This weekend marks the end of the 2024 regular season edition of the Hudson River Derby when New York Red Bulls take on NYCFC. This rivalry which started with the creation of City back in 2015 didn’t become real until players like Bradley Wright-Phillips took up the task of adding gasoline to the fire in the first few fixtures between the two clubs.
“When NYCFC came into the league all of the talk was about them,” said Wright-Phillips who had just come off of a season where he matched the MLS single-season goal record. “It was all about the stars they were bringing, how good they were going to be. Even after we started so well in 2015 and even going back to 2014 we thought no one was talking about us.”
New York Red Bulls in 2015 were in a massive state of transition. Just one year prior the faces of the club included World Cup stars like Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill. Even secondary stars like Peguy Luyindula dotted the lineups to give Red Bulls an international flare. All of that was gone in 2015 and instead was a core group, built by Sporting Director Ali Curtis and newly minted head coach Jesse Marsch, that consisted of grizzled vets like Wright-Phillips along with Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam and Mike Grella. While they were not names that jumped off the page, they did achieve the unthinkable by winning the team’s second Supporters Shield in three years while NYCFC debuted as one of the worst teams in the league.
Across the river it was mayhem at the start for NYCFC. Lauded signing Frank Lampard decided to stay in England for longer than expected and battled injuries once he arrived. MLS leadership under Jason Kreis failed to galvanize the team as they sank woefully to the bottom of the league table. All of this was exacerbated by the first few meetings between the clubs as Red Bull was not shy about their intentions of embarrassing the competition.
“It felt like they were the darlings of the league. For me personally I wanted to quiet that noise, to shut them down. I remember that there was no history in the derby but me growing up with derby matches, being where I’m from, it felt big to me. I wanted to make a statement and let them know that we’re here and it felt like that around the whole locker room.”
A statement is exactly what he and Red Bull did as they won their first four meetings decisively, punctuated by a 7-0 win at Yankee Stadium in 2016 that has been dubbed the “Red Bull Wedding” an homage to the fictional massacre from the popular TV show Game of Thrones. Wright-Phillips featured prominently in these wins with goals with six goals in the first four games against City, effectively helping to create the healthy angst that a derby thrives on.
It wasn’t until 2016 that City earned their first win, a 2-0 effort thanks to a dominant performance by star man David Villa. Still, Red Bull continued to push the point to where they currently control the record between the two with 15 wins and 9 losses and a whopping 46 goals across all competition.
This weekend’s fixture represents a new beginning in the rivalry, as a second generation of talent looks to pick up where players like Bradley Wright-Phillips left off. The years have seen the feud wane a bit as either City or Red Bull faced internal struggles through the MLS regular season. Their inability to meet in the playoffs.
“We all know it’s a must win,” said current Red Bulls winger Cameron Harper about the rivalry. “I think everyone is excited. You can see it in training.”
Much like Wright-Phillips, Harper has added his own flare to derby in their most recent game at Citi Field. The young winger scored a howler before City were able to find a late goal to win the first edition of the 2024 rivalry. Those moments can spark a season as Harper has gone one to have a productive year. In a similar fashion, the Derby helped to cement the legacy of Wright-Phillips, who was already on the ascent with the fanbase but was galvanized by his performances against City.
“We all had a job to do,” said Wright-Phillips on the responsibility of growing the derby. “New York City included. We had to make the game. The league was trying to build up a derby, a rivalry match. So we all had a job to bring intensity to that game, care about it, win, brag. It was important for fans to brag so we could grow this game.
That was our attitude going into the game. It was winning, showing we’re the better side and making New York Red. I think that’s how you get the engagement. There has to be fights, there has to be a lot of trash talking for games like this to grow.”
And grow it did as the Hudson River Derby is one of the more anticipated games on the MLS calendar. While not as glamorous as El Traffico, or with the historical legacy of Portland vs. Seattle, Red Bulls vs. NYCFC is a battle of ideology in an area that is somewhat misunderstood when it comes to consumption of the beautiful game. Wright-Phillips, like so many others, understood the responsibility of grooming the feud and did so in a way that has left memorable highlights ingrained in fandom.
photo by Anthony J. Merced