallas by six-goal differential points to capture their second Supporter’s Shield in three years. The Red Bulls shut out DC United in the semifinals 2-0 to go onto their second straight Eastern Conference Final. Columbus Crew SC’s Justin Mehrem’s goal 27 seconds into the first leg proved to break the Bulls’ back as the Crew knocked off the Supporter’s Shield winners 2-1 on aggregate.

2016:It was a difficult start to the season for the Red Bulls as they won one and lost six of their first seven matches. Injuries contributed to the awful start, and it would take a big act to get out of the cellar. That big act came on May 21st at Yankee Stadium against NYCFC. The Red Bulls ran away and hid 7-0 from their crosstown rivals in the greatest margin of victory by an away team in MLS history. Following this game, the Red Bulls would lose only twice more all season and finish in first place in the East at 16-9-9. There would be no further heroics for the Red Bulls in the playoffs as they were beaten 3-1 on aggregate to the Montreal Impact.

2017:The Red Bulls would once again have a tricky start to their season as they won only two of their first six and couldn’t keep up the pace in the standings. The team would struggle to score goals at many critical points during the campaign, but a four-game winning streak in July helped them into playoff positioning. Despite an 0-3-5 stretch in August and September, the Red Bulls managed to nab the last playoff spot in the East at 14-12-8. They were not intimidated by the Chicago Fire in their Knockout Round game on the road, shutting them out 4-0 to advance. But they would lose to Toronto FC in the semifinals on away goals in a 2-2 aggregate scoreline. Providing a black eye for the team in the second leg was a huge halftime fight in the hallway of the locker rooms in which Sasha Kljestian was ejected along with Jozy Altidore.

2018:After alternating wins and losses in their first six matches, the Red Bulls would send a message to everyone that they were going to be a wrecking ball the whole year, as evidenced by a subsequent 7-1-2 run. In early July, Jesse March resigned his post as manager to take an assistant coach position at Red Bull Leipzig and was replaced by Chris Armas. Undeterred, the Bulls pressed forward under their new boss and continued to tear up MLS. The club lost only once after August 5th, ended the year on a five-game winning streak and captured the Supporter’s Shield with a record of 22-5-7, which included an all-time MLS record of 71 points. Bradley Wright-Phillips deposited 24 goals with Daniel Royer behind him with 16. They would have no problem with Columbus Crew SC in the semifinals, knocking them out 3-1 on aggregate. But their magical season would come to a premature end in the conference final, losing to Atlanta United FC 3-1 on aggregate.

2019:The Red Bulls certainly couldn’t have expected another torrid season, and a hangover was in place to start with four losses in their first seven matches. Daniel Royer and Brian White would lead the way with 11 and 9 goals respectively for the team as they maintained consistent play throughout the regular season to end up at 14-14-6, good for sixth in the East. Driving two hours on I-95 South for their rain-soaked playoff game against the Philadelphia Union, the Red Bulls got off to a solid start as early goals from Josh Sims, and Tim Parker gave them an early lead. Depsite, Alejandro Bedoya scoring soon after, Tom Barlow scored a goal in first-half stoppage time for a 3-1 edge. Then the cookie would crumble for the visitors as second-half goals from Jack Elliot and Fafà Picault evened the score and send the game to extra time. There, Marco Fabian scored a goal off a deflection for the Union for the winner and sent the Red Bulls back home stunned.