New York Red Bulls are going to their second MLS Cup Final in team history and their first under head coach Sandro Schwarz. The German coach joined the club in 2024 and has had a roller coaster campaign that has seen the club go toe-to-toe with some of the best in the league while also falling short in key moments of the regular season. Still, Schwarz and his staff still saw the positives and knew that only slight changes were needed to get this team where they are now.
“It was more about details,” said Schwarz about his group’s evolution in 2024. “We had to change something and also to be ready in our mindset to be ready for this competition. I had a lot of conversations with my players because they had more experience with these playoffs and everyone told me, it’s a new competition.”
That new competition has seen Red Bulls transform from a team that is unable to score in key moments, to one that is decisive when it matters most. This has been on display against three distinctly different teams in the playoffs. First there was Columbus. Wilfred Nancy’s men were considered the pinnacle of playing style in MLS. Red Bulls countered that by focusing on winning second balls and clinical finishing.
From there it was NYCFC who had a high-powered offense that moved the ball well through the midfield. They stifled that and took it to them early and often while creating an impenetrable defensive shell to life the club to the Conference Final. Finally, it was waiting through the chaos that took this team to the final level as homegrown John Tolkin provided the ball that led the team to glory.
“I don’t want to compare now my experiences with other clubs,” said Schwarz about the emotion of taking the club to the final. “This is a new story and to feel a new culture, to see, to feel the identity of the club. Since the first day when I came here, I had directly a great feeling that we have a big chance. Not to talk about the title but we have a big chance with all these great people here to have these emotions and to create this atmosphere.”
Next up is the MLS Cup Final against fellow foundation member LA Galaxy. The two clubs are historic in the league for very different reasons. The Galaxy are the symbol of success in the league with five MLS Cups and the last team to win two consecutive. The Red Bulls have long bore the weight of failure as one of the last founding club to not win MLS Cup, next to New England. Now the two clubs meet with a chance to change their destinies and rewrite league history.
photo by Matt Kremkau