Jul 24, 2016; Harrison, NJ, USA; New York Red Bulls forward Mike Grella (13) and New York City FC defender RJ Allen (27) exchange words during second half at Red Bull Arena. Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK CITY —— The Hudson River Derby has seen its fair share of criticism since its inception three seasons ago.
New York City FC, the younger of the two sides involved in the rivalry, arrived in 2015 and was almost immediately pushed as the rivals of the New York Red Bulls, a member of Major League Soccer since its inception in 1996.
It was shoved down the throat of the league’s fans, playing on national television every single time they met, but those outside of the New York area weren’t buying in.
Many saw through what they believed to be a façade, a rivalry forced by the higher ups in the league to manufacture drama and improve ratings, a conspiracy theory which didn’t seem too far fetched.
The clubs, both owned by wealthy conglomerate companies, weren’t able to foster the animosity among the league’s greatest rivalries, built through years of history.
Instead, the Hudson River Derby was being promoted through a joint event held by Heineken — a corporate sponsor of the league’s “Rivalry Week,” further pushing the agenda of those who believe in the influence of business in the rivalry.
Tommy Mac x BWP taking promo pic for @Heineken for #RivalrlyWeek. Have to say BWP won the battle of banter. #RBNY #NYCFC pic.twitter.com/MaPJqNn21H
— Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) June 20, 2017
“This, to me, is not normal to come here once per season to talk about one game that is as equally important as 33 other games,” said New York Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan of the media day filled with interviews and video hits, downplaying the added importance of the three league fixtures against NYCFC. “We drum it up a lot. We want to talk about the drama, we want to talk about all that. Want to talk about 7-0. It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same to me.”
The Red Bulls would never that with D.C. United, a fellow MLS original, the purists would say. Now that’s a rivalry.
But though the time has been short and the fixture list small, a lot has been packed into the first seven official meetings between the Big Apple’s clubs — ask any of those who have lived through it.
Legendary New York soccer writer Michael Lewis played word association with everyone who stepped up to the mic at the media day in Major League Soccer’s headquarters Tuesday — when I say the name of the opponent on the other side of the Derby, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
“Honestly? Probably hate,” said Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, the series’ top goalscorer with 8 goals in seven matches. “I don’t really like them that much. They were put there for that reason. I think we’re supposed to hate each other. From the first season they’ve been here, I’ve not liked them.”
Young as the rivalry may be, in Wright-Phillips’ mind, it’s climbed up the ladder of the many regional opponents the Red Bulls have faced throughout his five seasons in Harrison.
“I think now they took that,” he said when asked if NYCFC is now the club’s biggest rival. “I know DC’s always been one for Red Bulls, that’s always been a big battle down the years, but I think just being so close (to New York) and with what social media, they’re always going back and forth on social media, Red, Blue, everything. Hudson River Derby, it’s just got a bigger feel, for me, than any other one.
“There’s a couple teams that think they’re our rivals … if it’s not DC or NYC, it’s not really a rivalry.”
On the spectrum of the players’ feelings on the rivalry, Wright-Phillips is definitely an extreme, but there remains no love lost between the sides.
Lewis’ question was an opportunity for those asked to throw some venom onto their opponent, be it bringing up milestones in the Derby for some or witty banter for others.
For Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles, there was only one right answer.
“Honestly, 7-0,” Robles said, a nod to the historic beatdown from the Red Bulls over the Boys in Blue, a game many point to as the moment the rivalry turned from forced to ferocious. “That was such a cool experience when I look back at my soccer life as a professional. I think I’ll always be able to point back to that because not only did we go to their stadium and provide such an incredible result, but the way our fans responded to it, the way our fans almost continued to gravitate towards that.”
He wasn’t the only one who mentioned the match, either. Jack Harrison, selected first overall out of Wake Forest by NYCFC in the 2016 MLS Draft, made his professional debut in that bloodbath in the Bronx.
It was far from the ideal for the young winger, an embarrassing defeat in front of a home crowd and a national audience. The Englishman would get back at them later on in the year, scoring a goal and providing an assist to David Villa in a 2-0 win at Yankee Stadium, NYCFC’s first and only Hudson River Derby win.
Among his best performances to date, it wasn’t enough to quench his thirst for payback.
“I always want to get revenge on Red Bulls for my debut,” Harrison said. “That’s the first thing that I think of.”
Unsurprisingly, the lopsided result is the calling card for Red Bulls fans in debates against NYCFC supporters — there isn’t much they can counter with in terms of on the field product considering the overall series is just as skewed.
When talk moves to club ownership, the club’s are at a deadlock — the Red Bulls, formerly known as the MetroStars, were purchased by the Austrian energy drink company in 2006. As for NYCFC, it is City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City in the English Premier League and Melbourne City FC in the Australian A-League, that serves as its majority owner.
Knowing this, NYCFC supporters move the discussion to off-the-pitch geography, specifically where the New York Red Bulls are located. With the club’s arena in Harrison and its training facility in East Hanover, Red Bulls fans have no way to deny the fact they operate entirely in New Jersey, a fact NYCFC fans won’t let them forget.
Even the club’s manager joined in on the fun.
When Lewis’ asked NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira what comes to mind when he hears New York Red Bulls, his response was short, but effective. “New Jersey,” he said.
It received plenty of support on social media, supporters beaming with pride that their head coach was winning the battle of banter off the pitch.
And according to players on both teams, that’s who this matters to the most. Knowing the importance of the match to the supporters gives the players a little extra juice when playing in a derby packed to the brim with emotion.
“I think of our fans,” said NYCFC midfielder Tommy McNamara of when he hears New York Red Bulls. “I think it brings to mind how well they have supported us over the years and took to us as a club. Not only does it mean a lot to us as players and the coaching staff, but it means a heck of a lot to the supporters and I want to be able to give that to them.”
The buzz around the Derby in the area is undeniable and the passion of the fans on match day the same — the atmosphere, be it at Yankee Stadium or Red Bull Arena, always seems to be a level higher whenever these two meet.
That importance placed on it by the fans is what drives Kljestan, who views the match as another three points on the line on the quest to reaching the MLS Cup playoffs, to want to win it even more than he does any other game. And if he were to forget how much it matters to those in the stands, they’ll make sure to remind him.
“I want to win this one for our fans because as soon as this one comes out in the schedule, it means a lot to the fans,” Kljestan said. “We got back from Philly (Sunday) night. We got off the bus and our supporters bus was getting there at the same time and as soon as they got off, the first thing they said was ‘kick their asses on Saturday.’ And so I’ve known this for a long time, being a player. The local rivalries mean so much. the fans, I want to give this one to them, that’s for sure.”
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Follow Brian Fonseca on Twitter @briannnnf for updates. Email him at brianfilipefonseca@gmail.com with questions, concerns, tips or story ideas.
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