Through their first three seasons, FC Cincinnati were always seen as the biggest club in the league. They were. Attendance numbers towered over rival USL clubs annually, and the team ended the 2018 campaign 23-games unbeaten.
Head Coach Alan Koch and his players routinely spoke of playing with a “target on their back” and “getting everyone’s best game.”
It’s slightly different in 2019. In recent interviews, Koch has mentioned the team is an underdog and starts MLS play unproven. In that sense, it’s a role reversal.
On Sunday night, the Orange and Blue will play the new biggest club: Atlanta United FC.
ATLUTD are the reigning MLS Cup champions. They’re currently in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions League and will likely have more than 70,000 fans at their home opener and MLS Cup ceremony.
It’s going to be loud.
The 39,011 fans at Seattle Sounders FC last Sunday night was the largest crowd FC Cincinnati have ever played in front of. Atlanta will almost double that.
“No pressure at all,” captain and center back Kendall Waston said of playing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. “I think it’s nice being able to play in those environments against top teams. We just have to keep going in what the coaches want to be better. I think during the games we’re going to get better in different aspects.”
Last season, Atlanta averaged 53,002 fans per match, which led MLS. The league average was 21,873, According to Soccer Stadium Digest.
FC Cincinnati led USL with 25,717 fans per game, while the league average was 4,916.
Thus, the Orange and Blue have impressive fan support that already surpassed the MLS average before the club was even in the first tier. But Koch said there’s no way to fully replicate the atmosphere the club will play in on Sunday night.
“I've gotten asked this by a lot of people, ‘Wow, it must’ve been great to be in Seattle in front of 40,000 fans?’” he said. “Yeah, that’s great, but we’re pretty fortunate we have a very loud fanbase at our home games. Playing at CenturyLink (Field) did not feel any different than games we’ve played or coached with this club in USL.
“Obviously going to Atlanta is a whole different ball game, but our players are used to playing in front of fans and we’re all used to dealing with pressure. Hopefully we’ll come together and have a good collective performance that will set ourselves up for success.”
