Vieira guided New York City to their first MLS Cup playoff appearance the following season, as well as a runner-up berth in the Supporters' Shield in 2017. [77] The team then concluded a loan deal for youth prospect Valentín Castellanos two days later. His tenure saw the team adopt a free-flowing, attacking, press-based system, which gained both the team and coach several plaudits from experts, players, and fellow coaches. "[141], New York City's official supporter group, The Third Rail, began to form after the club's announcement in May 2013, when fans met through social media, and through member drives and viewing parties for 2014 FIFA World Cup matches. USA Des Moines 2019 [42] While the team awaited its MLS start in 2015, Villa was loaned to Melbourne City, a club also owned by City Football Group. At that point, the league hoped to have the new team beginning operations by 2013. [137][138], On October 22, 2017, New York City played their final regular season home match at Queens' Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, due to another scheduling conflict with a Yankees American League Championship Series game at Yankee Stadium. [40] The move came just four days after he missed out on lifting his second MLS Cup with the Utah team, losing on penalties to Sporting Kansas City. The official transfer fee was undisclosed, although, multiple reports suggested the fee is to be a seven-figure sum that could rise to become one of the highest transfer fees received for a player in MLS history. [26][27] Garber also briefly discussed Barcelona investing in a New York franchise, before moving the focus to Miami. [49] A week later in their first home game, Villa and Patrick Mullins scored in their first home win against New England Revolution in front of a crowd of 43,507.
The orange was an homage to the city's Dutch heritage, and is the same shade found in the city's flag. [44][45] On July 6, 2015, the club signed ex-Italian international Andrea Pirlo from Juventus as their third Designated Player. [116] The home uniform remained virtually unchanged, with sky blue socks substituting for the white. Harrison made an immediate impact and became a core component of the club in his first year with the team, forming a formidable partnership with Villa. [121] The announcement capped a week in which Heineken and Adidas had also been signed up as secondary sponsors of the club. [56] New York City qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, eventually losing to Toronto in a two-game series in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Champ. It had registered 1,600 members before the team's first season.

[119][120], City Football Group sponsor Etihad Airways was announced to be New York City's inaugural jersey sponsor in an event at Terminal 5 on November 13, 2014, at the same event which revealed the club's first ever jersey design. [126] In 2019, Spanish-language radio station WEPN began to broadcast New York City games, with play-by-play from announcer Roberto Abramowitz and color commentary from Ariel Judas.

He was, however, called back after only four matches. [168] The academy saw its first success in 2017, with the U-16 team winning the Generation Adidas Cup, becoming the first major silverware earned by New York City in any capacity.[169]. Although club chairman Ferran Soriano emphasized the desire to create a club with its own identity, rather than relying entirely on the brands of club owners Manchester City and the New York Yankees, the online presence that the club kept up across its own website and on various social networking websites maintained a consistent approach of using the sky blue of the Manchester club and the navy blue of the MLB team, along with the white employed by both owner-clubs. [110] Fans were given three days to vote on the final design, and the winner was announced on March 20.

[82][83] Chanot was eventually resigned to a multi-year contract on December 8, while Ofori's loan was extended for another season.