Tag: NYCFC

Atlas Twitter account having normal one, cites Hitler in complaint over offside call

This is just one great big yikes

There is a long, winding and tortuous road that must be travelled to get from “being mad about an offside call” to a final destination of “citing Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels,” but the Atlas FC Twitter account took that cursed journey on Monday.

Nothing good will come from utilizing the Third Reich to get your point across about a Leagues Cup game, but the Liga MX club tried anyway when discussing a call from the previous night’s game against NYCFC.

Did we mention the call actually went in favor of Atlas and also that it won the match? Those facts are both beside the point and yet still even more mind-blowing when examining a tweet that — to be clear — referenced two of the principal architects of World War 2 and the Holocaust.

With Atlas leading 1-0 in Sunday’s match, NYCFC appeared to notch a late equalizer through Justin Haak. After a VAR review, however, the goal was disallowed and Atlas would hold on for the win.

The protests against that call were apparently too much for the Atlas Twitter account to take, as it opted to use Hitler and his chief propagandist to make a very normal and salient point about analysts breaking down the offside call.

Several hours after it was posted, Atlas would delete the tweet and issue an apology.

To all social media managers (and just, people): Unless you are talking specifically about World War 2 and/or the Holocaust, the Nazi references are probably a bad idea!

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New MLS stadiums: Future sites and rumors

MLS’s construction push continues apace

Over the last eight years, MLS has really upped its game in terms of stadiums.

Between new expansion teams coming into the league and existing clubs building new homes, MLS has found itself in 12 new venues over that time period. Of that group, 11 are soccer-specific, meaning the league has never had better conditions on gameday than it has right now.

If anything, MLS’s pace in terms of building stadiums has accelerated of late, with five new arenas opening since the start of 2021. That push will continue in the years to come, with projects in Miami and New York City in progress and expansion in San Diego bringing another new venue into the league.

Here are MLS’s future stadiums.

NYCFC unveils first renderings of new 25,000-seat stadium

The club is aiming to be in New York City’s first soccer-specific stadium by the 2027 season

The post-Yankee Stadium era for New York City FC is drawing closer.

The club’s next step in its long-awaited transition to a soccer-specific stadium came on Wednesday, when the first renderings of its new 25,000-seat venue were released.

In November the club struck a deal to build the privately funded stadium in the Willets Point neighborhood of Queens, just across the street from the New York Mets’ home of Citi Field.

The $780 million stadium is part of what is being dubbed the Willets Point Revitalization Plan, which also includes an affordable housing development, 40,000 square feet of public open space, a school, a hotel, and ground-floor retail shops.

NYCFC is aiming for the stadium, which will be the first soccer-specific venue within New York City, to be complete in time for the 2027 MLS season.

That would end a 12-season run at Yankee Stadium, which has served as NYCFC’s home since its 2015 expansion season. Due to various conflicts with the stadium’s primary tenant, the New York Yankees, the MLS club has been forced to play home games at several other venues over the years. That includes last season’s playoff opener against Inter Miami, which was moved to Citi Field at the last second.

According to NYCFC, the renderings — which, we should stress, may not end up exactly representing the stadium’s final design — showcase an “iconic, activated cube entranceway that will serve as a warm, experiential welcome to fans and community members alike. On match days, the cube will be illuminated with vibrant imagery inspiring a dynamic experience from the moment you approach NYCFC’s new home.”

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Taty Castellanos, still technically an MLS player, rings Real Madrid up for four goals

Castellanos is the fifth player ever to score four in one game on Real Madrid

Taty Castellanos, who is playing for Girona on loan from NYCFC, offered the perfect advertisement for MLS on Wednesday.

Castellanos stunned none other than Real Madrid, scoring four goals as Girona beat the defending European champions 4-2.

That makes him just the fifth player ever to score four goals in one game on Real Madrid. It also means that he’s scored four goals in a league match against Real Madrid as often as he did against all MLS teams (he hit Real Salt Lake for four in a 6-0 win in April 2022).

With Girona’s first serious look of the game, Castellanos snapped a header past Andriy Lunin after Miguel Gutiérrez clipped a teasing ball in from the left.

The second was more difficult, as Castellanos has to fight off Éder Militão to turn the most hopeful of long balls into anything at all. But fight he did, and after gaining position on the Brazilian, Castellanos held his ground long enough to slot past Lunin for a brace.

