Last season, the Red Bulls (3-1-3) finished third in the East with a 12-11-7 record before being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year. That disappointment led to the firing of Bruce Arena, who was expected to lead the team to the MLS Cup in his first full season at the helm.
New York then approached Chicago (5-2-1) about Osorio, who was named the Fire's coach in July and guided them to an impressive turnaround capped with a loss to New England in the conference final.
Osorio opted to leave Chicago in December, becoming the second coach to make the switch to New York despite being under contract after Bob Bradley did it in 2003.
Osorio cited his family's desire to return to the metropolitan area as the reason. The Colombian was an assistant with New York from 2000-01 before joining Manchester City of the English Premier League as a fitness coach. He also played with various minor league teams in the New York area after graduating from Southern Connecticut State in 1990.
"Since 2001, when I left for Manchester City I always made it my goal to come back to MLS as head coach of the New York Red Bulls," Osorio said at his introductory press conference.
Osorio will not be on the bench Sunday after being ejected for arguing a red card to Dave van den Bergh during the Red Bulls' 1-all tie with Kansas City on May 17.
"It's extremely difficult regardless of who we will be playing," Osorio said of his suspension. "I think my main responsibility is always to lead this team and that won't be the case Sunday and it's very frustrating. All I can do is prepare the team as well as we do."
Chicago, which received a first-round draft pick, an allocation and cash as compensation for Osorio, is looking to show its former coach that it is doing just fine without him.
The Fire got off to their best start in team history, winning five of their first seven games before allowing a goal with eight minutes to go to lose 2-1 to Houston on May 17.
"The first half we took it to them and we created some good chances and didn't finish," said Fire coach Denis Hamlett, who replaced Osorio after spending 10 seasons as an assistant. "The second half we stopped playing, stopped moving."
Chicago is the only team in MLS that has yet to lose on the road, posting a 3-0-1 record while outscoring opponents 7-1. The last time the Fire opened the season with a five-game road unbeaten streak was in 2004.
The Red Bulls went 2-0-1 against the Fire last season, winning both meetings at home behind three goals from Juan Pablo Angel.
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