Red Bulls/MetroStars Legends Nominated to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2017

Three members of the New York Red Bulls "20 IN 20 CLUB," along with several other MetroStars/Red Bulls players and contributors have been nominated to the 2017 National Soccer Hall of Fame.

On Wednesday, May 24, U.S. Soccer unveiled its list of 33 players, 15 veteran players and 10 "builders"  (administrators, executives and coaches, for the most part) for nomination to the Hall of Fame Class of 2017. Among the list are three members of the 20 In 20 Club - Amado Guevara, Clint Mathis and Eddie Gaven.

Guevara spent four seasons with the MetroStars and Red Bulls, playing over 100 games and scoring 32 goals. In 2004 he had one of the best seasons ever for a MetroStars player, scoring 10 goals and 10 assists, which earned him the title of MLS MVP, MLS Best XI, and MLS Scoring co-Champion of the year (back when it was determined by points, not total goals). That same year, he was named to the MLS All-Star Game and was named MVP of the MLS All-Star Game. To this day, he remains the only MetroStar or Red Bull to be named MLS MVP (not that Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry, BWP or Sacha Kljestan are complaining of course).

Mathis had two stints with the club, once with the MetroStars from 2000 to 2003, and again in the 2007 season. Long before Bradley Wright-Phillips or even Juan Pablo Angel came to town, Mathis was perhaps the most consistent scoring threat the team ever had. After joining the team in the middle of the 2000 season in a trade with Los Angeles, Mathis recorded 13 goals and 13 assists in just 21 games, setting numerous records (including a club record five goals in a game) and earning MLS Best XI and MLS All-Star honors in the process. In 2001 he played just 10 games but scored seven goals and five assists, as well as MLS Goal of the Year. 2002 was a bit of a lost year due to injuries and international duty, but in 2003 he had nine goals and an assist, and helped the Red Bulls make the U.S. Open Cup Final for the first (and only) time in club history.

Gaven played for the MetroStars as a teenager from 2003 to 2005, scoring 16 goals in 67 MLS appearances for the team before a more outstanding career with Columbus.

Current Red Bulls Assistant Head Coach Chris Armas has also been nominated. Though his work as Jesse Marsch's right-hand man since 2015 has been commendable, his 12 years in MLS - mostly as a midfielder for Chicago Fire - are the key factors in his nomination. Armas is, however, in his final year of eligibility for the Hall.

Shep Messing, the recognizable voice of the New York Red Bulls on television for years (and iconic smokeless tobacco spokesman), has been nominated as a veteran for his outstanding career as a goalkeeper for the New York Cosmos (the 70s version, not the present incarnation) as well as many years as a top-flight American soccer figure.

Several players who had only brief stints with the club have been nominated too, including Forward Ante Razov (2005) and Defender Chris Albright (2010-11).