New York Red Bulls Playoff Tickets

New York Red Bulls Playoff History

The New York Red Bulls franchise is a founding member of Major League Soccer, but they were originally known as the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. They still play their soccer in New Jersey, but the team was rebranded in 2006 when it was purchased by Red Bull. They share the New York metropolitan market with New York City FC and have worked hard to establish a loyal fanbase. The Red Bulls have attracted some of the league’s biggest stars and have a storied playoff history.

As the MetroStars, the franchise was largely unsuccessful in terms of MLS playoff results. In their ten years under the MetroStars name they qualified for the playoffs seven times, but they only advanced to the semifinals once. Despite having several top-tier managers like Carlos Queiroz and Bob Bradley, the franchise failed to push forward in their first ten seasons. Legendary German player and 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus even briefly played during this time period, but he did not provide enough of a boost to reach the MLS Cup Finals.

Despite Red Bull’s controversial involvement in soccer, the purchase of the New York franchise provided somewhat of a rejuvenation to the club. In the club’s first two season known as the Red Bulls they still fell at the quarterfinal stage. But, the club would reach their highest level in the 2008 season.

In 2008, the Red Bulls barely snuck into the playoffs, finishing 5th in the Eastern Conference and qualifying as a wild card. In the quarterfinals, the Red Bulls triumphed over the top team in the Western Conference by beating the Houston Dynamo 4-1 over two games. In their second semifinals as a franchise, the Red Bulls defeated Real Salt Lake and were finally able to reach the MLS Cup. Dutch midfielder Dave van den Bergh scored the one and only goal to send Real Salt Lake home. New York faced the team with the best record in the MLS, the Columbus Crew, in the MLS Cup Final. The Red Bulls created scoring chances, but it was the Crew who struck first when Alejandro Moreno slotted the ball in the back of the net in the 31st minute. It took a beautiful piece of play for the Red Bulls to equalize the game when Dane Richards cut the Columbus defense open to set up John Wolyniec for a 51st minute goal. The tie was short-lived and the Crew took the lead two minutes later and later won the match 3-1.

After reaching their highest success, Thierry Henry signed for the club in 2010 and became the biggest name in Major League Soccer. In his time with FC Barcelona, Arsenal and France he had won everything from the Champion’s League to the World Cup. However, in his five seasons with the club, the Red Bulls failed to win the MLS Cup.