FC Cincinnati lost to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, but Chris Albright, FCC's new GM, definitely still won in a sense.
Maybe, in that sense, FC Cincinnati also won a consolation prize in a long-view sort of way?
The Philadelphia Union are a youth talent development machine, and Albright had a major role in building that up as technical director for the club until joining Cincinnati.
One of the great accomplishments Albright contributed to was an emphasis on the club's academy, which is now producing promising talent with assembly-line efficiency.
That, in turn, led to multiple MLS Best XI selections in 2020, profitable sell-on deal to Europeans clubs, and more youth talent coming through the system. It's a cycle, and a formula for winning in MLS with great cost-efficiency.
On Saturday, half of Philadelphia's field players were on MLS Homegrown contracts and aged 20 or younger. The Union's youth out-performed FC Cincinnati's monied roster of individual talent in a 2-1 win for Albright's former club.
FC Cincinnati got a glimpse of Paxten Aaronson's rising star. Aaronson, the younger brother of former Union academy prodigy Brenden Aarsonson, scored the eventual game-winner for Philadelphia. That was just part of his huge night for the Union as he gave a man-of-the-match quality performance on both sides of the field.
Two other Union homegrowns logged assists in the game, too. Albright helped give rise to the youth revolution in Philadelphia, which the club has taken the profits of and used to bolster the experience and star power of its first team.
FC Cincinnati simply had to be looking at the machine Albright helped build in Philadelphia on Saturday and thinking, "maybe, one day."
More:GM Chris Albright to emphasize MLS experience in FC Cincinnati head coaching search
Playoffs officially out of reach for FCC
To the surprise of few at this stage of the season, FC Cincinnati's loss to Philadelphia officially eliminated FCC from playoff contention in 2021.
With six matches to play, Cincinnati is 4-16-8 (20 points). FCC has as many combined results (wins and draws) as the club had during the lackluster 2019 season (12) but two fewer wins, so the club is currently in line to finish with a lower points total.
Few thought it could get worse for FCC than 2019's 6-22-6 (24 points) campaign but that's a possibility by some measures. Add in the financial investment in this year's team compared to 2019, and still it's a far worse season even if Cincinnati manages to rip off a few wins down the stretch.
FC Cincinnati's remaining schedule includes home to Orlando City SC (Saturday), home to Chicago Fire (Oct. 20), at Inter Miami CF (Oct. 23), home to Nashville SC (Oct. 27), at Philadelphia (Halloween), and home to Atlanta United (Nov. 7; Decision Day).
As of this moment, only Chicago and Inter Miami have little beyond pride to play for, and Miami might argue they're still in a playoff push. So, the schedule doesn't set up well for Cincinnati coming to the finish line in terms of collecting points as all the remaining opponents except Chicago will be jockeying for playoff seeding and playoff qualification.
FC Cincinnati is still playing to avoid its own single-season "worsts" in victories (six; 2019) and losses (22; 2019).
A place for Haris Medunjanin in 2022?
Haris Medunjanin's 82nd-minute goal against Philadelphia was a noteworthy one as it came against his former MLS club and also notched a new career high for goals in a single season in MLS with three.
Medunjanin, 36, isn't the player he once was, but he might warrant inclusion in FC Cincinnati's 2022 roster.
An active contributor to Philadelphia from 2017 to 2019, he logged at least 2,500-plus minutes in all three seasons with the Union. And while he wasn't scoring much (which wasn't his primary job anyway) he logged a franchise record 29 assists over his three seasons at what's now called Subaru Park in suburban Chester, Pennsylvania.
In Cincinnati, Medunjanin logged 1,700-plus minutes in 2020 and, after a preseason interview this year in which he seemed to suggest he was contemplating ending his career, he's been on the field for just 1,087 minutes in 2021.
Medunjanin's played in 23 matches, though, and started in 12. That's a sizable contribution for a player who seemed to be mulling the end of his career just a few months ago. And it's worth noting that while he's attempted fewer passes, his passing accuracy of about 88% is the highest he's ever had in MLS.
Basically, Medunjanin isn't a dynamic, exhilarating play-maker, but he still makes some plays. He rarely has the ball taken off him and, while pragmatic and prone to playing the safe pass in marginally tight situations, he's a steady force in the midfield for FC Cincinnati.
Medunjanin's also played at a World Cup level (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and is a real professional in his approach to the game that could serve as a seasoned bench hand for, perhaps, one further season in Cincinnati.
Thing is, Medunjanin once against spoke passively about his future on Saturday. In post-match remarks on Albright, Medunjanin said, "hopefully, he can bring some players, some experienced MLS players who know the league. It's very important in this league, and I know that he's gonna do a good job and they gonna give him the power to do what's best for this team. He will do that, and hopefully you guys can see that next year."
So, we'd see this from Albright and you wouldn't, Haris? As in you won't be around?
That's not exactly what he said, and the club is obviously in a period of transition – something a pro like Medunjanin understands. Fair enough if he wants to play it realistically and accept he may not be in the picture after this year, but he still checks a lot of boxes.
Medunjanin might not be part of the core group Albright wants to build for 2022, but you'd have a hard time convincing me Medunjanin can't do a job for the club.
Curtin compliments TQL Stadium
Union head coach Jim Curtin is a quotable as they come in MLS, and pulls no punches. That fact, coupled with his on-field results as the long-time Union manager, has made him one of the most respected voice in MLS.
So, it's a heck of a thing when someone like Curtin says of TQL Stadium that the venue is "easily the nicest stadium that our league has."
Plenty of us already believed that. FC Cincinnati has tried to manufacture that idea and pump it out, but when people like Curtin, the U.S. Soccer Federation and other big entities in the domestic game sign off on the idea, that's big.
And of course, Curtin didn't mind playing in such a lovely venue and walking out with three points, so that surely boosted his opinion of FC Cincinnati's soccer palace, too.
In any event, that idea – that TQL Stadium is not just a gem in the City of Cincinnati but in the domestic soccer infrastructure – has truly taken root.
National reporters saw it for themselves for the first time when the U.S. women's national team played at TQL Stadium on Sept. 21. Many more will see it when the men's national team hosts Mexico in a vital FIFA World Cup qualifier Nov. 12, and by then I think you're going to start seeing even more big matches announced for the stadium.
The venue clearly has big-ticket games including national-team friendlies, qualifiers, and Gold Cup fixtures coming in its future. There's a long line of venues seeking to stage the MLS All-Star Game, but surely that's coming too.
Just a reminder: No, the venue's 26,000 capacity isn't big enough to stage World Cup matches in 2026 when the expanded-format World Cup is jointly hosted by Mexico, Canada and the U.S. But that doesn't mean TQL Stadium can't serve as a big feather in the proverbial cap for the city's bid to be a host city for matches and other World Cup events.
FC Cincinnati hasn't given fans the results a soccer palace like TQL Stadium deserves, but this is only the first season in the stadium's history. Big things and better days are coming.
Curtin saw for himself why that's the case on Saturday.
Source link
