Historical Moments:
1996: On April 13th, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the MetroStars would play their first
ever match, a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy. A week later, they would play
their first home game in front of 46,826 fans. That, too, would end in defeat
for the Metros as they dropped a 1-0 decision to the New England Revolution.
The stars included Tab Ramos, Giovanni Savarese, and coach Eddie Firmani. In the
middle of the season, Firmani would resign and Carlos Queiroz would take over.
The MetroStars would play well the rest of the way and earn a playoff berth with
a record of 15-17. Their playoff run would be short-lived as they were swept
by eventual champions DC United. In December, Carlos Quieiroz would resign to
take a coaching position in the J-League in Japan.
1997: In February, the MetroStars announced the signing of their new coach, Carlos Alberto
Parreira, who coached Brazil to the World Cup championship three years earlier.
But it wouldn't help the team much as they missed the playoffs with a record
of 13-19. Parreira would leave the MetroStars searching for a coach again as
he would accept the head coaching job for the Saudi Arabian national team.
1998: The MetroStars new coach, Alfonso Mondelo, would become the fourth in the team's
history. Under Mondelo, the Metros would improve and finish with a record of 15-17.
In the playoffs, the Metros would lose in three games to the Columbus Crew.
Mondelo would be fired in the middle of September following a six-game losing
streak.
1999: Under Bora Milutinovic, who led the USA to the second round of World Cup USA '94,
the MetroStars would struggle immensely and finish with a record of 7-25, which
was the worst in league history. Following the season, Milutinovic would be fired
and replaced by Octavio Zambrano.
2000: In addition to Zambrano, the MetroStars would acquire German star Lothar Matthaus.
The acquisitions would seem to spark the MetroStars as they would grab hold of
first place in the Eastern Division in July and never look back. After posting
the worst record in MLS history the year before, the MetroStars won the division
and were seeded 3rd in the playoffs with a record of 17-12-3. In the playoffs,
the Metros kept the momentum going as they swept the Dallas Burn in the first
round. In the next round, they would go up against the Chicago Fire. The MetroStars
would win one game, but the Fire would recover and win the next two to
end the Metros' historic season.
2001: In Zambrano's second season as coach, the MetroStars would suffer a major loss as
Clint Mathis suffered an ACL tear while practicing for the US National Team, missing
the remainder of the season. But there were other stars to take his place.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard and Mike Petke would help the Metros to a 13-10-3 record
and the 6th seed in the playoffs. The MetroStars would hold a 4 points to 1
lead on the 3rd seed Los Angeles Galaxy, but the Galaxy would win the third game
and the series tiebreaker, sending the MetroStars home for the winter.
2002: The largest trade in MLS history occurred in May as the Metros acquired Mamadou Diallo,
Andy Williams and Ted Chronopoulos from the New England Revolution. The
Revs, in turn, received Brian Kamler, Diego Serna and Daniel Hernandez. The trade
wouldn't do much for the MetroStars as a late season slump bumped them out of
the playoffs with a record of 11-15-2. Following then season, Octavio Zambrano
was relieved of his coaching duties.
2003: The MetroStars would hire away Bob Bradley from the Chicago Fire to help bring the
team to the next level. In the middle of July, goalkeeper Tim Howard was allocated
to Manchester United. The Metros, with 16-year-old surprise star, Eddie Gaven,
played well and qualified for the playoffs with a record of 11-10-9. But
the MetroStars would lose their aggregate goal series to the New England Revolution,
3 goals to 1.
2004: The MetroStars season would get off to a rough start as they posted a 5-5-4 record
in the first 3 months. Among the bright spots on the Metros was Armado Guevara,
who would have a terrific season, capturing All-Star and regular season MVP
honors, while sharing the scoring title with Pat Noonan of the New England Revolution.
Once the All-Star Game was behind them, the club continued their mediocre
play, finishing with a record of 11-12-7, good for 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
However, their stay in the playoffs was brief as the Metros were shut out
by DC United, 2-0 in both games.
2005: Hosting Real Salt Lake's first game with a scoreless tie would send the MetroStars
in a slide in which they won only five of their first 14 games. When they acquired
Tony Meola from Kansas City in July, their playoff chances wouldn't get much
better as a mediocre late summer and early fall put the club in jeopardy. A
three game winning streak would be just enough to put them in the playoffs ahead
of the Wizards with a record of 12-9-11. In the first leg of their playoff series
with New England, the Metros seemed well on their way to an upset with a
1-0 win. The team looked just as solid in the second half of their second game
going up 2-0 on aggregate. But as they had all season, the Revolution rallied and
scored three unanswered goals to stun the MetroStars and end their season.
2006: Immediately upon purchasing the club, the Red Bull company rebranded the MetroStars
to the New York Red Bulls. A horrible first two months without a win left the
Bulls in dead last in MLS going into June. Following a failed World Cup campaign,
Bruce Arena would arrive to the Red Bulls sidelines as coach. Arena as well
as youngster Jozy Altidore would help the Red Bulls to the final Eastern Conference
playoff spot with a record of 9-11-12. Despite Altidore's best efforts,
DC United would end the Bulls' season, 2-1. |