Real struck back through Vinícius Jr. before halftime, but just moments into the second half, a wide-open Castellanos made it a hat trick. Yan Couto raided down the right side, and all Castellanos had to do was keep his shot on target after Militão and Dani Carvajal both seemed to think the other had the Argentine striker marked.

Castellanos continued to terrorize Militão and hit a stunning fourth in the 63rd minute. Girona’s short-corner routine seemed to freeze Real’s zonal marking, and Castellanos bought himself a yard or so off of Militão’s back shoulder to head yet another goal past Lunin.

Lucas Vázquez would notch a late consolation goal for los Blancos, but the damage was done. Castellanos’ future value will likely go up demonstrably from this one performance, and the Blanquivermells climbed into ninth place thanks to the unlikely win.

Then again, if you ask their manager Michel, maybe it’s not such a shock.

“The difference between Girona and Madrid is not 24 points, we have already shown it at the Bernabéu and today at Montilivi,” Michel said in a post-match press conference. He might have a point, as Girona took a 1-1 draw in Madrid back in October.

“It was a dream night,” Castellanos told Movistar after the match. “We played a great game against one of the best in the world.”

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USMNT’s Sands says Rangers spell didn’t offer tests like battling MLS stars

It doesn’t sound like Sands felt challenged at Rangers

James Sands is glad to be back with the U.S. men’s national team, and back in the parity-driven battles that make up an MLS schedule.

Sands is on the USMNT roster for Wednesday’s Continental Clásico, giving him a chance to break a bit of a strange gap in his national team resume. The 22-year-old was in uniform in half of the team’s World Cup qualifiers, but has been stuck on seven caps since starting in a September 2021 qualifier against Honduras.

Since then, Sands has won an MLS Cup with NYCFC, and spent 14 months playing for Rangers on loan in Scotland. He certainly saw plenty of time playing for one of the Scottish Premiership’s big clubs, appearing 41 times, but his loan was terminated early so he could return to MLS and sign a new contract with NYCFC.

For Sands, the reason for that move might be simple: being truly tested in every single game.

Speaking to NYCFC’s team site, Sands said that facing off with Atlanta United star Thiago Almada is an example of an advantage MLS has over the Scottish top flight, where the concentration of elite players is virtually entirely held by Rangers and their Old Firm rival Celtic.

“I really look forward to those sorts of challenges,” said Sands. “That’s something that I get here in MLS that I didn’t get at all really in Scotland in the league there, so it’s a nice change. Those guys will get the better of me sometimes, but it’s all about learning. I’m still a young player, and I’m trying to improve.”

Tough assignments key for Sands

While playing for Rangers came with Europa League and Champions League clashes and the pressure that comes in a country where soccer is king, the everyday of the Scottish Premiership meant regularly facing teams who were just looking to hang on for dear life rather than pose any new difficulties for Sands.

Since opting to return to MLS, Sands has started in all seven of NYCFC’s matches, and that has helped get him back in the frame for the USMNT. In that time, he’s faced players like Almada, Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar, Xherdan Shaqiri with the Chicago Fire, and Carles Gil of the New England Revolution.

“I’ve been out of the national team for a little bit now, so it’s nice to have another opportunity,” explained Sands. “It’s just a couple days I’m there, so I just have to give it everything. I think I’ve worked really hard over the last couple months, so I’m very excited.”

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James Sands returns to NYCFC after cutting Rangers loan short

The 22-year-old heads back to his parent club four months before his loan was set to end

James Sands has returned to New York City FC, cutting his loan at Rangers short and signing a new contract through 2027 with the MLS club.

Sands joined Rangers in January 2022 on an 18-month loan but after the 22-year-old fell out of favor in Scotland, he’s returned to his parent club four months early.

“The opportunity to return to NYCFC for the start of the MLS season, where he will be a key player in their squad, was something that we felt was correct for all parties,” Rangers manager Michael Beale said in a club release.

The Daily Record reported that Rangers opted against paying a £4 million fee to sign Sands at the end of the current season.

Sands made 41 appearances for Rangers during his time with the club, rotating in and out of the starting lineup and playing both center back and defensive midfield.

The 22-year-old was NYCFC’s first-ever Homegrown signing in 2017, and went on to make 76 appearances for the club before his move to Scotland. Sands has also been capped seven times by the U.S. national team, all of which came in 2021.

