By far the best team in Major League Soccer during the 2023 regular season was FC Cincinnati, as evidenced by their receipt of the Supporters’ Shield.
Nevertheless, despite the Herons placing 35 points and 26 places lower than FCC in the overall rankings, it is Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF who possess the kind of international cachet that inspires a preseason exhibition trip across the globe.
Today’s football stars have to deal with that fact, and the Orange & Blue don’t seem to mind too much.
On Wednesday, Cincy general manager Chris Albright teased MLSsoccer.com, saying, “We’re going to do a tour of the Midwest.” “Dayton, we are headed to St. Louis. It is going to be exquisite.
Given the blue-collar nature of the club and its hometown, there is some truth to that, albeit tongue in cheek. While Miami brought in Messi’s best friend Luis Suárez this winter, FCC traded its top scorer, Brandon Vazquez, the 2022 Best XI winner, to CF Monterrey. They said goodbye to Yerson Mosquera, Santiago Arias, Junior Moreno, and Dominique Badji, among other important players, and looked to the Czech first division (new centre midfielder Pavel Bucha) and the MLS free-agent market (Miles Robinson and Corey Baird) for their replacements.
About his hectic summer, Albright remarked, “We had some pretty, I would say, high-profile departures, guys that contributed a lot for us last year.” Having said that, I believe we’ve addressed those gaps very well.
“We have a core in place that will enable us to win a significant number of games. Simply put, it will likely change slightly in appearance as we progress.
Last month, the Knifey Lions anticipated losing another important player, and possibly still do: dynamic left winger Álvaro Barreal. The 2023 MLS All-Star is clearly excited to test himself in Europe, and his team is fully behind him, which is why he has been exempted from Cincy’s preseason camps thus far.
The Argentine is anticipated to join his FCC colleagues in Clearwater, Florida in the next days, though, as no credible bids have been submitted prior to the winter windows in the majority of European leagues shutting at the end of January.
Albright stated, “Alvaro will be joining the group this weekend.” “He was managing certain immigration matters, and there was a hope that we would sell him, but that hope hasn’t reached a level where it would have allowed us to do so. Thus, it is clear that Álvaro was a crucial member of our team. We will be happy to have him return and win more games with him.
Like many athletes, he still has the dream to play abroad in Europe. We may consider doing that over the summer window, or we can take advantage of the remaining open markets for the upcoming month. That one is still a little ambiguous.
Albright is the first to admit that even Cincinnati’s largest offseason acquisition might not last for very long. Although Robinson is still aspired to play in Europe, he is considered one of the best centre backs in Major League Soccer. As part of FCC’s offer to the defender, the team offered him an exceptionally short contract—a “1+1” one that would let him to leave in as little as a year.
As for the Garys defence, it appears to be the best in the league with Robinson, ’23 Defender of the Year Matt Miazga, outstanding defensive midfielder Obinna Nwobodo, rising goalkeeper Roman Celentano, and the rest of the defence.
Most likely the most sought-after free agent. The US international Albright stated, “We saw a real fit in how we want to play, in Miles as a person, as a character, fitting into our group.” Miles’ ultimate objective is to play at the greatest level abroad, and that’s fantastic. And we made the case that we could give him the finest setting possible to keep improving.
“Our coaching staff has done an outstanding job of getting the most out of both players we’ve signed and players we’ve inherited.” And I believe Miles and his representatives took notice of that. [Coach assistant] Our centre backs are improved by Kenny Arena, who does a fantastic job working with them, and I believe Miles .
It’s challenging to rise to the top in MLS. History indicates that staying there is much more difficult, and Albright can share some insight into why, similar to what his colleagues at LAFC, Philadelphia Union, and Seattle Sounders FC have already gone through.
“Having success in a cap league can be challenging to manage,” stated the 2023 MLS Sporting Executive of the Year. “We sell Brandon for the amount we originally agreed to pay him [a reported $7.5 million plus incentives and sell-ons], and I don’t really have any player designation to go use that money towards finding a replacement,” the player said.
“MLS is an extremely complicated league to purchase and sell players in because the money you get from a transaction cannot just be spent anywhere. You can, sometimes, right? You go grab a DP, you sell one. And so, certainly, that success has brought FC Cincinnati and our players greater attention, which has led to more opportunities for them and requests for increased compensation from the players. Indeed, the team and how it changes after a year like ours is a topic that the players in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and other successful teams in the past few years have faced: You simply feel pressure.
In keeping with that, competing on a European scale is a real stress point as well as a huge chance for Cincy. This is their first continental competition. Later this month, the Orange & Blue will go to Jamaica to take on Cavalier FC, an upstart, in the Concacaf Champions Cup. Should they make it through that two-leg match, they’ll probably play Vazquez and Monterrey in the Round of 16.
Apart from emphasising the importance of an established roster core and game model, as well as the organisational culture to mobilise it towards achieving outcomes, Albright claims that CCC didn’t much alter his approach to squad construction.
“I prefer teams that can win in a variety of ways, and I still believe we can.” He said, “Miles is a huge boost to an already strong defensive bunch. “In our league, having that flexibility in how you compete is important because of the different environments, time zones, and everything we deal with.”
He mentions that some of the key players on his team—Nwobodo, Miazga, Luciano Acosta, and Aaron Boupendza—arrived after the season had already begun and makes a suggestion that this might happen again this year.
“We’re still trying to add anything, or something added. In the end, that’s what we’ve been doing for the past few years,” he remarked. “We will continue to be patient in order to add to that group because the best players and deals frequently take the longest. However, as of right now, I am certain that our current group will be able to weather the early rhythm of many games.
“The hardest thing I have to do in my job is still getting good players to come to our league.” Thus, you should only be able to provide the coaching staff with the maximum amount of depth. That, in my opinion, is what enabled us to win the Supporters Shield the previous year.”
Putting self-deprecating Rust Belt jokes aside, Cincinnati has a lot to offer prospective players, including the ability to compete for trophies on several fronts and access to some of the best MLS facilities, all because of their devoted and wealthy ownership group. In addition, Albright and head coach Pat Noonan work hard to build a reputation for player care, which undoubtedly influences how circumstances such as Barreal’s are handled.
Those who go personally to see all that with their own eyes are likely to be converted.
“When we can attract players to visit our training facility and stadium in Cincinnati, it speaks for itself. It really is a building of the highest calibre. Albright added, “And I think Pat and I take really good care of guys; that’s really important to us.”
“I’d like to think it’s a desirable place to play when you marry those things and have success and the facilities and try to really take care of these guys.” You take a look at guys like Miles and Corey, who had a choice, don’t you think, since free agency is turning into an even more potent weapon for team building? They had a number of options, but they decided on Cincinnati. Thus, in my opinion, that’s a pretty
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