The Curse of Caricola
By Wylie Kalotay-Nemec
Image from vermontpublic.org
The date was April 20, 1996. The second game in NY/NJ MetroStars history. Time was counting down on a 1-1 stalemate between the MetroStars and the New England Revolution.
The Revs had one last attack in them, and they decided to send a prayer of a cross into the box. The ball was originally hit away by the goalie, the legend, Tony Meola. The ball fell right at the feet of the MetroStars defender, Nicola Caricola. No one in the crowd knew that they would witness a moment which would bring the demise of a franchise for decades to come, but as the ball was supposed to be kicked away, a horrible blunder by Caricola had the defender kick it into his own net, as the time ran out on the game. The whole stadium let out a collective sigh, as the players were heartbroken. Years later, that ball hitting the back of the net has been thought of as The Curse of Caricola, which has resulted in the club never winning an MLS Cup in their history.
Not like they haven’t been close though. The early years brought up many club legends, such as Tab Ramos; Giovanni Savarese, Who scored the first 8 goals in club history; John Wolyniec; and Mike Petke, who was a bleached hair, maniac defender who seemed to get in fights practically every
While the early years of the club’s history was filled with misery, the emergence of young stars like Jozy Altidore and Tim Howard gave the fanbase hope, but both of which were sold to big European clubs right after their emergence in the club.
On March 9, 2006 then general manager Alexi Lalas received a huge offer from austrian energy drink giants, Red Bull, who wanted to buy the club to increase their already huge sporting empire. Of course, the money hungry general manager accepted it right away. Next morning, fans were shocked. The New York/New Jersey Metrostars had been rebranded to the New York Red Bulls.
The 2008 Red Bulls were an interesting bunch. Led by the then all time goal scorer, Juan Pablo Angel, they snuck into the playoffs as the last wildcard team, and ended up having to play in the western conference side of the postseason. With 2 of their starters being found with PEDs in their system, including the starting goalkeeper Jon Conway, backup Danny Cepero had to take the starting spot. He was able to secure 2 improbable clean-sheet victories over the reigning champs, Houston Dynamo, and Real Salt Lake, to lead the Red Bulls to the Final for the first time in their history. The problem though, was they were pitted against the supporter shield winners (regular season first place), Columbus Crew. After conceding early to go down 1-0, John Wolyniec tied it up early in the second half, firing up the Red Bull faithful, but quoting the TV show Ted Lasso, “It’s the hope that kills you.” Immediately after, the Red Bulls conceded a goal off a corner, and soon after, let in another one to lose the final 3-1. Nevertheless, it was the furthest the club had ever made it in their first 13 years.
In 2010, the Red Bulls’ brand new soccer specific stadium, Red Bull Arena, opened its doors for the first time. The first game played at the arena in downtown Harrison, New Jersey, was a friendly against Santos F.C, who at the time had a young Brazilian phenom, Neymar Jr. Red Bulls midfielder Joel Lindpere scored the opening goal in a thrilling 3-1 victory, which soon became a precedent for the stadium, which now is thought to be a fortress for the Red Bulls, having the most home wins in the league since 2010.
Later that year, one of the biggest signings in MLS history happened. The red bulls were able to secure arguably the best french player of all time, Thierry Henry. He brought an immediate spark to the club, drawing in thousands of fans across the metro area, just wanting to get a view of the international superstar. With his signing, the red bulls were able to bring in other star players from around the world, such as aussie phenom Tim Cahill, and former french international, Peguy Lulyendula. These players were the backbone of one of the first teams in the Red Bulls record-breaking run of 15 straight playoff appearances, a streak that still stands today.
In 2012, the Red Bulls had a problem, and it came at the goalkeeper position. The starter, rookie, Ryan Meara, had gone down with a hip injury that ended his season. The club had to look around for answers, and it came from an American playing in the German 3rd division, Luis Robles. Right after signing, he was an instant hit, helping lead the team to a playoff series against their longtime rival, D.C. United. Because of Hurricane Sandy, the first leg of the series got switched from New York to Washington, resulting in a 1-1 tie. The second leg at Red Bull Arena seemed destined to be another stalemate, until late in the game, forward Kenny Cooper got taken down by D.C. Goalie Bill Hamid in the box, resulting in a red card for Hamid and a penalty for the Red Bulls.
And then the curse came back to haunt them just like many Red Bull and Metrostar teams before. As Kenny Cooper slotted his penalty away, and all seemed to be up for the team, multiple Red Bulls players crossed into the penalty box before the kick, causing the referee to force Cooper to redo the penalty. Sadly for the Red Bulls, it got saved, D.C ended up winning with a late goal, and the look for their first ever major trophy continued.
