New York City FC

Team information

Inaugural season: 2015

Home field: Yankee Stadium

Owner: City Football Group

Team colors: Sky blue, obsidian blue, and flag orange

Overview

New York City FC (NYCFC) has the distinction of being the only Major League Soccer (MLS) team to play a match within the boroughs of New York City. The only other New York metro area team, New York Red Bulls, is based in New Jersey. NYCFC is the twentieth franchise in the league, which launched with ten teams in the 1990s. The club boasts a robust fan base, with average attendance of more than twenty-one thousand in 2019, enough to rank ninth in the league. NYCFC is notable for its rivalry with the Red Bulls, although not for its success rate against that team.

History

Early discussions about bringing a club to the city involved the New York Mets and Queens, but talks were scuttled when owners of the team and the Mets organization itself had financial troubles related to an infamous fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. In 2013 the New York Yankees and Manchester City Football Club of the English Premier League (EPL) announced that the US city had acquired the twentieth MLS expansion club. The two sports organizations already had a commercial relationship. MLS teams are not owned by individuals or groups. League shareholders run the clubs as investor-operators. While Manchester City was the majority investor-operator, the Yankees organization was a major investor. Ferran Soriano, chief executive officer (CEO) of the EPL club, was tasked with filling many of the leadership positions, while Yankees president Randy Levine took the lead in getting the club off the ground. The team was slated to play at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, although a soccer-specific stadium was planned for an indeterminate time in future.

The club’s first match was March 8, 2015. New York City faced another new franchise club, Orlando City, in Florida. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. A week later, more than forty-three thousand fans showed up for the first home match in Yankee Stadium. They were rewarded for shivering through the event by a 2–0 victory over the New England Revolution, one of the elder established clubs in the MLS. However, the rest of the season was less pleasing. NYCFC ended its inaugural season 10-17-7 in eighth place. The club replaced coach Jason Kreis with Patrick Vieira, who led the team until 2018.

NYCFC reached the conference semifinals at the end of an inconsistent second season, only to lose 7–0 to Toronto FC. The 2017 season was much the same, culminating in a loss to Columbus Crew SC in the Eastern Conference semifinals. After a strong start in 2018, the club became inconsistent but eked out a third-place finish in the East. In the semifinals, NYCFC faced and failed against Atlanta United FC. David Villa, a score leader and team captain, left the club.

The 2019 season started strong. The club lost only one of its first sixteen matches. Led by newcomers Héber Araujo dos Santos with 15 goals and Alexandru Mitrita adding 12, the club reached the playoffs only to fall to Toronto FC in the last minute on a penalty kick that ended the 1–1 tie. Dos Santos was named club Newcomer of the Year. NYCFC ended the season as Eastern Conference Champions.

NYCFC reached the playoffs again in 2020. Facing the Orlando City SC, New York tasted defeat again when a penalty kick shootout ended the Round One match 6–5. New York qualified for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions League for the first time in club history. However, the club was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In 2021, Argentinian Valentín Castellanos led the club with 19 goals. The club defeated Atlanta United 2–0 in the playoffs on home turf. NYCFC next advanced to the Conference Semifinal against New England Revolution.

NYCFC counts New York Red Bulls as its major rival and the Hudson River Derby the battlefield. This competition dates to 2015. The Red Bulls dominated the newcomers in the early years, including the May 21, 2016, match known as the “Red Wedding,” a 7–0 trouncing of NYCFC. The rivals faced each other twenty-one times as of 2021, leaving the Red Bulls victorious twelve times, NYCFC winning six matches, and three ending in a draw.

Several supporters’ groups cheer the club on. The first, and largest, is the Third Rail, which dates to 2014, when the team became official. This group occupies seats in Sections 236 and 237. Members can be identified by their Third Rail Founding Member scarves. A favorite song is “Hey Baby!” The Light Rail is a Third Rail subgroup of parents and children. Members of Chicken Bucket FC, an informal supporters’ group, typically converge in Sections 205, 206, and 207. As the name suggests, its members happily indulge in Yankee Stadium’s buckets of chicken and are known for the Chicken Bucket chant. This group also dates to 2014. The Blue Ladies is a women’s group that is found in Section 234 and the left field bleachers. Members sport Blue Ladies gear and have their own “Blue Ladies” chant. Hearts of Oak members can be spotted easily thanks to their unique hats. This group emerged from the Third Rail. Members occupy seats in Section 238, where they sing “Proud of Our Name.” The group’s name is that of the Revolutionary War militia led by Alexander Hamilton. NYC12 is multicultural but strongly Latino. The group, which gathers in Section 235, formed from watch parties and developed several charitable projects. Member gear features a stylized Statue of Liberty and NYC12 favors singing “Vamos Mi Celestes.” The Bronx Football Social Club, which occupies seats in Section 234, enthusiastically sports black and gold.

