It has been 18 years coming, and it took until the final day of the regular season, but the New York Red Bulls have finally won their first major trophy in MLS. Fans at Red Bull Arena witnessed history today when their team won the 2013 Supporters Shield (team with most points after 34 regular season games), disposing of the Chicago Fire by a score of 5-2 in the process. For fans of MLS, this is most likely a surreal moment given the history of the Red Bull organization.
Much has been made of the supposed curse against the Red Bulls (who began play in 1996 under the name Metrostars, and later rebranded in 2006 to the Red Bull), and given New York’s early season performance, it appeared the curse would reign for at least one more year. Could it really be conceivable that a team with so much talent and money invested continue to underachieve? Would Thierry Henry come and go without winning a single trophy? Would Red Bull fans continue to suffer? Everyone wanted answers.
And then the Petke/Henry incident occurred. At the end of August, the rookie coach and famed striker had to be separated by coaching staff/players during a routine practice. More questions began to be asked of this team. They both talked it up as a normal occurrence, with their natural competitiveness the cause, but Petke exerted his power as coach and benched Henry the next match. The media and fans smelled blood, and everyone thought an ego had to leave the locker room. Were Petke’s days numbered? Turns out that wasn’t the case all, and it was that particular incident that galvanized the Red Bull locker room, sending them on a torrid run to finish out the regular season.
In my previous article a few weeks ago, I discussed how Seattle and New York were the two favorites to win the Supporters Shield. Given their table position, squad depth, and desire to win, it was hard to imagine at least one of them not throwing everything they had at it to win a major trophy. And that was the case. While Seattle (who finishes their regular season tonight - the LA Galaxy) had control of their own destiny, they took only 1/15 points, and New york managed to take 8/12. It should be noted that after Seattle self-destructed, Sporting Kansas City was very much in the race for the Supporter’s Shield, and finished only 1 point behind New York.
But this isn’t about any other team in MLS right now, this is about one organization who has spent the money on the best stadium in MLS, built a first class training facility, and signed world class players. This is about 18 years of hurt and raw emotions. To be a New York Red Bull fan in this moment must be nerves and emotions of relief, disbelief and pure joy. They will celebrate this evening, as they should, but when tomorrow arises, Petke will undoubtedly have his team in a playoff state of mind. There is still one more major trophy that Petke and company can win, and they appear to be the favorites to take home MLS Cup.
Note: I have included the winning points and possible points from the 2012-2013 season for EPL, Seria A, La Liga and Bundesliga as a comparison for the first place winner of each league. Needless to say, MLS parity is apparent:
New York Red Bulls: 59 points won out of 102 (59/102) possible points this season, or 58%.
Manchester United: 89/114, or 78%
Barcelona: 100/114, or 88%
Juventus: 87/114, or 76%
Bayern Munich: 91/102, or 89%