Three Shield winning coaches in one Arena

There have been alot of great players who have originally worn the Red & Black, then the Red & White of the MetroStars/New York Red Bulls, and while the talent of famous players who have come over from Europe or South America have shined brightly, this New York City area side has also developed and brought over talented American Players.

Yet the one thing this club has been short of or haven’t had anything at all was hardware, or silverware as this side either were contenders, lucky to get to the final and lost it, or just plan old bad luck. While this side hasn’t lifted a cup in either the MLS Cup or the US Open Cup, they were able to turn things around when they won the regular season Supporters Shield.

On Saturday night June 1st, in one of the most rarest nights in the twenty-three year history of this club, the most recent success has been that large silver platter that they have won three times within the last six seasons, means you will host all playoff games including the final of MLS Cup as the current head coaches and a former head coach were inside the same Arena.

Mike Petke the current head coach of Real Salt Lake, Chris Armas the current head coach of the New York Red Bulls, then sneaking in as a fan was former head coach Jesse Marsch, as he sat in the crowd after the Red Bull Leipzig German Bundesliga season ended.

We all remember the very first one, that was going to be achieved at Red Bull Arena back in 2013 as the former player who is a club legend retired at the end of the 2010 season, joined Hans Backe’s coaching staff for two seasons.

At the end of the 2012 season the club decided not to bring Hans back, and with no one wanting the job, then Sporting Director Andy RoxBurgh decided to give Petke the reigns that led to their first trophy with a 5-2 win and a four goal second half thrashing of the Chicago Fire.

Then a new regime came in with the Jesse Marsch/Ali Curtis era in 2015. This was the season that changed up and said goodbye to Mike and hello to Jesse. This was the season of major discord between the club and the fans, but at the end of the regular season, the Red Bulls does the impossible to win their second Supporters Shield in three seasons.

Sadly this title was won on the road, but it didn’t matter as the supporters who travel very well, where ever the club goes, they brought the shield over and celebrated inside the corner of then Toyota Park.

In the middle of the 2018 season Jesse Marsch took a job with sister club Red Bull Leipzig as an assistant coach, which meant someone within the coaching staff was going to take over. That man was Chris Armas who opened his coaching campaign with a late loss at New York City FC, roared to a spectacular finish.

Not only did the Red Bulls defeated Orlando City by a goal to nil, but Atlanta United, who led the entire season till the final day of games, dropped three points in Toronto. Making way for the Red Bulls to win the Shield, for the third time in six seasons.

To have these men inside Red Bull Arena at the same time, was somehow in the cards for a wonderful evening of Soccer. A native who brought the first regular season title to the club, a man who was hated by replacing the native and won everyone over by winning that title.

Then he leaves three and a half years for a job in Leipzig, which in turn allows the current head coach, who was his assistant to take over and at the death, grabs their third title in six seasons.

We all know what the real prize is, but still, what they have accomplished is still an amazing feat, as silverware was very scarce for this club, when only pre-season titles were the only things that mattered back then.

Fate was in the stars when Jesse Marsch surprised everyone when he visited his old club while the scheduled match between the two natives were going to be interesting, while the Red Bulls were victorious over RSL, the supporters won that match. Three men winning one shield each, is an amazing moment.