New York Red Bulls legend Bradley Wright-Philips believes the upcoming Hudson River Derby can provide a catalyst for either New York City FC or the Red Bulls after both sides posted inconsistent starts to the 2025 MLS season.
Wright-Phillips was speaking ahead of the upcoming Hudson River Derby at Citi Field on Saturday, May 17, with both teams locked on 18 points from 13 games after relatively lackluster starts to the season.
However, the former Red Bulls striker believes that a big derby-day performance can transform a club’s season, acting as a catalyst for things to come.
“I think both teams are in a weird place,” Wright-Phillips said. “Every time I watch them… I feel like they should be doing better.
“But I will say it’s games like the Hudson River Derby that you can kick on from in a season. You win that and all of a sudden, it’s just upwards from there. So, both teams have a huge opportunity and incentive to go out and win.”
The Red Bulls currently hold the bragging rights in the derby after a 2-0 win at Citi Field in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last November, but NYCFC did the league double over their city rivals in the 2025 MLS season, including a thumping 5-1 win at Red Bull Arena in September.
Wright-Phillips believes that the Red Bulls will still be looking to make amends for that 5-1 victory in spite of their playoff success last fall.
“You lose 5-1 to your rival, that’s going to hurt,” Wright-Phillips said, adding that victory last November does not automatically mean the Red Bulls are the better side.
On the flip side, Wright-Phillips said NYCFC will be desperate for revenge after losing the most important Hudson River Derby in history, adding that the Red Bulls will have to match the home side’s energy on Saturday evening.
Wright-Phillips, who holds the record for most goals in Red Bulls history, joined the club from English side Charlton Athletic in 2013 – the same year that NYCFC was founded. He said the addition of a cross-town rival has been a huge positive by bringing out the best in both teams.
He believes that having that cross-town “enemy” can push a team to greater heights, inspiring both teams to outshine one another.
Wright-Phillips, who scored twice in the first-ever Hudson River Derby as the Red Bulls secured a 2-1 win over NYCFC at Red Bull Arena in May 2015, fondly recalled his experiences playing against his local rivals.
“It was an amazing experience,” Wright-Phillips said. “I loved playing in those games.”
Wright-Phillips, meanwhile, praised both clubs for bringing through young academy prospects such as Jonny Shore (NYCFC) and Julian Hall (Red Bulls) and said such instances are part of a league-wide trend that has seen MLS clubs move away from signing “superstars” from Europe.
He said the transition to home-grown talent should have happened “a lot earlier” but noted that the MLS is still a young league as it approaches its 30th birthday. Wright-Phillips said the shift in focus will ultimately benefit the USMNT. He also believes the shift will benefit both NYCFC and the Red Bulls by allowing them to tap into the full resources of New York City.
“You’re in the New York area. These guys have a lot of talent around, so you have to lean on your academy because you’ve been missing some gems,” Wright-Phillips said. “The Red Bulls had a lot of young players come through and playing those Derby matches and playing MLS. Tyler Adams – look what he’s gone on to do.”
Adams made his MLS debut with the Red Bulls in 2016 and played four seasons in New York before moving to Europe.
Wright-Phillips, who now appears as a pundit for MLS 360 as part of the Apple TV+ coverage of MLS, said the MLS must be poised to take advantage of an increased interest in soccer when the 2026 World Cup comes to American shores next year.
He noted that commentary and punditry have improved significantly since he joined the league over a decade ago and said he would often be frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm from commentators during his early days in the league.
Wright-Phillips believes that has changed for the better since his arrival in the US and said punditry and commentary must be top-quality in order to entice new viewers once the World Cup has been and gone.
“Commentators, broadcasters, we have a huge job in making that game exciting and giving real insights to why people want to be interested in watching.”
He also believes that switching the MLS calendar from a summer league to a winter league that lines up with the European calendar will boost the league’s exposure.
Wright-Phillips said the current calendar can often break a team’s momentum by introducing international breaks at crucial points in the season. Last season, for example, NYCFC and the Red Bulls faced a long wait before their conference semi-final because of the November international break, which took place between the first and second round of the MLS Cup.
In the European calendar, international breaks typically take place at the beginning of the season or over the summer break, when stakes are lower.
“Some of your biggest players are going away on international duty when you’ve got the biggest game of the season,” he said. “Imagine a team is chasing the shield, and they have players going away.”
Overall, however, Wright-Phillips believes the league is in a healthy place after 30 years, pointing to the sheer number of soccer-specific stadiums and new fanbases that have been added over the past three decades.
“It’s unbelievable the rate it’s moving.”
