In the second Hudson River Derby in 2015, Red Bulls fans dubbed New York City FC a retirement home.

A giant tifo hung from the South Ward at Red Bull Arena as the curtain illustrated both Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo, two of NYCFC’s elderly Designated Players, hunched over, holding canes and wearing flip-flops. The tifo, and that famed Mike Grella nutmeg of Lampard, were the talking points from a relatively dull 2-0 Red Bulls win.

But the tifo was accurate — the pair was both north of age 35 when they came to the Bronx, well past their European glory and World Cup stardom.

Forget about the Manchester City-Lampard debacle that delayed the Englishman’s arrival in 2015. Lampard enjoyed modest success, scoring 15 goals, most not with his feet, across 29 matches in two injury-plagued seasons.

As for Pirlo, he was healthy in his first year and a half with NYCFC before he became ineffective, both skillfully and physically, in 2017 when teenager Yangel Herrera dethroned him in Patrick Vieira’s midfield just two months into the season.

Though David Villa, the club’s first Designated Player, has likely etched his name as the best player in MLS history, NYCFC, rightfully so, were “City Retirement Home.” It was a nickname that plagued the club and seemed to be the direction that they wanted to go by signing high-profile, but aging, Europeans for one last go-around in professional soccer.

That was until Jesus Medina, a flashy 20-year-old Paraguayan attacking midfielder who became the club’s latest — and youngest — Designated Player on New Year’s Day.

“We have shifted a little bit in terms of our philosophies and bringing players in,” NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna admitted to The Post recently. “We want players who want to be here and every player we’ve brought in to the club has wanted to come to NYCFC. But players who are at the stage or profile that are very motivated, hungry, are coming into their peak or just before the peak of their careers.”

Reyna cited players like Medina and winger Jack Harrison (21) specifically, as players in age and development that interest NYCFC. Along with other younger players like wingback Ronald Matarrita (23), winger Jonathan Lewis (20) and on-loan midfielder Yangel Herrera (19), these are the exciting, young types that have replenished NYCFC and shifted the narrative with their aged approach.

Specifically for Medina, who made his professional debut at age 15, Reyna said that his experience for Libertad (74 games) in Paraguay’s top division gives NYCFC comfort that Medina has already been through a grind in his young career. Despite his age, his experience and continued development is something NYCFC wants to be a part of.

“Those kind of players interest us more than players who are sort of running out of options and don’t have other places to go, so MLS is their last type of option. Those aren’t the players that are of interest to us,” Reyna said.

That older model has changed in recent years with teams like Atlanta United, who constructed their squad around their under-23 Designated Players in Miguel Almiron, Hector Villalba and Josef Martinez. Expansion side LAFC went even younger when they netted 19-year-old Uruguayan forward Diego Rossi, the second youngest DP in league history.

In their inaugural season in 2015, the average age of an NYCFC player was 27.4, the oldest in MLS. By 2017, NYCFC dropped to sixth in the league with an average of 25.77. But even with the influx of youth, especially with homegrown defender James Sands (18) expected to contribute this season, NYCFC hasn’t totally abandoned experienced players.

“The team needs the right balance. We are not going to win a championship with all 20-year-olds,” coach Patrick Vieira told The Post. “To be honest, when we had the chance to find [Medina], we really didn’t look at his age. We just looked at his talent. His talent is fantastic.”

While the signing allows NYCFC to have more financial flexibility, both Reyna and Vieira raved about the Paraguayan international’s ability and potential. His positional versatility, whether it’s playing centrally or out wide provides yet another attacking option for Vieira.

To some, Medina resembles a younger version of Almiron, a fellow Paraguayan international. To others, he’s been the best signing in MLS this offseason. But for NYCFC, they got their No. 1 target this offseason, and most importantly, someone for life after Villa.

“He’ll be a real important player for the club for many, many years,” said Reyna.