Location of the two teams' home stadiums in the New York metropolitan area (NYCFC splits its home matches between Yankee Stadium and Citi Field)[2]
The Hudson River Derby,[3][4] originally the New York derby,[1] is the name given to the local derby between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the New York metropolitan area, New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. First played in 2015, the rivalry between the two started almost as soon as New York City was awarded an expansion club in 2013.[5][6] The derby is primarily contested for bragging rights of the current MLS regular season; although the two clubs occasionally meet in playoffs or other competitions, only regular-season results are counted towards the season trophy.[7][8][9][10]
On July 12, 2019, three supporters groups—Empire Supporters Club and Viking Army from the Red Bulls, and The Third Rail from NYCFC—announced the formation of the Hudson River Derby Foundation, a non-profit corporation two years in the making, to "grow, manage, and administer the annual Hudson River Derby competition" between the two clubs.[11][8] On September 9, 2023, the Hudson River Derby Foundation unveiled the physical trophy contested by the clubs, a bronze representation of the Statue of Liberty's torch.[12]
Speaking about the rivalry between the two clubs, former US men's national team goalkeeper and television commentator Tony Meola was quoted as saying "it isn't fabricated. Where sometimes in the past I think ... (the league) had to fabricate some of these rivalries."[13]
Since its start, MLS has engaged in a steady process of expansion from its initial ten clubs until 2010, when the league announced its intention to award its 20th franchise to New York City.[16] The MetroStars, renamed as the New York Red Bulls following the franchise's purchase by Red Bull GmbH in 2006, played in New Jersey for their entire existence, beginning in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before moving to a purpose built soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, Red Bull Arena. The plan for the second New York franchise was for it to play in the city proper.[17] That 20th franchise was indeed eventually awarded in 2013 to a consortium of the City Football Group and Yankee Global Enterprises, with the new club adopting the name New York City FC.[18] NYCFC instantly made being in the five boroughs a key element of its club identity, as opposed to the suburban nature of the Red Bulls.[19]
New York City FC began play in the 2015 MLS season. The first league meeting with the Red Bulls was scheduled for May 10 at Red Bull Arena. The buildup to the game saw an increasing level of antagonism between both the clubs and their respective supporters groups, with the Red Bulls emphasizing their history from the start of MLS as opposed to the new club, with NYCFC pointing to the fact that they are the only club to play within the five boroughs.[20] The first meeting between the two, in front of a capacity crowd, saw striker Bradley Wright-Phillips score the first goal in a 2–1 win for the Red Bulls.[21] Subsequent to this game, there were two further league meetings between the teams, at Yankee Stadium and Red Bull Arena, both resulting in wins for the Red Bulls. NYCFC won their first game against the Red Bulls at the fifth time of asking on July 3, 2016, at Yankee Stadium.[22] The Red Bulls 7–0 win at Yankee Stadium in 2016 is tied for the highest victory margin in MLS history.[23] During a 3–2 New York City FC victory, David Villa recorded the derby's first ever hat trick on August 6, 2017.[24]
Early on in the rivalry's history, the Red Bulls dominated the fixture, winning the first four matches including one particular fixture, commonly referred to as 'The Red Wedding', in which the Red Bulls won 7–0. In 2017, however, New York City began to gain traction in the derby, going undefeated in all three meetings and finishing above the Red Bulls for the first time.
That same year, the Red Bulls and New York City FC played their first exhibition game and the first derby match in a neutral stadium. The match was part of the 2017 Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, Arizona with the match taking place on February 15, 2017. The Red Bulls won against New York City FC 2–0, with Sacha Kljestan scoring both goals. Neither NYFC nor NYRB failed to go to the Consolation round as both teams ended at the bottom.[25]
Over the course of the following seasons, New York City began to grow beyond its expansion-club roots and establish themselves as a consistent playoff side. This enhanced the rivalry further, leading to tense and sometimes heated encounters between the two sides including a back and forth 1-1 draw in August of 2018 with the Red Bulls and New York City going into the match 2nd and 3rd in the East respectively. The encounter saw multiple red cards and fouls over the course of the match.
In 2019, another controversial match saw the Red Bulls defeat New York City 2-1 in Red Bull Arena, with the match being referred to as ‘Throw-In Gate’ as miscommunication from the referee to the players led to the winning Red Bulls goal.
