Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, 2015:
MLS New York City Football Club vs. NASL New York Cosmos
Who said there is no exciting soccer in the US?? This Wednesday New Yorkers especially, but also US soccer fans worldwide are up for a great match of two New York sides.
June 15, 2015
A fantastic soccer game awaits this Wednesday, between two New-York clubs that have a lot to prove, both looking to cause an upset, and carve a niche in the City’s soccer psyche.
New York Cosmos, reinstated in 2010, have beaten New York Red Bulls last season (3-0 in the 4th round of the US Open Cup) and are looking for their second knockout win in this New-York Darby. The Cosmos are coming strong into this match, having been crowned NASL Champions this past weekend, finishing an impressive spring season with 5 wins and 5 draws in 10 matches.
Major League Soccer Expansion team New York City Football Club have been having a tough first MLS season. With an 11-match winless streak, NYCFC now sit at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference table. However, the team seems to be finding its form, coming into Wednesday’s match after a 3-1 win this weekend (over Montreal Impact), followed by a 2-1 win over Philadelphia Union in the previous weekend.
Aside from this match being history in the making for the City of New York, there is also a lot of old history between the leaders of both sides. Despite being in advanced stages of their soccer careers, each site boasts its own Spanish, or better yet world soccer legend. Raul Gonzalez Blanco (better known as Raul) and David Villa, for the Cosmos and NYCFC respectively.
Raul vs. Villa.
Image Source: Linda Cuttone/Sports Vue Images
Cosmos Raul is a Real Madrid legend, having won 7 La Liga titles and 4 UEFA Champion League titles. NYCFC’s Villa played for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, both arch rivals of Real Madrid. There is even some tabloid rivalry between the two around the Spain National Team #7 Kit, that Villa was allegedly accused of snapping from Raul.
Villa said to the press: “this match is of high importance to us. We are training and in preparation for the 1st game in the US Cup, while we are also playing at the MLS regular season. We must get ahead as far as we can in both competitions. We had a good run in the past 2 weeks, so hopefully we will continue to build on this and win more games.”
A great night awaits the City of New York, NASL New York Cosmos, MLS NYCFC, but more so us soccer fans worldwide!
Wednesday, June 17th, 19:30 EST kickoff
Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University