That achievement came just one year later. With new additions to the squad; including Bradley Wright-Phillips, son of legendary English Striker Ian Wright; the Red Bulls were as good as ever. Coming into the last game of the regular season, they needed a win, and the Supporters Shield would be theirs. Down 1-0 in the 20th minute, Thierry Henry decided to step up to the challenge by hitting a ball from what seemed like midfield, and flew into the goal, hitting the crossbar on the way in. The onslaught of goals didn’t stop, with the Red Bulls winning the game with a final score of 5-2. The stadium went up in joy, screaming. They had actually done it. A trophy, 18 years in the making. Oh and the best of all this; remember the bleached hair maniac defender, Mike Petke? Well he was the coach, and let's just say…everyone loved him.
While the 2014 season didn’t end up resulting in any trophies for the club, one player stood out. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored 27 goals, tying the league record; and capturing the hearts of the fans. The red bulls placed in the top half of the league, but got knocked out in the playoffs like years before.
In the offseason, Thierry Henry retired, and other players like Tim Cahill and Peguy Lulyindula left to go to other clubs. But then, in a decision shocking to all Red Bulls faithful, the club fired Mike Petke, a coach beloved by all, and one that had helped secure the organization's first ever trophy. In a town hall with the fans, where there was anger radiating from all corners of the press room, the Red Bulls hired MLS veteran and coach, Jesse Marsch. The goal was to promote the new ideals of the higher up’s style of play, which had already been applied at brother clubs RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg in Europe.
The 2015 season started off very average, with a record of 3 wins, 4 ties, and a loss after 8 games. The next game happened to be the spark of a new rivalry, as the new expansion team, crosstown rivals NYCFC stepped into Red Bull Arena for the first time in their history. The Hudson River Derby was born, with a packed house screaming, red on one side, blue on the other. The red bulls ended up being able to pull off a victory, despite being down a man for most of the second half, much to the joy of the fans. With 2 games left in the season, the club was in rapid form, in first place of the league. 2 wins would secure their second ever supporters shield, and the first was against I-95 rival, Philadelphia Union. The referee blew the whistle for kickoff, and before the fans could blink, Red Bulls winger Mike Grella stole the ball from the first pass, dribbled down the field, and scored, in a league record 7 seconds. Before some people got sat down, the Red Bulls doubled the lead from a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal. The momentum didn’t stop, as they ended up winning with a 4-1 score. From this result, a win in the last game at the Chicago Fire would lead to the regular season championship. Two goals in the first half led to a comfortable lead, but a goal by the Fire with 20 minutes left had Red Bulls fans clenching their butts for the rest of the game. After constant attacks by Chicago, the Red Bulls were able to get one final clearance and the Full Time whistle blew. The traveling fans were jumping with joy, and the club raised their second ever shield. Sadly, after missing a tying shot with a minute to go in the Eastern Conference Finals, they were knocked out again, not winning an MLS Cup for the 20th time in their history.
While the Club did have some success in 2016 and 2017, which included making a U.S. Open Cup Final: A tournament in which involves every club at all levels in the U.S. They lost to Sporting Kansas City once they got there, and they did not win an MLS Cup. It did cause some new young stars to emerge, such as Tyler Adams, a defensive midfielder who seemed like he could run forever, and Kemar Lawrence, a left back whose speed and defence scared opposing wingers.
In 2018, it seems like the team just couldn’t be stopped. 8 wins in their first 10 games put them in second place, just behind another very strong side in Atlanta United. Halfway through the season, Jesse Marsch was given an offer to coach at Red Bull’s Austrian side, Salzburg, so he took it, leaving Chris Armas as the coach for the rest of the year. This trend continued, with Red Bulls trailing Atlanta by 4 points with 4 games to go, needing to make up some ground. Luckily for them, that first game just happened to be against Atlanta, with a possible 3 point swing in that game alone. A penalty in the 30th minute allowed Daniel Royer to slot in a goal for a 1-0 Red Bulls lead, and in the 70th minute Alex Muyl was able to get a ball passed Atlanta goalie Brad Guzan, which was tapped in by Tim Parker, to give the Red Bulls a 2-0 lead, which stood for the rest of the game. The win made it so New York jumped to just 1 point behind Atlanta, and it stayed that way after both teams won their next two games.
