# 2015 New York City FC season

The 2015 New York City FC season was the club's first season of existence, their first season in the top tier of American soccer, and their first season in Major League Soccer. New York City FC played their home games at Yankee Stadium in the New York City borough of The Bronx.

## Background

MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the league's intent to award a second team in the New York area in 2010, with the new team originally aimed to begin operations by 2013. Initially, the league held talks with New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon about a second NY club and with owners of the rebooted New York Cosmos. The Wilpons' interest in MLS reportedly faded following the family's losses in the Madoff investment scandal, while the Cosmos began playing in the second-tier North American Soccer League in 2013.
Garber had previously cultivated an interest in acquiring investment from a major European soccer team to be owners of a future franchise, and in December 2008, he announced a bid for a Miami expansion team led by FC Barcelona that was to begin play in 2010, though the bid eventually fell through (Garber also briefly discussed Barcelona investing in a New York franchise before moving the focus to Miami).
But when Ferran Soriano, Barcelona's vice president at the time of the Miami bid, was appointed Manchester City CEO in August 2012, Garber reached out to him about a New York City team. In December 2012, unnamed sources told the media that Manchester City were close to being announced as the new owners of the 20th team of MLS, and the brand name "New York City Football Club" was trademarked, although the club quickly denied the report. However, Garber announced in March 2013 that he was almost ready to unveil the new expansion team,
New York City Football Club, LLC was registered with the New York State Department on May 7, 2013, and on May 21 the team was officially announced as the 20th Major League Soccer franchise.
The team announced an English-language radio deal with WFAN on October 3, 2013.

## Non-competitive
### Pre-season
#### Manchester training camp

N.B. The friendly against St Mirren deemed the club's first ever match according to the club itself.

#### Carolina Challenge Cup

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Houston Dynamo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| New York City FC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Charleston Battery | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| Orlando City SC | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | -2 | 2 |

### Post-season
#### Puerto Rico tour
## Competitions
### Major League Soccer
#### League tables
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 6 | Toronto FC | 34 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 49 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 44 | |
| 8 | New York City FC | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 37 | |
| 9 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 37 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 8 | 20 | 6 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 30 | |

##### Overall

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 15 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 42 |
| 16 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 41 |
| 17 | New York City FC | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 37 |
| 18 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 10 | 17 | 7 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 37 |
| 19 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 37 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 2, 2015. Source: MLS

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H |
| Result | D | W | D | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | L | L |

#### Matches
### U.S. Open Cup

New York City FC entered the 2015 U.S. Open Cup with all other Major League Soccer teams in the fourth round.

