Red Bulls-NYCFC rivalry to reach new heights in huge MLS playoff battle

Bradley Wright-Phillips hasn’t put on a New York Red Bulls jersey in five years, but the nerves he expects to feel Saturday remain the same as when he suited up against New York City FC back in his playing days.

“I have to be neutral, but I’m not gonna lie to you: When that game kicks off, I’ll be nervous,” Wright-Phillips, now a commentator on Apple TV+, told The Post this week. “I know what it looks like losing that for the Red Bull fans, for the players. I know what it looks like, so I can’t help but watch that game with that feeling.”

The match between the two rival New York soccer clubs comes with a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, a first for the Red Bulls since 2018 and potentially City’s first trip back since winning the MLS Cup in 2021.

But the impact of Saturday’s Hudson River Derby match will go beyond anything from the previous 29 iterations — MLS regular season, Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup — of the rivalry as the clubs play in the playoffs for the first time.

While the rivalry is nearly a decade old after NYCFC joined the league in 2015, MLS broadcaster Steve Cangialosi feels the playoffs are where rivalries are solidified.

“I think there are variations of the rivalry really hitting a fever pitch, and I think we’re about to get that again on Saturday,” he said.

Despite the lack of postseason meetings, the rivalry between the Red Bulls and NYCFC has produced a number of memorable moments on both sides.

The 7-0 drubbing of City at the hands of the Red Bulls — better remembered by fans as the “Red Wedding” — has been a point of pride for the Red Bull faithful since 2016.

That same year, more controversy ensued when then-Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch complained about reffing ahead of a match that included then-NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira being ejected and later tearing into his Red Bulls counterpart.

Legendary Spanish striker David Villa scored a hat trick — including the game-winning PK — in a 3-2 win over the Red Bulls in 2017.

While the Red Bulls have traditionally held an edge against their City counterparts, NYCFC has started to close that gap by sweeping them in the regular season this year, which included a 5-1 beatdown at Red Bull Arena.

Asking around likely would garner varied yet somewhat similar answers as to what has driven the rivalry already.

For Cangialosi, the Red Bulls’ side of it draws a bit from “envy.”

“They watched New York City in their seventh season in the league lift MLS Cup,” he said. “Twenty-nine years into this with two variations of the name of the team, 20 variations of head coach, who knows how many variations of players, they’re still chasing the golden goose.”

NYCFC defender Kevin O’Toole sees part of it as a geographical battle.

“There’s also the contradiction of one team being in New Jersey primarily and one being in this city, so the fans love to blow that one up,” he said.

For O’Toole, there is a more personal reason that drives him whenever he sees red.

The defender is a New Jersey native who had been a part of the Red Bulls Academy.

After playing four years at Princeton, he had been eligible to be signed by the Red Bulls as a homegrown player.

They opted not to.

“I was drafted [by NYCFC]. So in my mind, it was them kind of overlooking me and my new club taking a chance on me,” O’Toole said when asked about flipping allegiances from Red Bulls to City.

Saturday’s showdown could add even more intrigue if Wright-Phillips’ prediction is correct.

“I think whoever wins this game, you’ve got a really good chance of going to the MLS Cup,” he said. “I think people should understand what this is: This is two teams clashing for a chance to be in the MLS Cup, two teams that hate each other.”