# Hudson River Derby

The Hudson River Derby, sometimes earlier called the New York derby, is the name given to the local derby between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the New York metropolitan area, the 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. 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.
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. 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.
Speaking about the rivalry between the two clubs, former U.S. 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."

## History

New York City has a significant history with top level club soccer including the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League, the most successful team in that competition's history. With New York's position as the most populous city in the United States, it was expected when MLS was founded in 1993, that one of the founding clubs would play in the New York metropolitan area. This club started play in the inaugural 1996 MLS season as the NY/NJ MetroStars.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. The Red Bulls 7–0 win at Yankee Stadium in 2016 is tied for the highest victory margin in MLS history.
In 2017, 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. On August 6, 2017, during a 3–2 New York City FC victory, David Villa recorded the derby's first ever hat trick.
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.
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.
In 2024, the two teams competed in the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time in history after New York City FC and the Red Bulls upset FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew, respectively, in the first round. The two teams played the Eastern Conference semifinals on November 23, 2024, where the Red Bulls defeated New York City 2–0 to advance to the Eastern Conference final. The Red Bulls went on to defeat Orlando City SC, before losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final.

## 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. Since the establishment of the Foundation and its namesake trophy, the league itself has used the supporters' name for the derby.

## 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. 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. The bronze sculpture stands on a 3.5" circular black wood base bearing the Foundation's logo. 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. The Hudson River Derby Foundation funded the trophy by soliciting $5,000 in donations from supporters.

## Fans

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".
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.

## 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. Meara returned to the Red Bulls after the 2015 season.

## Results

NYRB wins  NYCFC wins  Draw
| No. | Date | Competition | Venue | Home team | Score | Away team | Goalscorers | Attendance |
| 1. | May 10, 2015 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 2–1 | New York City FC | (H) Wright-Phillips (2) (A) Mullins | 25,217 |
| 2. | June 28, 2015 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 1–3 | New York Red Bulls | (H) McNamara (A) Wright-Phillips, Duvall, Miazga | 48,047 |
| 3. | August 9, 2015 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 2–0 | New York City FC | (H) Wright-Phillips, Felipe (A) | 25,219 |
| 4. | May 21, 2016 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 0–7 | New York Red Bulls | (H) (A) McCarty (2), Wright-Phillips (2), Muyl, Verón, Baah | 37,858 |
| 5. | July 3, 2016 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 2–0 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Harrison, Villa (A) | 33,613 |
| 6. | July 24, 2016 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 4–1 | New York City FC | (H) Wright-Phillips (2), Zubar, Kljestan (A) McNamara | 25,218 |
| 7. | June 14, 2017 | Open Cup | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | New York City FC | (H) Royer (A) | 11,311 |
| 8. | June 24, 2017 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 0–2 | New York City FC | (H) (A) Harrison Sweat | 25,219 |
| 9. | August 6, 2017 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 3–2 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Villa (3) (A) Wright-Phillips (2) | 33,679 |
| 10. | August 25, 2017 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–1 | New York City FC | (H) Verón (A) Moralez | 25,219 |
| 11. | May 5, 2018 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 4–0 | New York City FC | (H) Kaku, Valot, Wright-Phillips, Etienne (A) | 25,219 |
| 12. | June 6, 2018 | Open Cup | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 4–0 | New York City FC | (H) Bezecourt, Long, Royer (2) (A) | 9,496 |
| 13. | July 8, 2018 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 1–0 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Moralez (A) | 30,027 |
| 14. | August 22, 2018 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 1–1 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Villa (A) Wright-Phillips | 30,139 |
| 15. | July 14, 2019 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 2–1 | New York City FC | (H) Royer (2) (A) Héber | 20,128 |
| 16. | August 24, 2019 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 2–1 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Moralez, Héber (A) Muyl | 28,895 |
| 17. | August 20, 2020 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | New York City FC | (H) Duncan (A) | 0 |
| 18. | November 1, 2020 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 5–2 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Castellanos (3), Mackay-Steven, Ring (A) White, Cásseres | 0 |
| 19. | September 22, 2021 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–1 | New York City FC | (H) Klimala (A) Castellanos | 16,072 |
| 20. | September 25, 2021 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 0–1 | New York Red Bulls | (H) (A) Fernandez | 21,212 |
| 21. | October 17, 2021 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | New York City FC | (H) Cásseres (A) | 18,613 |
| 22. | June 22, 2022 | Open Cup | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 3–0 | New York City FC | (H) Morgan, Luquinhas, Fernandez (A) | 12,575 |
| 23. | July 17, 2022 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 0–1 | New York City FC | (H) (A) Castellanos | 25,219 |
| 24. | September 17, 2022 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 2–0 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Callens, Rodríguez (A) | 30,151 |
| 25. | May 13, 2023 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | New York City FC | (H) Fernandez (A) | 23,121 |
| 26. | August 3, 2023 | Leagues Cup | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | New York City FC | (H) Fernandez (A) | 11,004 |
| 27. | September 16, 2023 | MLS | Yankee Stadium | New York City FC | 0–0 | New York Red Bulls | (H) (A) | 29,657 |
| 28. | May 18, 2024 | MLS | Citi Field | New York City FC | 2–1 | New York Red Bulls | (H) Wolf, Bakrar (A) Harper | 30,731 |
| 29. | September 28, 2024 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | 1–5 | New York City FC | (H) Vanzeir (A) Moralez, Martínez (2), Perea, Gray | 25,291 |
| 30. | November 23, 2024 | MLS Cup Playoffs | Citi Field | New York City FC | 0–2 | New York Red Bulls | (H) (A) Carballo, Vanzeir | 24,891 |
| 31. | May 17, 2025 | MLS | Citi Field | New York City FC | | New York Red Bulls | (H) (A) | |
| 32. | September 27, 2025 | MLS | Red Bull Arena | New York Red Bulls | | New York City FC | (H) (A) | |

