| Season: | 1996 |
| Manager: |  Eddie Firmani (until May 24) |
| Chairman: |  John Kluge Stuart Subotnick |
| League Result: | Conference 3rd |
| Cup1 Result: | Conference Semifinals |
| League Topscorer: | Giovanni Savarese (14) |
| Season Topscorer: | Giovanni Savarese (14) |
| Pattern La1: | _METROSTARS_96h |
| Pattern B1: | _METROSTARS_96h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _METROSTARS_96h |
| Pattern Sh1: | _METROSTARS_96h |
| Pattern So1: | _whitetopline |
| Leftarm1: | 000000 |
| Body1: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm1: | 000000 |
| Shorts1: | 000000 |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Pattern La2: | _METROSTARS_96a |
| Pattern B2: | _METROSTARS_96a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _METROSTARS_96a |
| Pattern Sh2: | _METROSTARS_96a |
| Pattern So2: | _nikehoopsmls |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | FFFFFF |
| Socks2: | 000000 |
| American: | true |
| Nextseason: | 1997 |
The 1996 season was the first season in New York/New Jersey MetroStars's existence, in the first season of American Major League Soccer. They played their home games at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The team played 38 matches in the season including 35 Major League Soccer games and 3 friendlies. Eddie Firmani coached the team for their first eight games before being replaced by Carlos Queiroz.[1]
The team is now known as the New York Red Bulls; the entire organization is known as Red Bull New York.
These totals come from 32 league matches and 3 playoff played in 1996. Only displaying players who capped 5 games or more.
| Player | Position | GP (GS) | Minutes | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhett Harty | Defender | 34 (34) | 2845 | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Vermes | Midfielder | 33 (33) | 2970 | 1 | 1 |
| Tony Meola | Goalkeeper | 32 (32) | 2880 | 0 | 0 |
 Giovanni Savarese | Striker | 29 (16) | 1702 | 14 | 1 |
| Tab Ramos | Midfielder | 28 (28) | 2428 | 3 | 10 |
| Nicola Caricola | Defender | 28 (28) | 2357 | 2 | 0 |
| Miles Joseph | Midfielder | 27 (26) | 2197 | 4 | 5 |
| Jeff Zaun | Defender | 24 (22) | 1795 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Knowles | Midfielder | 24 (17) | 1767 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Wood | Striker | 23 (15) | 1232 | 5 | 2 |
 Cristian da Silva | Midfielder | 22 (13) | 1268 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Johnson | Striker | 21 (12) | 1236 | 4 | 3 |
| Roberto Donadoni | Midfielder | 20 (20) | 1800 | 3 | 10 |
| Damian Silvera | Midfielder | 17 (9) | 953 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Unger | Midfielder | 16 (12) | 1029 | 1 | 1 |
| Ted Gillen | Defender | 16 (10) | 852 | 0 | 0 |
 Antony de Ávila | Striker | 11 (10) | 920 | 8 | 3 |
| Mickey Kydes | Midfielder | 11 (7) | 556 | 0 | 0 |
 Edmundo Rodriguez | Striker | 11 (5) | 473 | 0 | 1 |
| Rubén Darío Hernández | Striker | 10 (9) | 836 | 0 | 3 |
| Kieron O'Brien | Midfielder | 8 (4) | 311 | 1 | 1 |
| Manny Lagos | Midfielder | 6 (6) | 483 | 0 | 2 |
| Andrew Restrepo | Defender | 5 (4) | 343 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Brauchle | Midfielder | 5 (3) | 323 | 0 | 0 |
| Date | Home | Away | Score | Metro Goal(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24 | MetroStars | Fiorentina | 0–4 | |
| June 5 | MetroStars | Sporting CP | 1–1 | Wood |
| November 15 | Pennsylvania Natives | MetroStars | 1–2 | Savarese 2 |
| Place | Eastern Conference | P | W | (so) | L | (so) | F | A | GD | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 | 20 | (1) | 12 | (3) | 66 | 51 | +15 | 58 | ||
| 2 | 32 | 16 | (1) | 16 | (3) | 62 | 56 | +6 | 46 | ||
| 3 | NY/NJ MetroStars | 32 | 15 | (3) | 17 | (2) | 45 | 47 | -2 | 39 | |
| 4 | 32 | 15 | (4) | 17 | (5) | 59 | 60 | -1 | 37 | ||
| 5 | 32 | 15 | (6) | 17 | (2) | 43 | 56 | -13 | 33 | ||
| Place | Western Conference | P | W | (so) | L | (so) | F | A | GD | Points | |
| 1 | 32 | 19 | (4) | 13 | (4) | 59 | 49 | +10 | 49 | ||
| 2 | 32 | 17 | (5) | 15 | (3) | 50 | 48 | +2 | 41 | ||
| 3 | 32 | 17 | (5) | 15 | (2) | 61 | 63 | -2 | 41 | ||
| 4 | 32 | 15 | (3) | 17 | (6) | 50 | 50 | 0 | 39 | ||
| 5 | 32 | 11 | (2) | 21 | (4) | 44 | 59 | -15 | 29 |