On a picture-perfect night many fans longed for, the New York metropolitan area finally got its own soccer stadium Saturday.
The long-suffering Red Bulls even got a win, and Major League Soccer ensured five years of labor peace by signing a new collective bargaining agreement before the match.
The sky was cloudless blue, and the first evening of spring felt more like early summer. A sellout crowd of 25,000, many in shirt sleeves on a 73-degree night, filled long-discussed and much-delayed Red Bull Arena and watched the Red Bulls roll over Brazil's Santos - Pele's old team - 3-1 in a chippy exhibition.
Joel Lindpere scored off the rebound of his own free kick in the 11th minute, Mike Petke added a goal in the 43rd and Dane Richards made it 3-0 two minutes later. Germano headed in Santos' goal in the 90th, just before the lights were cut and a fireworks display was shot off from the center circle.
Fans filled the $200 million, two-deck oval, and league officials immediately proclaimed the nation's eighth soccer specific stadium its finest. The arena had been planned for a decade, but construction repeatedly was pushed back.
``It was six weeks away, six weeks away,'' said Petke, the Red Bulls' captain. ``These last 10 years have been the longest six weeks of my life.''
Franz Beckenbauer, a World Cup champion for Germany as a player and coach, was on hand to mark the moment along with Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn. When Der Kaiser played for the Cosmos from 1977-80, they filled up Giants Stadium in nearby East Rutherford with crowds of nearly 80,000. But with MLS mostly lacking the biggest stars, the Red Bulls averaged just 12,491 fans for league home games last year, 12th among 15 teams.
And they were forced to play on artificial turf that was slightly too narrow. Now they're in a gleaming stadium that looks as if it could have been transplanted from a wealthy regional club in central Europe, with a translucent glass roof over the seats to protect fans from rain.
``Thirty or 40 years ago, almost no one in the country played the game, and it takes time,'' Beckenbauer said. ``Also, it's a question of tradition. So it takes time to get used to, to compete with the best teams in world, which you are doing now.''
In a league that will miss its biggest draw, Los Angeles midfielder David Beckham, for most if not all of this season because of his torn Achilles' tendon, the Red Bulls hope to add a star later this year. Barcelona's Thierry Henry and Real Madrid's Raul Gonzalez often are mentioned as possibilities.
``It should be the beginning of a new era in New York soccer,'' said Dietmar Beiersdorfer, sporting director of parent Red Bull. ``For sure we are also working on one other player maybe to strengthen our team.''
The biggest stars were missing from this match because of injury - Santos' Robinho and New York's Juan Pablo Angel. Beiersdorfer knows what sells, especially in the Big Apple.
Neymar, the biggest star on the field for Santos, gave his jersey to Red Bulls defender Jeremy Hall at the half. Many fans wore yellow Brazilian national team jerseys, and Santos coach Dorival Junior called it ``a party atmosphere'' even though he was disappointed with the result.''
``We could feel the love from the crowd,'' Neymar said through a translator.
The field needs a little work - sand kept kicking up.
``We've always talked about getting away from the turf at Giants Stadium and how bad it was,'' Petke said. ``What I played in tonight, you could put concrete down, to be honest with you and I would have been, you know, thrilled.''
While PATH commuter trains go directly to the stadium, allowing fans to travel in the same manner as most European supporters do, those who took shuttle buses from Newark's Penn Station were caught in a 45-minute bottleneck to the nearby stadium, which looks like a silver spaceship on the shore of the Passaic River.
``We would have been better off walking,'' said Suzanne Becker of Bethlehem, Pa.
Now that there won't be a strike, up ahead is the first official match, New York's MLS opener against Chicago next Saturday. The Red Bulls were 5-19-6 in the league last year and 6-21-7 overall.
``Even friendly games are important games,'' new coach Hans Backe said.
Now that they have a top ground, they need to build an equal team.
``There really is no excuses,'' Petke said.