In a club release, NYCFC sporting director David Lee said that Sands still harbors ambitions to return to Europe.

“It was a priority for us to try and ensure James returned to New York this season,” Lee said. “Despite opportunities to continue his career in Europe, we are pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement on a new contract and convince James that this is the right place for his continued career progression. We know James’ ambition remains to play at the highest levels in Europe and we will continue to support him with his career aspirations.”

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NYCFC’s globetrotting days are numbered after deal for Queens soccer-specific stadium

NYCFC is moving to Willets Point in Queens

New York City FC’s wandering ways may finally be over.

MLS’s only itinerant club has announced a partnership, alongside Mayor Eric Adams, District 21 councilmember Francisco Moya, labor unions, and the Queens Development Group, to build a stadium as an anchor of a new mixed-use, mixed-income development in Queens’ Willets Point neighborhood.

The NYCFC stadium proposal is for a privately-funded 25,000-seat stadium that would be just across the street from Citi Field, home of baseball’s New York Mets. The proposal aims to have the stadium open in 2027. The Mets and NYCFC are “expected to share parking,” which could eventually become a problem, though the stadium will be close to the Mets-Willets Point stop on both the subway and the Long Island Rail Road.

Citi Field is just one of a staggering seven venues NYCFC has called home since debuting in 2015. They’ve played most of their games at Yankee Stadium, a historic baseball facility that has never truly been able to adequately host soccer. A baseball diamond covered with temporary sod was routinely the worst surface in MLS, and the incredibly tight field dimensions were so suspicious that reporter Grant Wahl was once compelled to measure them himself.

Perhaps the best example of the club’s troubles at their home stadium came when CONCACAF — well known as a bastion of high standards — decreed that Yankee Stadium was not an acceptable venue for CONCACAF Champions League play.

NYCFC has also played quite a few games at Red Bull Arena (the home of their archrivals in New Jersey), while also playing sporadically at Connecticut’s Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, two different small college stadiums (Fordham’s Coffey Field, and St. John’s University’s Belson Stadium), and even at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

Back when an expansion team in New York City was announced in 2013, MLS expected to be able to find a stadium solution without needing too much time.

It turns out that developing real estate in New York City is hard. The list of proposals that were made public on some level included the following:

  • Flushing Meadows (Queens)
  • a site next to Yankee Stadium (Bronx)
  • Belmont Park (Long Island)
  • Harlem River Yards (Bronx)

None had panned out, but this time it appears that NYCFC, once they get through at least four more full season of hosting headaches, will finally have a home.

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Philadelphia Union hit NYCFC with stunning second-half blitz to reach MLS Cup

Three goals in 11 minutes turned the game on its head

After a 34-game regular season and three rounds of single-elimination playoff matches, the league’s two best teams have reached MLS Cup.

The Philadelphia Union produced three goals in a stunning 11-minute blitz on Sunday, turning a one-goal deficit into a 3-1 win over New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final.

The Union will travel to Southern California on Saturday to take on Los Angeles FC, who beat Austin FC easily earlier in the day to secure a home MLS Cup final.

LAFC won the Supporters’ Shield on a tiebreaker over the Union, with both teams finishing level atop the overall MLS standings with 67 points.

The Union, though, were dangerously close to seeing their season end in front of a raucous home crowd at Subaru Park.

Maxi Moralez gave NYCFC the lead in the 57th minute after a picture-perfect team move. Just two minutes later, Andre Blake perhaps saved the Union’s season.

Alexander Callens got on the end of a cross and hammered a point-blank header toward goal, but the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year was there to repel the ball and keep his side from going two goals down with a half-hour to play.

From there, the Union hit the visitors with three quick goals. The first one will be especially galling for NYCFC, which was victimized by a simple quick free kick that saw Julián Carranza get behind the defense and drive home the equalizer.

Carranza played a key role in what would be the game-winner just two minutes later, as his header from Jack McGlynn’s excellent back-post service found Dániel Gazdag for an easy close-range finish.

Cory Burke would add the insurance goal in the 76th minute, leaving the visitors stunned and the home fans in raptures.

This year’s MLS Cup will be the first time since 2003 that the top seeds from the East and the West will square off. It is also guaranteed to produce a first-time MLS Cup winner.

