HARRISON, N.J. (June 15, 2018) – The New York Red Bulls Academy U-23 team and the New York Dutch Lions FC, a Dutch All-Star Team, finalized a single-admission doubleheader friendly for June 24, the club announced today.
The teams will play two thirty-minute halves following New York Red Bulls II’s June 24th home match at MSU Soccer Park against Ottawa Fury FC. The All-Star Team consists mainly of former Dutch National Team players that not only bring high level soccer to New York but also a lot of great soccer memories. In 2017, the team was coached by Wim Rijsbergen, former player of New York Cosmos, Feyenoord, Ajax and the Dutch National Team in the 70's with world stars like Johan Cruijff, Wim van Hanegem and Johan Neeskens.
The team consists of several World Cup finalists, Champions League winners, UEFA Cup winners and European Championship winners. Former New York Red Bulls (and PSV) goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus will be returning to New Jersey but this time to play for the Dutch Lions FC All-Star Team. Bryan Roy, who played 32 games for the Dutch National Team, is also joining the 2018 team. Roy played for Ajax Amsterdam, Foggia (Italy), Nottingham Forest (England) and Hertha BSC (Germany). All players will be announced the coming days.
“We are glad to have scheduled a friendly with the New York Dutch Lions FC,” Red Bulls Academy Director David Longwell said. “A team full of former professionals that have excelled on the highest stages across the football world will provide a great test and offer invaluable experience for our PDL team. We expect a great match and look forward to having them at the newly-renovated MSU Soccer Park.”
“We are very excited to play New York Red Bulls U-23 and bring a team of former Dutch soccer heroes to the community”, New York Dutch Lions FC’s CEO Mike Mossel said. “It will be a great night of soccer for every soccer fan where the best young talents will meet some of the best veteran players from the Netherlands.”
Tickets are now on sale for the doubleheader and can be purchased for $10.
About New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are one of 23 teams in Major League Soccer (MLS). They are one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its founding in 1996. They currently play home matches at Red Bull Arena (RBA) in Harrison, New Jersey. RBA, a state-of-the-art 25,000-seat stadium, is widely regarded as the top soccer-specific stadium in North America. The club is owned by the Austrian beverage company Red Bull GmbH for which the team is named.
New York Dutch Lions FC LLC
New York Dutch Lions FC LLC is the fifth club in the Dutch Lions FC organization. There are also Dutch Lions FC clubs in Dayton (Ohio, 2009), Houston (2011), Cincinnati (2013) and Cape Coral (Florida, 2015). They also have a minority interest in FC Cincinnati (OHIO, 2015). The club was founded in 2016 and organizes several soccer games, clinics and events around a team of former Dutch National Team players that comes to New York every year.
