By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (May 15, 2019) US Soccer Players - The MLS calendar year is just one 12-month season of change. A rash of coaching changes in the early going of the 2019 campaign means more than usual to talk about when it comes to new faces and reorganization. New England has handed the reigns of their program to Bruce Arena. Colorado installed Conor Casey as an interim manager . . .
FC Cincinnati also makes a coaching change
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (May 8, 2019) US Soccer Players - Let’s not pretend that FC Cincinnati’s decision to fire head coach Alan Koch 11 games into their MLS expansion season wasn’t a surprise. Although their record of two wins, two draws, and seven losses was among the worst in MLS and the club hadn’t scored a goal in 600-plus minutes, dumping Koch this early in the campaign was still . . .
FC Cincinnati’s home game
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 15, 2019) US Soccer Players - The truth is that for FC Cincinnati, Sunday’s home Major League Soccer debut wasn’t exactly “a long time coming”. At least not if we’re judging by the amount of time between MLS making the expansion announcement in May of 2018 and the upcoming game against Portland at Nippert Stadium on March 18, 2019. The fans of other recent . . .
Moving on from week 1 in MLS
The soccer news starts with expectations in MLS. For FC Cincinnati, a quick start in their opening game led to an unnecessary reminder of the degree of difficulty. Expansion is tough. So is defending a title, something Atlanta went through at DC United. Neither of these extremes is news, necessarily. MLS isn't the type of league that regularly rewards the safe assumption. Maybe you'd like to . . .
Toronto and Cincinnati in the new era of MLS squad building
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Feb 13, 2019) US Soccer Players - There’s plenty to pick from if you’re looking for something entertaining out of the Major League Soccer offseason. The kickoff to the 2019 campaign is less than a month away. The league’s chattering class has more than enough to talk about as clubs race to get their business done. It might take a deep interest in MLS to understand . . .
FC Cincinnati plays the MLS game
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jan 28, 2019) US Soccer Players – The months needed to prepare for a new MLS season are full of nerve-racking intensity. There are players to draft, others to trade, and the logistics associated with staffing and stadium prep. That’s all further intensified when you’re an expansion team. This is where FC Cincinnati finds itself just weeks ahead of the kickoff to . . .
Gaming the MLS SuperDraft
The soccer news starts with the Philadelphia Union's intriguing approach to the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. They opted out entirely, trading all five of their picks to expansion club FC Cincinnati in return for an immediate $150k in general allocation money and the potential for $50k more. FC Cincinnati now enters the draft with 10 picks. Whether or not this was good business for either team is the . . .
USMNT players advance in the 2018-19 Champions League
The soccer news starts with USMNT players in the Champions League. Weston McKennie was on the bench for Schalke's 1-0 home shutout of Lokomotiv Moscow in Group D. Alessandro Schopf scored a minute into stoppage time with Ralf Fahrmann making one save to keep the clean sheet. Schalke advances to the knockout round in 2nd-place, five points behind group winners Porto. “We were dominant over the 90 . . .
MLS moves on, FIFA task force meets over new competitions
The soccer news starts with the MLS champions Atlanta United and runners-up Portland Timbers. For the technical staffs on both teams, there wasn't a lot of time for either of them to celebrate or wonder what they might've done differently. By Sunday, they were announcing the players they're keeping for the 2019 MLS season. The league moves on, with Sunday a half-day trade window where moves . . .
FC Cincinnati’s MLS look
The soccer news starts with FC Cincinnati debuting their logo as they prepare to enter MLS next season. The quick takeaways are a slight hue change for their orange and blue and a logo tweak. Since it seems an MLS tradition that it's never that easy, here's the club's official release letting us know what is and isn't appropriate. “Football Club Cincinnati” – the team’s full written name – will . . .