As of 2021, the club did not have an official mascot. However, it counted as an unofficial mascot the Pigeon of streetwear brand STAPLE. The club and brand collaborated on an apparel collection in 2021.

Notable players

No players had been named Goalkeeper of the Year, Defender of the Year, or any similar designation through the 2020 season. The club had one MVP, David Villa, in 2016. Villa, a native of Spain, was the first player signed by NYCFC and an early leader. The striker became captain on June 2, 2014, and remained with the club until late 2018. Midfielder Andrea Pirlo is another veteran of the inaugural squad. The Italian athlete had fifteen titles and a 2006 World Cup win from his years with AC Milan and Juventus. In his three seasons in New York, he played in sixty matches and had one goal and eleven assists. Midfielder Maximiliano Moralez joined NYCFC in 2017 after playing in Argentina, Italy, Mexico, and Russia. In 2018, when he started in all thirty-two of the matches he played, he logged eight goals and nine assists.

The departure of player and cult hero Tommy McNamara in late 2018 created a void for many fans. The athlete was one of the originals on the 2015 debut team. Chicken Bucket members were known for wearing their “Tommy Mac, the Pride of West Nyack” T-shirts.

Sean Johnson, who joined the club in 2017 after seven seasons with the Chicago Fire, was the team’s third captain. He took the mantle from Alexander Ring, who led NYCFC as the second captain in 2019 and 2020. Johnson, a goalkeeper, had one hundred saves in 2018. That season, he had ten clean sheets, or matches during which the opposing team scored no goals. He had a saves percentage of 73.3 in 2017 and 73.2 in 2021. In 2021 his clean sheets percentage was 31.

As of 2021, the club had been led by four head coaches over seven seasons. Jason Kreis, a former US national team player, was brought aboard in 2013 when the club was still developing. He carried the team through its first season of play, ending the season with a less than a one-in-three win rate and the second-lowest points tally of the league. Patrick Vieira served as head coach for two and a half seasons, January 2016 to June 2018. During this time, the club reached the playoffs twice and, when he left, was ranked second in the Eastern Conference. Vieira left to take another coaching position. Domènec Torrent led the club for the remainder of the 2018 season and the fifth season. Under his leadership, the club finished first in the Eastern Conference. Ronny Deila joined the club at the start of 2020. The club finished the season with 12 wins, 3 draws, and 8 losses, enough to be ranked sixth in the league. The 2021 regular season record was 14-9-11, leaving the club ranked eighth.

Bibliography

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“Match Recap: NYCFC 2 – 0 Atlanta United.” NYCFC, 21 Nov. 2021, www.nycfc.com/news/match-recap-nycfc-2-0-atlanta-united. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.

“New York City FC.” Sports Ecyclopedia, 16 July 2020, sportsecyclopedia.com/mls/nyc/nycfc.html. Accessed 19 Nov. 2021.

“New York City FC Is the First and Only Major League Soccer Team to Play in the Five Boroughs of New York City.” City Football Group, www.cityfootballgroup.com/our-clubs/new-york-city/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2021.

Padilla, Janine. “Manchester City and the New York Yankees Partner to Launch New York City FC.” New York City Football Club, 21 May 2013, www.nycfc.com/news/manchester-city-and-new-york-yankees-partner-launch-new-york-city-fc. Accessed 19 Nov. 2021.

West, Phil. “Light Rail to Hearts of Oak: Inside NYCFC’s Burgeoning Supporters’ Scene.” Major League Soccer, 6 May 2017, www.mlssoccer.com/news/light-rail-hearts-oak-inside-nycfcs-burgeoning-supporters-scene. Accessed 22 Nov. 2021.