Clinched playoffs mark turnaround for New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC and New York City FC
Three teams in the Eastern Conference are through to the MLS playoffs, and they have the New York Red Bulls to thank for it. With the Red Bulls’ 1-0 win over the Montreal Impact on Saturday night, all three of the East's top teams — Toronto FC, New York City FC, and the Red Bulls — got their tickets punched for the postseason.
To see these three teams qualify for the playoffs — and do it with weeks in the regular season to spare — is significant in different ways.
• The New York Red Bulls started 2016 with an abysmal string of results, losing seven of their first eight games. It got so bad that at one point midfielder Sacha Kljestan walked up to traveling supporters and apologized for how bad the team had been playing. But the Red Bulls strengthened their defense (thanks, in part, to the acquisition of centerback Aurelien Collin) and started to figure things out in the attack as striker Bradley Wright-Phillips finally got going. Now they sit atop of the Eastern Conference on tiebreakers.
• New York City FC had lofty ambitions when they joined MLS as an expansion team last year — some might have said too lofty. They fired coach Jason Kreis after missing the playoffs (a heavy ask for a first-year team) and brought in Patrick Vieira as replacement coach. But the swap worked as Vieira made all the right moves to turn NYCFC into a legitimate playoff contender. Now they are into their first postseason ever. And assuming Frank Lampard will be back (he was injured last week and is expected to return in three to four weeks) — they have a shot to do something with it.
• Toronto FC only recently set its sights higher after years of quiet mediocrity. Last year was their first time in the playoffs, despite being in MLS since 2007 — a feat achieved after throwing around the money to land stars like Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco starting in 2014. TFC have looked like a title contender on paper thanks to their talented roster, but injuries and quiet spells from players like Giovinco and Altidore didn’t help. The injured Giovinco is expected to be back soon, which is good because when he and Altidore start clicking, it’s magic on the pitch — especially given Altidore's present form, which may be his best ever.
The three teams join FC Dallas, who are first in the Western Conference and clinched their spot in the playoffs last week. FC Dallas also just won the U.S. Open Cup and are chasing a so-called treble of trophies, which no MLS team has ever accomplished.
The LA Galaxy can join the group of playoff teams on Sunday if they can beat the Seattle Sounders, who are looking to rebound from a difficult season.
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