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Red Bulls Team Formation
Red Bull had originally approached MLS about creating an expansion club in New York City proper, but concerns over the cost of buying out the MetroStars’ territorial rights to the region, along with the expected difficulty in securing a stadium site in the city, led the company to purchase the MetroStars instead and take over their existing stadium project in Harrison, New Jersey. The territorial rights to a second New York area franchise reverted to MLS as part of the sale.
During the 2006 season, Red Bull fired Johnston and hired Bruce Arena, a Brooklyn native who had recently left the head coaching role with the United States national team. The team soon after signed national team captain Claudio Reyna as a designated player along with Colombian star Juan Pablo Angel, while teenage striker Jozy Altidore emerged as one of the league’s brightest young talents. That summer the Red Bulls defeated German club Bayern Munich 4–2 in a friendly at Giants Stadium and lost a friendly against FC Barcelona 4–1 in front of a sold-out crowd in East Rutherford. On August 18, 2007, the Red Bulls hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy for the league debut of David Beckham, drawing 66,238 fans. Arena guided the Red Bulls to the 2007 MLS playoffs, but they were eliminated in the first round by the New England Revolution. Two days later, on November 5, 2007, Arena resigned as coach of the Red Bulls. Red Bull then acquired Colombian coach Juan Carlos Osorio from Chicago Fire during the off-season.
The Red Bulls compete as a member of the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established in October 1994 and began play in the league’s inaugural season in 1996 as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. In 2006, the team was sold to Red Bull GmbH and re-branded as part of the company’s global network of football clubs, leading to the team’s current name.
The Red Bulls have played their home matches at Red Bull Arena since 2010, having previously played at Giants Stadium. The club is one of two teams in MLS based in the New York metropolitan region along with New York City FC, which entered the league in 2015. The two sides compete against each other in the Hudson River Derby. The team’s current head coach is former United States international midfielder Chris Armas.
Established
1994
City
New York
League History
1996 – Present / Major League Soccer
Team History
2006 – Present / New York Red Bulls
1998 – 2005 / MetroStars
1996 – 1997 / New York/New Jersey MetroStars
Nickname
Red Bulls – On March 9, 2006, it was announced that Austrian energy drink conglomerate Red Bull GmbH had purchased the club, and as part of their sponsorship would completely re-brand the franchise, changing the name, colors, and logo, a move which drew mixed reactions. The club name was changed to “Red Bull New York” with the team now referred to as the “New York Red Bulls” by the league and media.
Championship
MLS Cups 0
Stadium
2010 – Present / Red Bull Arena
1996 – 2009 / Giants Stadium
Owner
2006 – Present / Red Bull GmbH
2001 – 2006 / Anschutz Entertainment Group
1995 – 2001 / John Kluge and Stuart Subotnick
Retired Number
*Blue is this team’s history