NYCFC's MLS Cup Title a Product of Club's Resilience, Refocusing of Its Resources

Considering the wealth at its disposal, NYCFC is no upstart, but emerging as MLS Cup champion in the face of what it was up against is a true achievement.

This was Cascadia unleashed, in all its wet and hazy sound and fury. Rain pounded Providence Park. The gusts of wind whipping through the renovated stadium proved to be too much for the large inflatable MLS Cup trophy, which crumbled meekly during Saturday afternoon’s pregame ceremony. And the crowd was vintage Portland—loud and engaged, and ready with flags, drums and smoke. Some supporters had slept on the sidewalk to ensure they secured their seats. A long night outside Providence Park is one of several quirky and deep-rooted soccer traditions particular to a city and region that have embraced the sport differently, and probably more fervently, than any in the country.

That’s what New York City FC was up against. A club which had known little but playoff failure in its short, seven-year history had to manage an environment steeped in decades of devotion, not to mention the symbolically inhospitable weather (including a flying, well-aimed can of beer), Portland’s controversial, last-gasp equalizer and then, at last, the tension of penalty kicks taken into the teeth of the Timbers Army.

It’s tough to think of any New York team as an underdog or an upstart, especially one backed by the wealthy and ambitious City Football Group conglomerate. But the contrast between this year’s MLS Cup competitors was real. The Timbers are a Portland institution. NYCFC essentially is homeless—it’ll shuttle between baseball stadiums next season—and it struggles for relevance. Winning a title in that setting, and burdened by that pedigree, felt like as big an ask of any finalist in the 26-year history of the league.

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Pedigree and relevance change with championships. Brands are enhanced by a star on the jersey, and NYCFC will have earned the one it’ll wear starting next year thanks to Saturday’s gritty triumph. The visitors were undaunted. They did not crumble. The New Yorkers took the final to Portland on its home turf and grabbed the lead on a first-half goal by a young CFG star. NYCFC then brushed off the hosts’ late gut-punch goal to prevail, 4–2, on penalty kicks following the 1–1 tie. U.S. national team goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who’s been in the Bronx since 2017, made two shootout saves and then, as captain and Cup MVP, hoisted the trophy upon the hostile territory they’d conquered. Fulfilling a promise he'd made to his players, NYCFC coach Ronny Deila stripped down to his underwear and did push-ups in celebration.

NYCFC’s victory denied Portland a second MLS championship and, instead, brought the title to the country’s largest market for the first time. The rival New York Red Bulls, who are also well-acquainted with playoff frustration, fell in their only MLS Cup final appearance back in 2008.

For the victors, it was a championship campaign of steady resilience, marked by significant injuries to several key players and the annoyance of shuttling between Yankee Stadium and Red Bull Arena. With just five games remaining in the regular season, NYCFC had won just one of nine and was below the league’s generous playoff line. A draw at the death in Atlanta appeared to light a spark, however, and NYCFC finished with three wins in four matches and the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.

A relatively stress-free 2-0 win over Atlanta in the playoff opener then, somehow, seemed to set NYCFC on a different playoff path. Despite having the most regular season points in MLS since 2016, the Bronx Blues had won just a single postseason round across five prior Cup runs. It was if they were saving all their poise and good fortune for this fall.

And so when the Supporters’ Shield-winning New England Revolution looked rusty after a long layoff, NYCFC took advantage, scored twice and advanced on penalties in Foxborough. Then in last weekend’s Eastern final, the Philadelphia Union were decimated by the coronavirus and succumbed late to the visitors’ depth and pressure. NYCFC deserved to advance on both occasions. It had figured out how to stay in knockout games and then see them out. So when penalties loomed Saturday, Johnson told his teammates to consider the opportunity. Against long odds, they were on the precipice of a championship.

“We said before the penalty shootout, don’t look at its as a pressure situation. Embrace the moment,” Johnson told ABC on the Providence Park pitch. “I just wanted to stay present and do what I could to help the team. We stepped up in a big way. I was able to get a couple saves and the boys buried the rest.”

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The Timbers denied by Johnson from 12 yards, Felipe Mora and Diego Valeri, are a leading scorer and league icon, respectively. NYCFC’s big names fared differently. And these are big names in relative terms—not massive figures like David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo—the legends who signed on when the club launched in 2015 (only Villa fared well). Despite CFG’s largesse, NYCFC has evolved in its approach, prioritizing the search for the sort of second-tier stars who flourish in the U.S. and Canada and who so frequently inspire MLS champions. Think of the likes of Valeri, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco, Seattle’s Nicolás Lodeiro, Atlanta’s Miguel Almirón and Columbus’s Lucas Zelarayán.

NYCFC has a pair in veteran playmaker Maxi Moralez, 34, and 23-year-old striker Taty Castellanos, who won this season’s MLS Golden Boot. NYCFC certainly spends money, but not extravagantly. Its payroll was the sixth-highest in the league this season, according to the MLS Players Association, and Moralez, a one-time Best XI selection, ranked ninth individually. CFG’s resources and advantages are as much about scouting, experience, connections and reach as raw roster spending. 

When he signed from Club León early 2017, Moralez said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with the likes of Villa, Pirlo and then-coach Patrick Vieira. Castellanos, who was a steal this season at $776,000, came from CFG’s Uruguayan club, Montevideo City Torque. With 10 teams in 10 countries, CFG can transfer and loan players up and down the ladder. And while NYCFC has yet to see one of its products stick in Manchester, it has developed the likes of Gio Reyna and Joe Scally—as well as MLS Cup starter James Sands—while benefitting from the pipeline below. Titles are being won as well. CFG teams in Manchester, Melbourne, Mumbai and now New York are reigning league champions.

Moralez was limping noticeably toward the end if the first half in Portland, but he stayed in the game and in the 41st minute, delivered a perfect free kick that dropped onto the head of the wide-open Castellanos. His header slipped through the hands of Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark. Saturday's final was the Argentine's seventh straight game with a goal. Jesús Medina was struck by the can as NYCFC celebrated.

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Moralez stuck around to convert his penalty in the shootout. His young compatriot, Castellanos, was successful as well.

Once he was dressed, Deila lauded Moralez in his post-game press conference.

“He would never go off that pitch. This was Maxi’s game. He has been here for many years. … Now he gets the big trophy and he deserves it,” the manager said. “There was not one thought in my mind that he was going to go off.”

Determination in the face of pain, and in the face of the elements, the crowd, setbacks and perceived injustice proved to be the difference. NYCFC protested Portland’s 94th-minute equalizer to no avail. Timbers center back Larrys Mabiala appeared to foul Maxime Chanot during the frantic build-up, but neither the referee nor the VAR agreed and Mora was there to sweep the ball home. Chanot was enraged. NYCFC then flagged a bit, Deila acknowledged, but it was able to survive the revitalized Timbers and 30 more minutes inside Providence Park. NYCFC then went 4-for-5 on penalties.

“When you come back from that, through the two extra times and then in the end also with the penalty shootout in this stadium, on the artificial [surface], in the weather they love to do, and the atmosphere was electric,” Deila said. “So belief and discipline and hard work, honest hard work, is paying off and that’s great to see.”

It was a fitting microcosm of a season, one in which the comforts of home were hard to come by, and when there often were plenty of clouds present before the sun finally broke through.

“Everything came together in the end. What we have done in these playoffs and also the month before we came into the playoffs is so impressive. I'm so proud of the boys,” Deila said. “You can see the honest work, how they deal with hard times during the game. They come back. They support each other, give everything for the club and for each other. That was amazing. And they are winners now. They’re winners and that’s going to be there forever.”