Following the pandemic, the rivalry continued to bring some meaningful encounters including a 1-1 in 2021, which saw two red cards and the Red Bulls score the equalizer in the 101st minute, the latest goal scored in the history of the MLS Regular Season. Another crucial encounter in 2022 saw New York City and the Red Bulls square off in the quarterfinal of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
In 2023, the two sides met in the Leagues Cup, the first-ever encounter in a continental cup competition. The Red Bulls won 1–0.
Name
When the two teams first faced off against each other, MLS promoted it as the "New York Derby". Supporters of the two clubs quickly adopted "Hudson River Derby" as their preferred name, which gained in prominence until the league and its commercial partners were the only prominent outlets using the old name.[26][27] Since the establishment of the Foundation and its namesake trophy, the league itself has used the supporters' name for the derby.[28]
Format
The clubs compete for a trophy signifying the winner of the regular-season MLS series. Only MLS regular season matches count towards the total. Three points are awarded for a win, and one point for a draw.[7] In the event of a points tie, tiebreakers are used, in this order:
Greater goal difference
Greater number of goals scored
Fewer overall disciplinary points by club (each yellow card is assessed 1 point, each red 2 points)
The winning club is awarded the Hudson River Derby Trophy for that season, and retains the physical trophy until the completion of the series the following year.
Trophy
The Hudson River Derby Trophy is a 15" tall bronze sculpture of the Statue of Liberty's torch, chosen because the statue stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, in the state of New Jersey. The bronze sculpture stands on a 3.5" circular black wood base bearing the Foundation's logo.[29] Crafted by Bennett Awards, the trophy features a green patina on the torch itself and gold patina on the flames, mimicking the copper plating and gold leaf of the original.[30] The Hudson River Derby Foundation funded the trophy by soliciting $5,000 in donations from supporters.[31]
Fans
The Empire Supporters Club at Red Bull Arena in 2010
A variety of supporters clubs and groups have grown around the Red Bulls since the team started. The first of these was formed in 1995, prior to the inception of the team itself, as the Empire Supporters Club. 2005 saw the creation of the New Jersey-based Garden State Supporters, now the Garden State Ultras (GSU). The 2010 season's influx of personnel with a Scandinavian background led to the creation of the Viking Army Supporters Club. The Red Bulls have designated some sections of Red Bull Arena as supporter specific. These included sections 101 for the Empire Supporters Club, 102 for the Viking Army, and section 133 for the Garden State Supporters. Sections 133, 101, and 102 are collectively known as the "South Ward".[32]
New York City FC's first official supporter group, The Third Rail, began to form after the club's announcement in May 2013, when fans met through social media, and through member drives and viewing parties for 2014 FIFA World Cup matches. It had registered 1,000 paid members by September 20, 2014.[33] Although the group operates independently from the club, it was recognized as the official supporter group and has received exclusive access to two sections in Yankee Stadium. Group president Chance Michaels said the name reflected the group's desire to "power NYCFC" the way the third rail powers the New York City subway system.[34]
Even from the beginning of NYCFC's time in MLS, the rivalry between the supporters has been intense, with social media used extensively by both sets of fans to exchange everything from mild teasing to insults and vitriol.[35] Following the first meeting between the two sides at the Red Bull Arena, the Red Bulls cut the ticket allocation for away fans by two thirds for the next meeting at the venue, as a result of the behavior of NYCFC fans; NYCFC fans were equally damning of the behavior of Red Bulls fans during their first visit to Yankee Stadium.[36] Prior to their third and final league meeting of the 2015 season, the first reported incident of violence between the two sets of fans occurred at a gastropub in Newark frequented by members of the Garden State Ultras.[13]
Transactions
To date, only one trade has occurred between the two teams. On December 11, 2014, the Red Bulls sent Ryan Meara on a one-year loan to NYCFC for the rights to Sal Zizzo, who had been selected from Sporting Kansas City in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft the previous day.[37] Meara returned to the Red Bulls after the 2015 season.
↑ Originally scheduled on August 21, 2021 but was postponed due to unsafe field conditions after a weather delay that day
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↑ "New York City Football Club Announces 2024 MLS Regular Season Schedule". NYCFC.com. Major League Soccer. December 20, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2024. NYCFC will play nine matches at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx and six at Citi Field in Queens. The venue for the Club's last two home matches of the regular season will be determined later in the year depending on MLB Playoffs.
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