Former New York Cosmos and Arrows goalkeeper Shep Messing joins Schwartz on Sports to chat about USA vs. Costa Rica and the local Red Bulls.
When you think about great soccer events that have taken place in the New York/New Jersey area, obviously, the 1994 World Cup and the massive crowds that the Pele, Giorgia Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and the rest of the Cosmos enjoyed at Giants Stadium in the 1970s and 80s come to mind.
Today, soccer is huge in our area with the Red Bulls and NYCFC in Major League Soccer and the modern era Cosmos in the North American Soccer League.
There have been so many memorable soccer matches in our area, but New York/New Jersey has never hosted a World Cup qualifying match.
That will change on Friday when Red Bull Arena, arguably the best soccer facility in the country, will play host to the USA/Costa Rica World Cup qualifier. Former Cosmos and Arrows goalkeeper Shep Messing joins me on the podcast to talk about that game and where it ranks in terms of the history of soccer matches in NY/NJ history.
“Because of the critical importance of this game and because of the standings in terms of qualification, for me it’s definitely top three,” Messing told me on the podcast.
Shep is also the television analyst for the Red Bulls on MSG Networks so we’ll talk about the Red Bulls season as well as their rivalry with NYCFC and how the United States National Team has turned things around with Bruce Arena back as head coach.