HARRISON, N.J. (February 22, 2022) – The New York Red Bulls have selected United States Men’s National Team defender Aaron Long as the team's captain, Head Coach Gerhard Struber announced today.
Long, 29, is the first player in franchise history to sign with New York Red Bulls II, earn promotion to the senior team and be named captain. The Oak Hills, California native signed with Red Bulls II on March 10, 2016 and subsequently earned 2016 USL Defender of the Year, while anchoring a Red Bulls II backline and team to a 2016 USL Championship title.
Long then was promoted to the first team on February 22, 2017 and has been a mainstay for New York’s and the USMNT’s backline. For club, he has recorded 135 starts, 140 total appearances, 12,041 minutes played, nine goals and four assists across all competitions. Long has led New York’s backline to 48 clean sheets across all competitions (37 MLS regular-season/5 Concacaf Champions League/4 MLS Playoff/2 U.S Open Cup) and help lead the Red Bulls to their third Supporters’ Shield in 2018. His eight goals in MLS regular-season play is the most for a defender in franchise history.
For country, Long earned his first national team cap on October 17, 2018 in an international friendly against Peru. Since then, he has anchored the USMNT to 10 shutouts, worn the captain’s armband five times and tallied three goals and two assists in 1,713 minutes played.
New York Red Bulls All-Time Captains
1996: Peter Vermes
1997 – 98: Tony Meola
1999 – 2002: Tab Ramos
2003 - 04: Eddie Pope
2005: Youri Djorkaeff/Amado Guevara
2006: Youri Djorkaeff/Amado Guevara/Tony Meola
2007: Claudio Reyna
2008: Claudio Reyna/Juan Pablo Angel
2009 – 10: Juan Pablo Angel
2011 – 14: Thierry Henry
2015 – 16: Dax McCarty
2017: Sacha Kljestan
2018-2019: Luis Robles
2020: Sean Davis
2022: Aaron Long
