We are dropping this season’s coverage because of the difficulty of getting reliable information out of Major League Soccer.
The 2020 Major League Soccer (MLS) season has been a crazy season with the COVID-19 epidemic. The season got put on hold on March 12, 2020. Then it restarted with the MLS is Back Tournament. Then it continued with a first phase “regular season” through September 14. NYC FC is playing home games at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey. There is supposed to be more regular season play through November 8, but schedules haven’t been posted. So who knows.
NYC FC’s last game of the first phase of the regular season is NYC FC vs FC Cincinnati at Red Bull Arena on Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 7pm.
MLS is Back Tournament
The 2020 season restarts with a special MLS Is Back tournament from July 8 to August 11. All games will be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Florida’s Walt Disney World. Games will be played without fans, but broadcast on MLS partners including ESPN. The tournament winner earns a spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
The tournament structure is:
- July 8 Group Stage
- July 25-28 Knockout Stage
- July 30 – August 1 Quarter Finals
- August 5-6 Semi Finals
- August 11 Final
The plan is for the MLS Is Back tournament to be followed by a revised home market schedule and a normal Playoff series. Everything depends on the COVID-19 situation.
Round of 16
July 26, 2020, Sunday ~ You can watch Toronto FC vs NYCFC on FS1 (Fox Sports) at 8:30pm ET. We lost 1-0. That’s it. The tournament is over for us.
NYCFC Group Stage Games
- Thursday, July 9, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs Philadelphia Union at 9am.
0-1 Philadelphia. - Tuesday, July 14, 2020 ~ Orlando City SC vs NYCFC at 10:30pm.
1-3 Orlando City. Lots of yellow cards on both sides. Paraguayan midfielder Jesús Medina found the net with an assist by Brazilian forward Heber in the 38th minute. - Sunday, July 19, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs Chicago Fire at 10pm. Finally a win. Libyan forward Ismael Tajouri found the net in the 65th minute with an assist from Romanian Designated Player Alexandru Mitriță.
The new NYCFC is clearly not firing yet, but a 1-2 record was enough to move into the Round of 16.
NYCFC 2019 Recap
2019 was NYCFC’s best season yet. It finished 1st in the MLS Eastern Conference and 2nd overall, but was eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semi Final against Toronto FC. The club also made it to the U.S. Open Cup Quarter Finals.
NYCFC 2020 Outlook
NYCFC (New York City Football Club) starts its 2020 Major League Soccer season at Yankee Stadium with new head coach Ronny Deila.
Most of the strong 2019 team is back, but a new head coach makes the season impossible to predict.
New Head Coach
Head Coach Ronny Deila is from Norway. Manchester City is one of NYCFC’s owners. It’s unusual that NYCFC’s coach did not come out of the City system. Delia plays City’s style of possession football.
Deila was a defender for Odd and then coached Strømsgodset to Norwegian Cup and Norwegian League titles. He coached Celtic to Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup titles. Most recently, he coached Norwegian side Vålerenga since 2017.
Latin Stars
Heber is a 28 year-old forward from Brazil. He made 18 goals and 4 assists for NYCFC in 2019. Heber started his career in Brazil at Figueirense, then moved to Armenia and Croatia where in 2017/18 he led Rijeka to the UEFA Europea League group stage.
Designated Player Maxi Moralez is an Argentine midfielder from Granadero, Baigorria, Argentina, who plays forward a lot. He made 7 goals and 20 assists for NYCFC in 2019.
Moralez started his career in Buenos Aires with Racing and helped Velez Sarsfield win two Argentine titles. Moralez played Italian Serie A for Atalanta, and then Club Leon from whom he joined NYCFC in 2017.
Moralez feeding up to Heber makes a potent double threat.
Romanian forward Alexandru Mitriță and Paraguayan midfielder Jesús Medina are the other designated players.
Latin Players
Starters are bolded.
Forwards
- #9 Héber (Brazil 🇧🇷)
- #28 Alexandru Mitriță (Romania 🇷🇴) ~ Designated Player
Midfielders
- #10 Maximiliano Moralez (Argentina 🇦🇷) ~ Designated Player
- #11 Valentín Castellanos (Argentina 🇦🇷)
- #14 Juan Pablo Torres (USA 🇺🇸)
- #15 Tony Rocha (Belize 🇧🇿)
- #19 Jesús Medina (Paraguay 🇵🇾) ~ Designated Player
Defenders
- #6 Alexander Callens (Peru 🇵🇪)
- #22 Rónald Matarrita (Costa Rican 🇨🇷)
- #33 Sebastien Ibeagha (Nigerian-American 🇳🇬 🇺🇸)
Goalkeepers
- #13 Luis Barraza (USA 🇺🇸)
Big Games in NYCFC’s 2020 Season
This was NYCFC’s original season, which was cancelled for the COVID-19 epidemic.
NYCFC’s rivalry is the Hudson River Derby with the New York Red Bulls. There should be good games against 2019 Supporters Shield winner Los Angeles, 2019 MLS Cup winner Seattle Sounders, and Toronto who knocked NYCFC out of the 2019 MLS Cup Semi-Finals.
Home Opener
Saturday, March 14, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs Dallas is at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 12:30pm. From $22
Toronto FC
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs Toronto FC is at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 7pm. From $17
Hudson River Derby Home
Sunday, May 31, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs NY Red Bulls is at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 3pm. From $29
Hudson River Derby Away
Sunday, August 23, 2020 ~ NY Red Bulls vs NYCFC is at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey (Newark) at 7pm.
Red Bull Arena is about a 30-minute train ride from Penn Station in New York City.
Home Closer
Saturday, September 26, 2020 ~ NYCFC vs D.C. United is NYCFC’s last regular season home game at Yankee Stadium in Concourse, The Bronx at 7pm.
NYCFC Tickets
The MLS Is Back tournament will be played without fans so there are no tickets for sale. Games will be broadcast on MLS partners including ESPN.
If a regular season follows, then tickets may become available. Major League Soccer uses variable pricing. Buy early for the best prices. In a regular season, get season and single game tickets at nycfc.com
