Shaun Wright-Phillips initially came to the United States to attend the wedding of his brother Bradley in New Jersey. Wright-Phillips then met Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch and was asked to begin training with the team. And the rest is history. The Red Bulls signed Shaun on July 27th, reuniting the two brothers on the same team for the first time since they played together for Manchester City in the English Premier League. With the pairing of the Wright-Phillips brothers, a total of 17 sets of brothers have now played in MLS with 11 of them having suited-up for the same team in the same season.
In his league debut for the Red Bulls Saturday night against the Philadelphia Union, Shaun came on as a substitute for fellow countryman Lloyd Sam in the 61st minute and instantly provided a spark. In the 65th minute, Bradley found Shaun streaking into the penalty box and Shaun slowed down just enough for Union midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta to cause contact in the box and earn the penalty. Red Bulls teammate Sacha Kljestan converted the penalty kick to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.
In his league debut for the Red Bulls Saturday night against the Philadelphia Union, Shaun came on as a substitute for fellow countryman Lloyd Sam in the 61st minute and instantly provided a spark. In the 65th minute, Bradley found Shaun streaking into the penalty box and Shaun slowed down just enough for Union midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta to cause contact in the box and earn the penalty. Red Bulls teammate Sacha Kljestan converted the penalty kick to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead.
The Wright-Phillips brothers would then combine for the game-winning-goal soon after. Shaun easily dispatched himself of Philadelphia defender Ray Gaddis in the box and found brother Bradley for the easy tap-in finish in the 74th minute to secure all three points and send the Red Bulls home with their third straight victory (watch the Wright-Phillips brothers connect for the winner HERE).
“It's always going to have meaning if you can help your brother achieve his targets, but I think the most meaningful part is we got three points on the road and we just have to carry on to the next game,” Shaun Wright-Phillips said.
The Red Bulls will hope the partnership of the Wright-Phillips brothers will spark the team going forward in their push for a second Supporters’ Shield title.
“It was great. It was great to see. You can see they really enjoyed it,” said Marsch, whose team has won five of its past six MLS games. “They're both such good players that they're going to naturally enjoy playing with each other and I think it’s so much more than just being brothers, the fact that they're both so smart and quality footballers.”
Full list of brothers that have played in MLS
(Notes in parentheses indicate those who played on the same team in the same season)
Imad and Nidal Baba; DaMarcus and Jamar Beasley (2001 Chicago Fire); Brian and Jeff and Pat Carroll (Brian and Jeff, 2006-07 D.C. United); Judah and Micah Cooks (2000–01 D.C. United); Jim and Jeff Curtin (2007 Chicago Fire); Gabriel and Michael Farfan (2011-12 Philadelphia Union); Sam and Willis Forko; Sam and Seth George; Chris and Sean Henderson (1996–98 Colorado Rapids); Tayt and Patrick Ianni; Daouda and Ibrahim Kante (2003 New England Revolution); Martin and Fausto Klinger (2001 MetroStars); Alexi and Greg Lalas (1997 New England Revolution); Jason and Justin Moore; Sainey and Sanna Nyassi; Chris and Stephen Wondolowski (2008 Houston Dynamo); Bradley and Sean Wright-Phillips (2015 New York Red Bulls)
“It's always going to have meaning if you can help your brother achieve his targets, but I think the most meaningful part is we got three points on the road and we just have to carry on to the next game,” Shaun Wright-Phillips said.
The Red Bulls will hope the partnership of the Wright-Phillips brothers will spark the team going forward in their push for a second Supporters’ Shield title.
“It was great. It was great to see. You can see they really enjoyed it,” said Marsch, whose team has won five of its past six MLS games. “They're both such good players that they're going to naturally enjoy playing with each other and I think it’s so much more than just being brothers, the fact that they're both so smart and quality footballers.”
Full list of brothers that have played in MLS
(Notes in parentheses indicate those who played on the same team in the same season)
Imad and Nidal Baba; DaMarcus and Jamar Beasley (2001 Chicago Fire); Brian and Jeff and Pat Carroll (Brian and Jeff, 2006-07 D.C. United); Judah and Micah Cooks (2000–01 D.C. United); Jim and Jeff Curtin (2007 Chicago Fire); Gabriel and Michael Farfan (2011-12 Philadelphia Union); Sam and Willis Forko; Sam and Seth George; Chris and Sean Henderson (1996–98 Colorado Rapids); Tayt and Patrick Ianni; Daouda and Ibrahim Kante (2003 New England Revolution); Martin and Fausto Klinger (2001 MetroStars); Alexi and Greg Lalas (1997 New England Revolution); Jason and Justin Moore; Sainey and Sanna Nyassi; Chris and Stephen Wondolowski (2008 Houston Dynamo); Bradley and Sean Wright-Phillips (2015 New York Red Bulls)
By: Editor
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