It should be quite the show on Saturday at Banc of California Stadium.

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NYCFC put on counter-attacking clinic, bounce CF Montreal from MLS playoffs

NYCFC were ruthless in transition as they ended Montréal’s season

NYCFC has serious designs on extending their reign as MLS’s top dog for another season.

The defending champions went to Quebec and dismantled CF Montréal 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. Maxi Moralez, Héber, and Talles Magno all scored as the 2021 MLS Cup winners combined mastery in transition moments with some excellent goalkeeping from Sean Johnson (at least, in the first half) to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Throughout 2022 Montréal earned a reputation as the experts at drawing teams towards over-committing before catching them out. In their biggest game of the year though, NYCFC taught them a lesson, time and again manufacturing transition moments by forcing turnovers just as Montréal committed too many men forward.

Nick Cushing altered his side’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, bringing an extra center back in, but that didn’t hamper their razor-sharp attack. An energetic start resulted in an early goal for NYCFC, with Moralez calmly depositing the ball into an empty net after Gabriel Pereira and Santiago Rodríguez had done most of the heavy lifting.

From that moment through to the last seconds of the half, it was all Montréal. Sean Johnson produced two jaw-dropping saves, Kei Kamara hit the post, referee Drew Fischer turned down a penalty shout from Djordje Mihailovic, and the home side would also have a goal on a clever set piece called back for offside. NYCFC would enter the locker room with more yellow cards (three) than shot attempts (two).

That second shot ended up being critical though, as a jailbreak counter saw NYCFC take a 2-0 lead. Montréal’s fast recovery appeared to have ended the danger, but Rodríguez played a marvelous ball to Héber, whose run went completely undetected. The pass was so good that all the Brazilian veteran had to do was casually tuck the ball past James Pantemis, stunning Stade Saputo.

Wilfried Nancy brought Rommel Quioto on to push for a comeback, but another incisive NYCFC counter ended with Pantemis tripping Pereira in the box. Fischer awarded the obvious penalty, and Talles Magno — with virtually his first touch after coming on — finished it off from the spot.

Montréal would at least salvage some pride with a late goal from Mihailovic — a routine header that Johnson was inexplicably unable to fend off — and gave NYCFC some worries in the final minutes, but ultimately the cutting edge shown by New York City made them worthy winners.

NYCFC will head south on I-95 to take on the Philadelphia Union in a rematch of last year’s conference final, which is set for October 30.

Watch the goals that sent NYCFC past Montréal

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NYCFC made sure Gonzalo Higuain’s career ended at a baseball stadium

NYCFC produced three second-half goals to eliminate Inter Miami and end the Argentine’s career

New York City FC beat Inter Miami 3-0 in an MLS playoff match at Citi Field on Monday, ending Gonzalo Higuaín’s storied career in the process.

After the match entered the half scoreless, the home side hit the visitors with a three-goal blitz in the second period. Gabriel Pereira, Maxi Moralez and Héber found the back of the net for NYCFC in the second half, setting up an Eastern Conference semifinal date against CF Montréal.

The pre-game talk centered on Higuaín’s impending retirement, with the 34-year-old announcing earlier this month that his illustrious career would come to a close at the end of the season.

There was also the question of where the game would be held. With NYCFC’s normal home of Yankee Stadium unavailable, the team eventually found another baseball stadium to host the match in the form of Citi Field.

The crowd at the home of the New York Mets would witness a wild first-half sequence that nearly saw Inter Miami score two straight own goals. Héber’s chipped shot was cleared off the crossbar by Aimé Mabika, and Chris McVey’s attempted clearance immediately rattled off the post.

Inter Miami got the match to halftime scoreless, but would only hold out until the 63rd minute before Pereira opened the scoring with a fantastic curled finish following tremendous work from Santiago Rodríguez.

Moralez put the game away six minutes later before Héber added the gloss in stoppage time.

After the final whistle blew, Higuaín grew emotional on the pitch as he grappled with his 17-year professional career coming to a close.

One of the greatest strikers of his generation, Higuaín played for some of the biggest names in the game including River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, and Chelsea.

On Monday night, it all came to an end on a field whose most recent game saw San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove pitch seven scoreless innings to help eliminate the Mets from the National League Wild Card round.

It’s a funny old game sometimes.

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