## Squad information

    As of October 5, 2015
| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Since | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from | Games Played | Goals Scored |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 12 | Josh Saunders | GK | 2014 | (1981-03-02)March 2, 1981 (aged 34) | Real Salt Lake | 33 | 0 |
| 18 | Ryan Meara | GK | 2014 | (1990-11-15)November 15, 1990 (aged 24) | New York Red Bulls | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Eirik Johansen | GK | 2015 | (1992-07-12)July 12, 1992 (aged 23) | Manchester City | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | Jason Hernandez | CB | 2014 | (1983-08-23)August 23, 1983 (aged 32) | San Jose Earthquakes | 27 | 0 |
| 3 | Kwame Watson-Siriboe | RB / CB | 2014 | (1986-11-13)November 13, 1986 (aged 28) | Real Salt Lake | 12 | 1 |
| 5 | Jeb Brovsky | RB | 2014 | (1988-12-03)December 3, 1988 (aged 26) | Montreal Impact | 16 | 0 |
| 17 | Chris Wingert | LB | 2014 | (1982-06-16)June 16, 1982 (aged 33) | Real Salt Lake | 28 | 0 |
| 24 | Shay Facey | CB / RB | 2015 | (1995-01-07)January 7, 1995 (aged 20) | Manchester City | 24 | 0 |
| 69 | Angeliño | LB | 2015 | (1997-01-04)January 4, 1997 (aged 18) | Manchester City | 14 | 0 |
| 51 | Andoni Iraola | RB | 2015 | (1982-06-22)June 22, 1982 (aged 33) | Athletic Bilbao | 9 | 0 |
| 27 | R. J. Allen | RB | 2015 | (1990-04-17)April 17, 1990 (aged 25) | Skive | 15 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 4 | Andrew Jacobson | AM | 2014 | (1989-09-25)September 25, 1989 (aged 26) | Stabæk | 34 | 1 |
| 8 | Frank Lampard | CM | 2015 | (1978-06-20)June 20, 1978 (aged 37) | Manchester City | 10 | 3 |
| 10 | Mix Diskerud | CM | 2015 | (1990-10-02)October 2, 1990 (aged 25) | Rosenborg | 28 | 3 |
| 11 | Ned Grabavoy | LM | 2014 | (1983-07-01)July 1, 1983 (aged 32) | Real Salt Lake | 27 | 2 |
| 21 | Andrea Pirlo | CM | 2015 | (1979-05-19)May 19, 1979 (aged 36) | Juventus | 13 | 0 |
| 15 | Tommy McNamara | AM | 2014 | (1991-02-06)February 6, 1991 (aged 24) | Chivas USA | 19 | 5 |
| 16 | Connor Brandt | CM | 2015 | (1992-09-15)September 15, 1992 (aged 23) | Tucson | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Mehdi Ballouchy | LM | 2014 | (1983-04-06)April 6, 1983 (aged 32) | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 20 | 3 |
| 26 | Sebastián Velásquez | AM | 2014 | (1991-02-11)February 11, 1991 (aged 24) | Real Salt Lake | 12 | 0 |
| 30 | Javier Calle | CM | 2015 | (1991-04-29)April 29, 1991 (aged 24) | Independiente Medellín | 12 | 1 |
| 88 | Kwadwo Poku | AM | 2015 | (1992-02-19)February 19, 1992 (aged 23) | Atlanta Silverbacks | 28 | 6 |
| Strikers |||||||||
| 7 | David Villa (captain) | CF | 2014 | (1981-12-03)December 3, 1981 (aged 33) | Atlético Madrid | 30 | 18 |
| 14 | Patrick Mullins | CF | 2014 | (1992-02-05)February 5, 1992 (aged 23) | New England Revolution | 25 | 6 |
| 19 | Khiry Shelton | CF | 2015 | (1993-06-26)June 26, 1993 (aged 22) | Lane United | 17 | 1 |
| 99 | Tony Taylor | CF | 2014 | (1989-07-13)July 13, 1989 (aged 26) | Omonia | 2 | 0 |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS Cup Playoffs | MLS Cup Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | USA | Jason Hernandez | 27 | 0 | 26+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Kwame Watson-Siriboe | 15 | 1 | 10+4 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | USA | Andrew Jacobson | 34 | 1 | 33+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | USA | Jeb Brovsky | 16 | 0 | 12+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | USA | George John | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ESP | David Villa | 30 | 18 | 29+1 | 18 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Frank Lampard | 10 | 3 | 9+1 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | USA | Mix Diskerud | 28 | 3 | 23+4 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | Ned Grabavoy | 27 | 2 | 22+4 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | PUR | Josh Saunders | 33 | 0 | 33+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | USA | Patrick Mullins | 25 | 6 | 11+13 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | USA | Tommy McNamara | 19 | 3 | 15+4 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | USA | Connor Brandt | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | USA | Chris Wingert | 28 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Ryan Meara | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | USA | Khiry Shelton | 17 | 1 | 7+10 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | MAR | Mehdi Ballouchy | 20 | 3 | 16+3 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ITA | Andrea Pirlo | 13 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ESP | Pablo Álvarez | 9 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | COL | Jefferson Mena | 7 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Shay Facey | 24 | 0 | 20+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | NOR | Eirik Johansen | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | COL | Sebastián Velásquez | 12 | 0 | 5+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | USA | R. J. Allen | 15 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | COL | Javier Calle | 12 | 1 | 7+5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 51 | DF | ESP | Andoni Iraola | 9 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 69 | DF | ESP | Angeliño | 14 | 0 | 10+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | GHA | Kwadwo Poku | 28 | 6 | 6+21 | 4 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 2 |
| 99 | FW | USA | Tony Taylor | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Released | MF | USA | Matt Dunn | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Released | DF | USA | Josh Williams | 5 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Released | FW | SVK | Adam Nemec | 9 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

