The secondary transfer window has come and gone. FC Cincinnati added a needed center back to the mix after injury shook up the roster and introduced a new need, and despite now well-documented transfer deadline drama they also brought in a new striker to augment the offense and maximize the roster they had going into the stretch run.
It wasn’t a perfect transfer window, FCC General Manager described a theme of the window getting to “plan Z,” after things didn’t break the way they hoped they would close to the deadline. But to do the business they did, given the circumstances, was tidy work to optimize the roster without kneecapping themselves for the future.
“We kind of had to pivot strategy a little bit,” Albright said Tuesday morning at Mercy Health Training Center. “We've positioned ourselves ... to where we’re in the trophy conversation to start the year. We don't shy away from that now at this point, and I think we've strengthened ourselves to give ourselves the best shot to win a trophy."
“The work done in this window,” Albright expressed, “is a continuation of the work that was started this time last season and has continued onward to now. In 2023 FC Cincinnati similarly showed themselves as a trophy contending team and when movement occurred (for one reason or another) counter-measures were taken to ensure a continuity of competition.”
Since Summer 2023, the FCC roster has been made over. Many new players were out, some tough decisions made on old friends to move along. Moves made to strengthen the roster.
But the overarching modus operandi was more bluntly defined Tuesday by the club’s chief soccer leader.
“We assumed that we were going to have a championship window coming into this season and probably next season, and maybe the one after that,” Albright explained. “The results early on lend credence to that fact. I think that validated that we do have this championship window. So we're being a little bit more aggressive in some of the inner workings of the salary cap than maybe we would if we were having a five year plan.”
“I think we're on a two to three year window here, with a lot of guys in their prime playing at a high level, that we can compete with anyone in this league. I don't think we need to shy away from that or be modest about that anymore. We're a really good team, and we're going to be aggressive in how we pursue winning things."
The focus is on the present and competing for trophies right now while the players in the organization remain some of the best in the league and at their peaks. But that doesn’t mean smart decisions can’t be made. The top teams in the North American sports zeitgeist are known and remembered as such for their ability to remain competitive at the highest levels for lengthy periods of time. The San Antonio Spurs of the NBA made 22 straight postseasons and won five titles, MLB’s Atlanta Braves made 14 straight playoffs and the Tampa Bay Lightning are on a streak of seven straight postseason berths with two Stanley Cups to their name in that span.
That’s a far cry from where FCC is now, looking to make their third consecutive postseason appearance (and should clinch that in the very near future) and none of those sports operate in the same global marketplace that MLS and soccer as a whole does. So it’s not an apples to apples comparison. But the universal similarity to those clubs mentions and the ones like it is savvy business in the open market with a strong internal culture to fuel success going forward.
“What I will tell you is we're a club with great ambition,” Albright said Tuesday. “There's a lot of, I think, reporting out there that's pretty darn accurate in how we approached this window and chased some really world-class, big, high-level players. Often those big deals are the hardest to get done and there were a few of them that we were in for and for whatever reason, they didn't come to fruition. You don't always get what you want. It's a tricky business.”
“We had tens of millions of dollars floating out there all window for a bunch of different players. That's the ambition from ownership, it's my job, our job, to execute on that ambition. Sometimes you pull it off to the level that it's a home run and sometimes you have to be patient and wait.”
FC Cincinnati 2 success lifts all boats
That patience has been key and the fruit of that philosophy is displayed in the success seen through the organization.
FC Cincinnati isn’t the only club looking to win trophies in 2024, FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXT Pro is looking to earn their first trophy and add to the club trophy case this season as they currently sit in the top spot of the Eastern Conference.
FCC 2 has seen a monumental turn around from the previous two seasons of play, already collecting more points than the previous two seasons combined thus far in the 2024 season. The performances of second-team players are also starting to pay dividends for the first team as players like Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela, Paul Walters and Malik Pinto continue to make impacts. Yamil Asad was able to get a warm up minutes to gain fitness as well.
In large part, Chris Albright says, the turn around is thanks to an increase in focus and professional standards. To which he credits Jeff Larentowitz, for helping reshape the club.
“When we showed up here, (the plan) was we're going to try to take care of the first team and then push those professional standards down through the second team and the academy. I think Jeff Larentowicz, frankly, deserves a lot of credit in taking that on and professionalizing that to a standard that we expect,” Albright said.
The improvement from the second team has made the organization lighter and easier to operate within. Albright highlighted that when one side of the organization (the first team) is winning trophies but the other side (FCC2) is losing every week, it makes the vibes of the offices difficult. But with FCC 2 Head Coach Tyronne Marshall and his squad rolling, it has compounded success for everyone.”
“I think it also adds good energy throughout the building,” Albright continued. “One side of the building's competing at a high level, and you go across the hall and you're in last place. That's not easy. So I think, yes, I think it's buoyed everyone around here.”
The improvement of the second team has a direct correlation to the first team training as well. Pat Noonan has regularly welcomed second team players like Kenji Mboba Dem, Nico Benalcazar and Moises Teblante to work with the first team to the point where some of those players were added to the Leagues Cup roster. Benalcazar has also been added to the first team on a short term loan this season, speaking to the impact the second team can have.
“The talent, the quality, the experience at that level, and having those guys being able to come in on a day when you're light numbers, and come in and contribute to training and not miss a beat, those are the things that people don't appreciate when they're watching on Saturday,” Albright added. “That maybe Lucho was competing against a better second team player that prepared him better to go make a play on Saturday night.”
Alec Kann’s Successful Surgery
FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn muscle in his hip and will miss the remainder of the 2024 Major League Soccer season, the club announced Wednesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Mahmoud Almasri at Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital.
Kann, 34, made three appearances for FC Cincinnati this season and signed a contract extension through the 2025 season in June of this year. Since joining The Orange and Blue in 2022, Kann has made 20 appearances, all starts, for the club.
Kann has been a vital leader to the roster and continues to rehab at Mercy Health Training Center, where he will be able to lend his veteran presence to the organization. On the field Kann has been a vital backup keeper and stepped in admirably when Roman Celentano went down with injury. With him out, the backup duties will likely fall to either Evan Louro or Paul Walters, each of whom have made a start for FC Cincinnati this season.
Albright's thoughts on Chirila
FC Cincinnati Academy product Stefan Chrila signed a homegrown contract earlier this season, which begins in 2025, becoming the latest in a line of success stories from the FCC academy despite its relative youthfulness in Major League Soccer. Chrilla, a forward, was recently named to the MLS NEXT All-Star game and scored a goal for the East in that game in Columbus, Ohio earlier this year.
“He's a national goal scorer and you can't teach that,” FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright said of the young star. “He can score goals in different ways. He's a really good soccer player. We're continuing to push him athletically, strength, that's where he needs to grow a bit.”
In a salary cap league like MLS, developing from within is an extremely cost effective way of building a roster for success.
“That's the essence of our game,” Albright highlighted. “The margins are really small, and goal scoring is what separates teams.”
“He's a really good kid, open to information, learning, working. He checks a lot of the boxes we look for in a human being and then obviously the talent on the field is… everyone can see it. So we're excited for his continued development."
Chrilla, 17, is currently signed to an MLS NEXT Pro deal with FC Cincinnati 2 and has scored six goals for FCC 2 this season which is tied for the lead on the team.