## Statistics
### Summary of results

    As of November 23, 2024
| | Matches | NYRB wins | Draws | NYCFC wins | NYRB goals | NYCFC goals |
| Major League Soccer | 25 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 38 | 34 |
| MLS Cup playoffs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| U.S. Open Cup | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Leagues Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| All competitions | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 49 | 34 |

### Top goalscorers

    As of November 23, 2024
Players currently playing for their respective Hudson River Derby club are in bold
| Position | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | New York Red Bulls | 12 |
| 2 | David Villa | New York City FC | 5 |
| 2 | Valentín Castellanos | New York City FC | 5 |
| 2 | Daniel Royer | New York Red Bulls | 5 |
| 5 | Omir Fernandez | New York Red Bulls | 4 |
| 5 | Maximiliano Moralez | New York City FC | 4 |
| 7 | Cristian Cásseres Jr. | New York Red Bulls | 2 |
| 7 | Jack Harrison | New York City FC | 2 |
| 7 | Héber | New York City FC | 2 |
| 7 | Alonso Martínez | New York City FC | 2 |
| 7 | Dax McCarty | New York Red Bulls | 2 |
| 7 | Thomas McNamara | New York City FC | 2 |
| 7 | Alex Muyl | New York Red Bulls | 2 |
| 7 | Dante Vanzeir | New York Red Bulls | 2 |
| 7 | Gonzalo Verón | New York Red Bulls | 2 |

## Honors

    As of July 20, 2023
| Team | MLS Cup | Supporters' Shield | U.S. Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions Cup | Campeones Cup | Leagues Cup | Total |
| New York Red Bulls | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| New York City FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Combined | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |

## Players who played for both clubs

| Player | Red Bulls career | Red Bulls career | Red Bulls career | NYCFC career | NYCFC career | NYCFC career |
| Player | Span | Apps | Goals | Span | Apps | Goals |
| Jason Hernandez | 2005 | 5 | 0 | 2015–2016 | 59 | 0 |
| Mehdi Ballouchy | 2010–2012 | 59 | 4 | 2015–2016 | 25 | 3 |
| Ryan Meara | 2012–present | 57 | 0 | 2015 (loan) | 1 | 0 |
Players currently playing for their respective Hudson River Derby club are written in bold.