## Honors
### Major League Soccer Player of the Week award

| Week | Player |
| 2 | David Villa |
| 15 | David Villa |

### Major League Soccer Team of the Week selection

| Week | Player |
| 1 | Mix Diskerud |
| 2 | David Villa |
| 14 | Tommy McNamara |
| 15 | Jason Hernandez David Villa |
| 16 | R. J. Allen David Villa |
| 18 | Josh Saunders David Villa |
| 19 | David Villa |
| 21 | Kwadwo Poku David Villa |
| 24 | Kwadwo Poku |
| 29 | Ned Grabavoy |

### Major League Soccer Goal of the Week award

| Week | Player |
| 14 | Tommy McNamara |

### Etihad Airways Player of the Month award

Awarded to the player who receives the most votes in a poll conducted each month on the NYCFC website
| Month | Player |
| March | Josh Saunders |
| April | Josh Saunders |
| May | Mehdi Ballouchy |
| June | Tommy McNamara |
| July | David Villa |
| August | Kwadwo Poku |
| September | Frank Lampard |
| October | Josh Saunders |

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | US | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 7 | FW | David Villa | 32 | Non-US | Atlético Madrid | Transfer | Summer 2014 | 2017 | Undisclosed | NYCFC.com |
| 5 | DF | Jeb Brovsky | 25 | US | Montreal Impact | Trade | Summer 2014 | 2017 | 2016 SuperDraft 2nd Round pick | MLSsoccer.com |
| 12 | GK | Josh Saunders | 33 | US | Real Salt Lake | Free | Summer 2014 | 2017 | Free | NYCFC.com |
| 4 | MF | Andrew Jacobson | 28 | US | FC Dallas | Trade | Summer 2014 | 2016 | 2016 SuperDraft 3rd Round pick | NYCFC.com |
| 3 | DF | Kwame Watson-Siriboe | 27 | US | Real Salt Lake | Trade | Summer 2014 | 2016 | 2016 SuperDraft 4th Round pick | NYCFC.com |
| 23 | MF | Matt Dunn | 20 | US | Chivas USA | Draft | Winter | | Chivas USA Dispersal Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 13 | DF | Josh Williams | 26 | US | Columbus Crew | Trade | Winter | | Allocation funds | NYCFC.com |
| | DF | Omar Salgado | 21 | US | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Trade | Winter | | Undisclosed | NYCFC.com |
| 11 | MF | Ned Grabavoy | 31 | US | Real Salt Lake | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 14 | FW | Patrick Mullins | 22 | US | New England Revolution | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 21 | DF | Jason Hernandez | 31 | US | San Jose Earthquakes | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| | MF | Daniel Lovitz | 23 | US | Toronto FC | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 99 | FW | Tony Taylor | 25 | US | New England Revolution | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 20 | MF | Mehdi Ballouchy | 31 | US | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 6 | DF | George John | 27 | US | FC Dallas | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 15 | MF | Tommy McNamara | 23 | US | D.C. United | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| | MF | Sal Zizzo | 27 | US | Sporting Kansas City | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 17 | DF | Chris Wingert | 32 | US | Real Salt Lake | Draft | Winter | | Expansion Draft | NYCFC.com |
| 1 | GK | Akira Fitzgerald | 27 | US | | Free | Winter | | Free | NYCFC.com |
| 26 | MF | Sebastián Velásquez | 23 | Non-US | Real Salt Lake | Trade | Winter | | Allocation money | NYCFC.com |
| 2 | DF | Andrés Mendoza | 25 | Non-US | CD Maldonado | Transfer | Winter | | Undisclosed | NYCFC.com |
| 10 | MF | Mix Diskerud | 24 | US | Rosenborg | Free | Winter | | Free | NYCFC.com |
| 19 | FW | Khiry Shelton | 21 | US | | Draft | Winter | | SuperDraft | NYCFC.com |
| 16 | MF | Connor Brandt | 22 | US | | Draft | Winter | | SuperDraft | skyscraperblues.com |
| | GK | Andre Rawls | 23 | US | | Draft | Winter | | SuperDraft | MLSSoccer.com |
| 88 | FW | Kwadwo Poku | 22 | US | | Transfer | Winter | | Undisc. | NYCFC.com |
| 32 | FW | Adam Nemec | 29 | Non-US | Union Berlin | Transfer | Winter | | Free | NYCFC.com |
| 22 | MF | Pablo Álvarez | 34 | Non-US | Langreo | Transfer | Winter | | Free | NYCFC.com |
| 8 | MF | Frank Lampard | 36 | Non-US | Manchester City | Free | Summer | 2017 | Free | BBC Sport |
| 51 | DF | Andoni Iraola | 33 | Non-US | Athletic Bilbao | Transfer | Summer | | Free | MLSsoccer |
| 21 | MF | Andrea Pirlo | 36 | Non-US | Juventus | Transfer | Summer | | Free | NYCFC.com |

### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | US | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| | MF | Daniel Lovitz | 23 | US | Toronto FC | Trade | Winter | Allocation money | NYCFC.com |
| | MF | Sal Zizzo | 27 | US | New York Red Bulls | Trade | Winter | Ryan Meara p/x | NYCFC.com |
| | DF | Omar Salgado | 21 | US | Tigres | Transfer | Winter | Undisclosed | MLSSoccer.com |
| 32 | FW | Adam Nemec | 29 | Non-US | Willem II | Transfer | Summer | Free | sbisoccer.com |
| 13 | DF | Josh Williams | 26 | US | | Release | | | |
| 23 | MF | Matt Dunn | 20 | US | | Release | | | |
| 1 | GK | Akira Fitzgerald | 27 | US | | Release | | | |
| 2 | DF | Andrés Mendoza | 25 | Non-US | | Release | | | |

### Loan in

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned From | Start | End | Source |
| 18 | GK | Ryan Meara | New York Red Bulls | December 11, 2014 | December 2015 | NYCFC.com |
| 30 | MF | Javier Calle | Independiente Medellín | February 6, 2015 | December 2015 | NYCFC.com |
| 24 | DF | Shay Facey | Manchester City | March 6, 2015 | January 1, 2016 | NYCFC.com |
| 69 | DF | Angeliño | Manchester City | July 8, 2015 | January 1, 2016 | MLSsoccer.com |

### Loan out

| No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned To | Start | End | Source |
| 7 | FW | David Villa | Melbourne City | June 3, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | BBC.co.uk |
| 5 | DF | Jeb Brovsky | Strømsgodset | June 13, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | EmpireOfSoccer.com |
| 12 | GK | Josh Saunders | San Antonio Scorpions | July 18, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | NYCFC.com Archived July 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine |
| 4 | MF | Andrew Jacobson | Stabæk IF | July 29, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | NYCFC.com Archived July 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine |
| 3 | DF | Kwame Watson-Siriboe | Carolina RailHawks | August 22, 2014 | December 31, 2014 | CarolinaRailhawks.com |

### Non-player transfers

| Acquired | From | For | Source |
| Additional international roster slot – 2015 & 2016 | D.C. United | Allocation money | MLSsoccer.com |
| Discovery rights for Kwadwo Poku | Seattle Sounders FC | Conditional 2017 MLS SuperDraft pick | NYCFC.com |