CHAPTER 1 FINALLY A TROPHY After 18 years the New York Red Bulls finally had a trophy to celebrate And the man who led the way also happened to be a legend as both a player and as a head coach Mike Petke was named as the head coach of the Red Bulls before the start of the 2013 Major League Soccer MLS season As a player he was loved by the fans A native of Long Island New York he was drafted in 1998 when the team was called the MetroStars Petke was all about the team The defender was aggressive and gave his all on the field Family and friends came out to Giants Stadium to support him He won over fans because he hated to lose He put in a total effort every time he stepped onto the field No one cared more about the MetroStars than Petke Thierry Henry takes a corner kick for the Red Bulls as they try to wrap up the Supporters Shield on October 27 2013 4
Hans Backe had been a successful coach in Europe but he couldn’t help the Red Bulls win any trophies So after a long playing career that ended after the 2010 season Petke joined the Red Bulls coaching staff The head coach at the time was Hans Backe 6
Backe was a father figure to the Red Bulls and with his silver hair he looked the part too His experience in Europe as a head coach at several big clubs helped the Red Bulls become one of the best teams in MLS But in three seasons under Backe the team never won a trophy FIGHTING FOR THE SHIELD MLS teams compete for three domestic trophies each season The Supporters Shield is given to the team that has the best regular-season record The US Open Cup is an annual knockout tournament open to all professional and amateur teams in the country And the most coveted prize of all is the MLS Cup That goes to the winner of the league’s postseason playoffs The champions of the Eastern and Western conferences meet in a one-game winner-take-all showdown In the final game of the 2013 season the Red Bulls had a chance to win their first trophy With a win against the Chicago Fire they could take the Supporters Shield Their stadium Red Bull Arena was packed a sold-out crowd excited to see history But the fans had a right to be nervous The team had a long history of falling short in big moments Even with star players and some very good teams the Red Bulls had never won a trophy They had come close like in 2000 when Petke and his 7