It was decision day, with the Red Bulls facing Orlando, and with Atlanta facing Toronto. New York needed a better result than Atlanta, so the score of that game was kept on the screens in Red Bull Arena for the fans to keep track. The Arena crowd roared with excitement when after just 8 minutes, Toronto had scored. Just 12 minutes later they roared again. Toronto made it 2-0. In the 57th minute, the crowd roared for a third time, but this time it happened to be from a goal in the stadium itself. Derrick Ettiene snuck a ball past the Orlando keeper, and once the Red Bulls got the lead, they never looked back, securing a 1-0 win and with Atlanta’s loss, securing their third Supporters Shield, with their third different coach. Sadly, there was no more playoff success than previous years, as in the conference final against Atlanta, a Red Bulls goal was called back for a phantom “Goalie Interference” call, and New York ended up losing 3-1 on aggregate.
The next 5 years were ones to be forgotten by Red Bulls fans. 5 years without a playoff win, 4 different coaches, tons of club legends leaving, and their crosstown rivals, NYCFC, winning a championship, left a sour spot in fans’ mouths.
2024 on the other hand, had something special. A new coach in Sandro Schwartz gave a new playstyle for the club, The acquisition of Emil Forsberg, former Red Bull Leipzig captain, brought much needed experience to the young squad. The season started off hot, with a 4-0 win against Lionel Messi’s very own Inter Miami, and a 3rd place spot in the Eastern Conference in July. Sadly Forsberg, who had gotten them to that point, picked up an injury and his absence caused the Red Bulls to fall to 7th place at the end of the season, with just one win in their last 13 games. A matchup against the reigning champion, Columbus Crew, was in front of them. In the first game, a scissor kick goal by Felipe Carballo, along with an 8 save shutout by goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, gave the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead in the series. In the second leg at home, Columbus took the lead in the 55th minute, before two goals in 15 minutes by Vanzier and Forsberg put the Red Bulls in front. It looked like the team would hold on and take the win, but 5 minutes into extra time Columbus tied it up, sending the game to penalties. In the fifth round, Carlos Coronel needed a save to keep the Red Bulls alive and did just that. Next round he did it again, and in the seventh round he did it a third time with Red Bulls scoring, giving the Red Bulls their first playoff series win since 2018 to the roar of their crowd.
The quarter finals were against New York City FC, the first one of such since the rivalry started. 2,000 Red Bulls fans showed up at Citi Field, drowning out the NYCFC supporters. A banger by Carballo from 30 yards out put Red Bulls up one early, and a goal off the post by Vanzier fully silenced NYCFC fans. The score stood throughout the game, and at the end of it, Red Bulls fans were singing Twist and Shout, dancing and celebrating. Some people described it as the most important win in Red Bulls history.
That description would change in 7 days. Because of Miami getting shockingly knocked out in the first round, New York was faced up against Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals. Carlos Coronel kept the Red Bulls even with two huge 1v1 saves heading into the halftime break. After a freekick was won on the right side of the box a minute into the second half, John Tolkin swung in a ball, out of reach of the defenders and goalie, right to the head of Red Bulls left back, Andres Reyes, and into the back of the net. Fans in the crowd and at home threw their arms up in celebration. After 50 more minutes, Daniel Edelman cleared the ball out of the box and the ref blew the full time whistle, giving the Red Bulls their first Eastern Conference Championship in club history, raising their first trophy in six years, and sending them to the MLS Cup Final. A club that once had the lowest optimism rating of any club now had possibly the highest in the entire league.
Because of the LA Galaxy scoring a very late winner against Seattle, the final had to be against the club who scored 4 goals per game throughout the playoffs. A whole 2,500 fans were ready to travel to the City of Angels, including East Side’s very own, Mark Federman. The vibes were high, but just minutes before kickoff, they very much dampened. Andres Reyes, who had been a staple throughout the playoffs, leading a defense who had let up just two goals throughout the playoffs, and scoring the goal against Orlando, was ruled out with an unknown sickness. Noah Eile, a backup, had to step in. Immediately, the Galaxy were on attack, and after just nine minutes, a through ball was played past the Red Bulls defense and Galaxy winger, Joseph Pantsil, got on the ball and put a shot under the arm of Carlos Coronel, giving the Galaxy the lead early. Just four minutes later, Dejan Jovelic, a Galaxy Striker, got the ball near midfield and started dribbling. No Red Bulls defender stepped up, and he slotted it into the bottom right corner. The fans sighed. It seemed like all the hope had come to an end. But fifteen minutes later on a corner, center back Sean Nealis was able to score after a bustle in the box on a corner kick.
All the fans had hope, but as Ted Lasso says in the show, “It’s the hope that kills you.” A post hit by Emil Forsberg in the 72nd gave the Red Bulls fans a jump, and in the 93rd minute, a Red Bulls striker was taken down in the box, but no foul was called. The whistle blew, and the Red Bulls streak without an MLS Cup grew to 29 years.