CARSON, Calif -- When Sandro Schwarz took over the New York Red Bulls in December, 2023, the German was tasked with changing both the mentality of the club and their performances on the pitch.
One year on from his arrival, he's led RBNY to the MLS Cup final for the first time since 2008 - and is now one victory away from handing the Eastern Conference side their first league championship, despite the club being a founding member of the league at 1996.
"That we are in the final means a lot for us, for the whole club, for our atmosphere, for our philosophy, for identity and for the culture we want to create," the 46-year-old RBNY coach told GOAL in an exclusive interview ahead of Saturday's championship game against the LA Galaxy.
The No. 7 seed Red Bulls have stormed the MLS postseason in 2024, defeating reigning champions Columbus Crew in the opening round, and following with two more road victories over rivals New York City FC and then Orlando City in the Eastern Conference final. The Red Bulls are the first No. 7 seed to play for the championship after joining the 1998 Chicago Fire as the only teams to win three straight playoff matches on the road.
"We started the first round in Columbus, the first game, it was also not our main topic to talk about, playing on the road," the RBNY manager said. "It was also not when we played at NYCFC at Citi field or in Orlando. Our main part was 'OK, we want to win something for ourselves, we want to win something for the club, for our supporters in the stadium or on the screen,' and that's the same on Saturday. I'm sure we will have a lot of a lot of supporters on in red on Saturday, and that's our our main goal, for sure, we want to win a trophy, but to bring the trophy home for all these people who are supporting us, who's also helping us, that's great, and hopefully we can start very quick on.”
That will all be on display at 4 p.m. ET Saturday at Dignity Health sports Park in Carson, California, as the Red Bulls search for their first title -- and LA, for their first in a decade. Some have called the Red Bulls' postseason success an "underdog" run, including club legend and Apple TV analyst Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Schwarz, however, has denounced that claim, telling the media Friday that "it's not the biggest surprise that we that we are sitting here together and that we are playing tomorrow." And to any who are surprised, well, that's on them, not the Red Bulls.
