HANOVER, N.J. – After clinching the Supporters’ Shield on the road, the New York Red Bulls will finally have a chance to celebrate the momentous achievement at home on Sunday afternoon.
With that famous victory back in late October of last year, the Red Bulls exorcised some demons by earning all three points in Chicago for the first time in 10 years.
The win was a special moment for the contingent of traveling fans in attendance, but as the commemorative banner gets hung high atop Red Bull Arena, the moment to celebrate with all of the Red Bulls faithful will be an occasion to remember.
“That will be pretty cool,” midfielder Sacha Kljestan admitted. “That should hang in the stadium forever, so it’s nice to be a part of something like that. Those are special moments in your career, so for me to take a minute or two before the game and recognize our accomplishment from last season will be pretty special, but then it’ll be back to business as usual. Hopefully the fans get to cheer for us before the game but also cheer for us after the game and celebrate three points.”
Whereas the club was able to lift their first Supporters’ Shield at home in 2013, the season opener against Toronto FC will be the first chance for many fans to honor the accomplishment.
A chance to look back at last year’s silverware will certainly be a nice nod to the past, but head coach Jesse Marsch has his eyes firmly set on the future, and it all starts on March 6.
“Hopefully that brings closure, and I won’t have to answer any more questions about the Supporters’ Shield; we can move on to 2016,” he said with a laugh. “In our minds, we’ve already done that.
“It’s an important moment for our fans and our club to raise the banner, and this will be the one last bit to enjoy what was done last year.”
