In the News: New York Times on MLS Growth

It’s been a busy few days in NYCFC-Land…

This week’s media roundup kicks off with an article from the New York Times on the growing appetite for soccer in the U.S and the impact that is having on Major League Soccer.

Ken Belson has penned the piece which focuses on the sheer number of cities vying for Expansion Team slots and the increasing investment in the existing teams from benefactors and sponsors alike.

Featuring contributions from MLS Commissioner Don Garber, it’s a fascinating read which should fill the soccer-loving public with optimism for what’s coming down the pike.

A section of the article reads: “Instead of seeing teams fold or move, the league has investors ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on expansion fees and stadium construction.

“The new stadiums, the new sponsors, the new players emerging from the league’s new academy programs ‘empower anyone running a sports league,’ Garber said.”

That one is well worth a read in full here.
PHOTOS: Carli Lloyd Takes in Hudson River Derby

Moving on, we can’t go any further without finding out how our Hudson River Derby victory over Red Bulls was received in the media.

FourFourTwo’s Graham Parker described it as a watershed moment in the rivalry in his piece entitled: “How NYCFC-Red Bulls lost its innocence and became a proper derby.”

Parker argues: “I got my wish, and New York, arguably, got its first real derby game, as opposed to rivalry game.

“The distinction, perhaps, comes from the fact that a rivalry game can be preordained by a marketer, but only a true derby game checks all the boxes that match the hype.

“A derby game consistently exists as a state of exception: harder tackles; unusual crowd intensity; irrelevance of current form, as a notionally weaker team raises its game; rapid shifts in momentum, etc.

“Previous editions of this series have had flashes of the above, but there was never a game where either team looked like it could have emerged as a winner.”

READ: Five Things We Learned from NYCFC 3-2 Red Bulls

Elsewhere, some recommended listening from the Soccer in the City podcast team Glenn Crooks, Roberto Abramowitz, Tom Kolker and John Rojas who have reflected on our 3-2 win, providing a full tactical breakdown on the game.

Click the link in Glenn’s tweet below to tune in and make sure you hit subscribe to hear their weekly takes on our games.

Finally, the New York Post gave their verdict on the match which focused on the two leading protagonists, David Villa and Bradley Wright-Phillips.

Reporter Mark Cannizzaro scribed: “Perhaps the only surprising element to what Villa, the Spanish superstar, did Sunday was the fact that it was his first career MLS hat trick.

“Villa, who now has 17 goals this season coming off his virtuoso MVP performance in 2016, scored one more goal than the Red Bulls’ underrated star striker Bradley Wright-Phillips.

“At the end of this highly entertaining rivalry match before a spirited sellout crowd of 33,679, the final score was as much David Villa 3, Bradley Wright-Phillips 2 as it was NYCFC 3, Red Bulls 2.”

More next week!