The unflattering 2021 projections and long Las Vegas odds are pouring in for FC Cincinnati and in mentioning them to Gerard Nijkamp, he's reminded of a long-ago time when such things would have bothered him.
"When I was in the beginning of my career, absolutely," Nijkamp, FC Cincinnati's general manager, told The Enquirer. "These things annoyed me if you don’t know what’s happening daily on the pitch and everyone working hard to get the right result at the end of the day, but that’s a long time ago for me."
Now in his third season at FC Cincinnati after joining the club in May 2019, Nijkamp's evolved from concerning himself with pundits. He can also understand the skepticism of FC Cincinnati, and he knows respect won't be handed to he and the club so easily.
"I think we have to earn it. I think it makes sense that people are a little hesitant about FC Cincinnati," Nijkamp said. "They say, ‘hey, FCC did some interesting auditions in the roster, we move some players who didn’t have a future here. Is this coming together?’ We have to earn respect. We have to earn the positives of everyone."
Accepting the skepticism shouldn't be misconstrued as Nijkamp agreeing with FCC's naysayers.
Nijkamp and head coach Jaap Stam have been working in concert since mid-autumn to reshape FC Cincinnati and to provide an on-field product that matches the West End Stadium, which opens during the 2021 Major League Soccer season.
More:FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam talks Brenner acquisition, expectations for 2021
More:FC Cincinnati's Said Bakkati: 'We want all the fans to be proud to wear the shirt'
From the team 2020 team that finished at the bottom of the MLS table, more than a dozen players departed.
Marquee acquisitions – left back Ronald Matarrita, Brenner Souza da Silva and Luciano Acosta – came aboard for 2021 to compliment other signings from a busy offseason.
Other key contributors for the season ahead arrived in 2020 and have MLS minutes under their belts. Alvaro Barreal and Kamohelo Mokotjo are projected to be big contributors, too.
More reinforcements are on the way including the recently-acquired Ecuadorian center back Gustavo Vallecilla and pacey Ghanaian winger Isaac Atanga.
Generally, FC Cincinnati's top brass believes that while the 2021 team might not be there yet in some aspects, there's a core group now in place that can lift the club out of the MLS cellar after two consecutive last-place finishes in the league.
The work isn't finished, though. FC Cincinnati appears to be thin along the backline and center back remains an area of need.
Vallecilla and trialist Edgar Castillo should help buoy the defensive line in the meantime while Joseph-Claude Gyau agreed to permanently take the reins at right back.
FC Cincinnati continues to monitor its needs relative to the ongoing FIFA international transfer window, which remains open into June. Nijkamp said the club will use the first month of results to inform additional acquisitions this window.
To that end, Nijkamp can't be satisfied with his work on the 2021 team to date.
"I think I can when I’m happy or satisfied with the work that not only I did but everyone who is helping me – scouts, analytics, and everyone – I’ll feel satisfied when we go through the first three, four games and have results and put a base in this league and on the table," Nijkamp said. "Then you go from hope to results. Now, it’s too early to say if we did the right things. Yes, I think we did the right things, otherwise I wouldn’t have done them but, still, you’re not 100 percent sure."
Cincinnati.com's 2020 regular-season prediction: Be prepared for what should be – what simply needs to be – noticeably more-attractive play coupled with results in 2021 from FC Cincinnati. The club has 10 combined victories over its first two MLS campaigns. FCC won't match that number this season alone but you're likely to see some upsets and giant-killing at West End Stadium. FC Cincinnati will need to be taken seriously by opposing clubs all year and those that don't will suffer for it. Eventually, by mid-October, the club will fall out of the MLS Cup playoff discussion for good and finish at or around the No. 11 position in the 14-team Eastern Conference. That would constitute improvement even a casual fan could recognize. Also: this shouldn't be your baseline for a successful season but if you're taking a cynical approach to evaluating progress and all you care about is FC Cincinnati avoiding a third straight last-place finish in the league, there are several prime candidates to finish below FCC this year, including CF Montreal and Houston Dynamo FC.
How it will look on the field: There will be goals, and some pretty ones, too. In 2021, we could see an FC Cincinnati player bag 10 goals or more for the first time since Emmanuel Ledesma did so during the 2018 United Soccer League season. Offense won't be the problem in 2021, even with Jürgen Locadia's loan spell set to end in June and a mix of new players still lacking chemistry in the eyes of some observers. On paper, what should be concerning is the back line. The club is thin at center back for noww and lacking firm answers across the board. Vallecilla is a promising player but the Ecuadorian first division isn't much of a proving ground, so he'll need time to level up (and he hasn't arrived to American shores yet). Matarrita and Gyau both offer promise and questions in equal measure at left and right back, respectively. The knock on Matarrita is that he's not as inclined to defend as he is to join the attack while Gyau is acting as something of a utility player by moving to right back. The depth across the board in defense? On paper, it's there. In practice? TBD. And remember, you don't just defend with the back four players. You defend with all 11 and there are a lot of new faces that need to get used to one another. That's not going to happen quickly. After significantly improving the defensive output in 2020, it's possible the defending takes a step back in 2021. Look for FCC to self-correct defensively by midseason.
Cincinnati.com's projected starting XI: Przemysław Tytoń (GK), Ronald Matarrita, Maikel van der Werff, Tom Pettersson, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Haris Medunjanin, Luciano Acosta, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Jürgen Locadia, Brenner, Alvaro Barreal.
From the 18-man dress list that opened the 2020 season on March 1, 2020 at New York Red Bulls, half of those players have since departed the club including six starters.
FC Cincinnati is reasonably deep in the midfield and has players that should be extra-motivated to impress up top, especially Brenner and Locadia. Acosta will be in position to facilitate goal-scoring chances like this club has never seen in its relatively short MLS existence.
The X-factor in 2021 for FC Cincinnati is...: Not a player, but the stability of a coaching staff and front office. In 2020, Jaap Stam and Said Bakkati were brought in and implemented their tactics. Now, their fingerprints are all over this roster and it's truly their (and Nijkamp's) team as they've had close to a full offseason and preseason to mold the group.
One could argue this is the first time FC Cincinnati's had this much cohesion between its coaching staff and the front office – and with all those individuals on stable footing – in the organization's history to begin a season.
The manager's credentials aren't being questioned and outright doubted (2019), nor is it an interim manager cleaning up the fallout of an unexpected firing (2020).
Nijkamp's trade of Frankie Amaya has ensured everyone in the FCC locker room is "on the bus," so to speak.
Consistency in coaching, and in the environment around the team, is a new luxury that should see FC Cincinnati to better results.
The 2021 roster
*As of April 15; FC Cincinnati must be compliant with MLS roster rules by Friday.
Goalkeepers (4): Cody Cropper, Ben Lundt, Beckham Sunderland, Przemysław Tytoń
Defenders (9): Zico Bailey, Edgar Castillo, Avionne Flanagan, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Nick Hagglund, Ronald Matarrita, Tom Pettersson, Gustavo Vallecilla, Maikel van der Werff
Midfielders (10): Luciano Acosta,, Alvaro Barreal, Allan Cruz, Calvin Harris, Yuya Kubo, Haris Medunjanin, Ben Mines, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Caleb Stanko
Forwards (5): Isaac Atanga, Brenner, Franko Kovačević, Jürgen Locadia, Brandon Vazquez
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