For three seasons since their debut in 2019, FC Cincinnati was the worst team in the MLS — and it's most dysfunctional outfit off of it. Now, the turnaround the club has engineered is nothing short of miraculous. ✍️ MLSist and FelipeCar
In February, long before FC Cincinnati were anyone’s pick to win the Supporters’ Shield, a handful of Cincy players sat on an outdoor patio overlooking the beach in Clearwater, Florida.
Off the field, they cycled through four head coaches and nearly as many general managers while spending more money than nearly any other team in the league. That financial ambition is almost always a good thing — in Cincy’s case, it only made them look worse, as they overpaid for player after player while sinking lower and lower into the standings.
“I come off that way,” said Noonan in February. “But I think in terms of the way I lead, it’s important that I don’t look like a goofball. I have staff and players that I manage, so I try to find the right time to have fun, to smile. My daughter said it the other day, ‘Dad, you don’t smile enough.’ I was like ‘s—-, my daughter is saying this to my wife.’ I don’t feel like that sometimes, but that’s how it comes across, that’s how I’m perceived.
Noonan is keenly aware of the club’s ascension, one that he has meticulously guided from offseason training days to MLS match days. Cincinnati’s previous dysfunction on the field was a reflection of the club’s instability off of it. Noonan and his staff — which includes Dominic Kinnear, Kenny Arena, Ricardo Paéz and Paul Rogers — have provided the organization with a structure and a sporting identity that seemed implausible just two years ago.
Of course, Cincy has an elite MLS No. 10 in Lucho Acosta behind a two-striker set up, now led by U.S. international Brandon Vázquez. Cincinnati also added Colombian center back Yerson Mosquera, 22, on loan from Wolverhampton to add speed, aggression and aerial superiority to the back line. Noonan said that Mosquera has to continue to mature as a professional, but lauded his overall skill set.
Cincinnati has the makings of becoming a complete team. As pundits begin to take notice of their potential, Noonan remains grounded. “That doesn’t mean that we’re just gonna come from Philly and go okay, now, you know, let’s open our wallet and let’s start throwing money at guys,” said Albright. “It’s more — how can we be just as efficient with three or five times what we were spending there?”
Albright had good reason to play hardball in terms of Brenner’s perceived value. Long before Albright’s arrival, the club paid a $13 million transfer fee to acquire Brenner, amongst the largest-ever fees in league history.
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