WHIPPANY, NJ—When Sandro Schwarz took the New York Red Bulls’ head coaching job in December 2023, his top priority was not necessarily winning an MLS Cup in his first season in charge, a benchmark he currently stands just one win away from achieving.
After all, this was a team in transition filled with young talent that had done little in postseason play — they failed to get out of the first round in each of the previous five seasons — despite holding the current North American sports record for most consecutive playoff appearances.
However, a step forward was expected, especially with Schwarz’s extensive resume that included head-coaching jobs in the Bundesliga (Mainz and Hertha Berlin). New York proceeded to bring in Swedish star midfielder Emil Forsberg, got leading scorer Lewis Morgan back healthy after a rare and nagging hip injury that required surgery, and boasted a resolute defense that could keep even the most high-octane offenses in check on its day.
But the regular season loosely resembled the year before, one riddled with inconsistencies. The Red Bulls looked like one of the top teams in the league throughout the first half of the season, holding a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference before a nosedive in form (which included the absences of Forsberg and Morgan), headlined by three wins in their last 18 matches of the regular season.
They got healthy at the right time, both physically and mentally, and have since gone on one of the more magical runs in MLS history.
New York upset the defending league champion Columbus Crew in the first round, defeated a rival NYCFC squad that had emerged victorious from both regular-season Hudson River Derbies with wins by a combined score of 7-2 in the conference semifinal, and then went down to Orlando to win the Eastern Conference.
Quite a rollercoaster of a first year for the head coach, who now could be the first gaffer in franchise history to win an MLS Cup — a stage that the Red Bulls had only reached once before in 2008.
“It’s been great since my first day when I came here in our facility, in our stadium, to feel the atmosphere, to know the people, to get to know all these people in our club, and to start the work with our players,” Schwarz said on Tuesday. “We had some very, very good moments during the regular season… some games were not so good. At the end, the energy level is very good, very good mentality, and for sure, I’m very proud now to be here and that we have the chance all together, this big opportunity, to play in the final. This was my personal journey throughout the whole year, but now my main focus is how can we win and how can we be in a very good spot for Saturday?”
It starts by keeping his team level-headed, which is not the easiest task, considering the Red Bulls entered the season with the youngest average age in MLS (24). However, a coach who has been lauded by his players for his tactical adaptability is also appreciated for the way he handles the inexperienced corners of his roster.
“He’s done an amazing job to get us to be in this position,” 22-year-old midfielder Peter Stroud, who played a full 90 minutes in the Eastern Conference Final, said. “I think just some of the coaching tweaks he makes going into games are a big-time game-changer. Those help us win games. The belief he instills in this team, we go into every single game believing and knowing we have a chance to win.”
The Red Bulls’ confidence has been apparent since the regular season ended. They clinched the No. 7 seed in the East to make a 15th straight playoff appearance. Forsberg implored that they were capable of pulling off the upset over Columbus, a confidence buoyed by Schwarz that permeated throughout the Red Bulls’ ranks.
This is the lowest seed to ever make an MLS Cup Final, and they will once again be underdogs in Los Angeles against an LA Galaxy team that lost just one of 17 matches at home this season. What is one more upset for this group?
“Our message was clear,” Schwarz said. “Our main focus is on our daily training session, not think too much about what can happen after the game or the history of this title, or something like that. We only need to think about what we need on the field and that started with the first training session today.”
For more on Sandro Schwarz and the Red Bulls, visit AMNY.com
