Niko Gioacchini comes to FC Cincinnati at an interesting impasse in his career. On the one hand, the American-born forward brings a lot of experience and poise to the FC Cincinnati roster, but on the other he is still just 24 and has much of his career still ahead of him and needs development to reach his goals.
In part, that dichotomy of experience and youthfulness is exactly the kind of thing FC Cincinnati needed and the match between them makes Gioacchini a uniquely suited jigsaw puzzle piece to this roster. Gioacchini has been on teams that have won MLS regular season conference titles and earned promotion to the top level of a European league in the past year, a roller coaster of emotions and success. That leaves him as a player with a lot of experiences and one that has learned a lot of things, but still needs to hone his own craft.
The newly loaned forward was introduced to the Cincinnati media on Tuesday morning for the first time, doing so after a training session with the first team. The session, he says, was his third since joining the club and he already feels comfortable in the flow of things despite the quick acclimation to the club. Gioacchini had already gone through a preseason with the Italian club he is with (Como 1907) and had built up his fitness significantly, making his quick introduction to FCC training easier. “Exquisite” was how he described his fitness and unafraid of the challenges of playing with a new team in the middle of the season.
“I had my minutes and I got my miles in,” Gioacchini said of how he feels physically. “The key is to just train well, recover smartly, and go day-by-day.”
FC Cincinnati’s newest forward joins the club perhaps not as the first choice, but as one that undeniably helps the squad as the stretch run begins. Gioacchini understands the situation he’s in and understands how he can help the squad. He made clear he knew the reason for his becoming an option for The Orange and Blue, but that the actual circumstances of his loan to Cincy aren't relevant to him. He’s here to win, he’s here to develop as a player, and he’s here to make the best of his situation.
Some may not see how those things intersect. How (a hypothetical player's) individual development has anything to do with the success of their short-term loan. Gioacchini feels those things are intricately and explicitly linked and is excited about that opportunity.
“I'm happy to add (to the group) in as many ways as I can and in as many ways as the coach asks me to,” Gioachinni said in hisintroductory press conference. “That's what I'm here for, (the loan) is great for both parties, it met my personal and professional needs and I want to win as many trophies as I can while I'm here.
“I saw the opportunity, not just for me, but to help his team come to a good end of a season. That's what I'm here for. So it's exciting.”
Gioacchini joined Como 1907 in January 2024 and the Italian side is clearly still invested in his future. When he was purchased for a reported two-million Euros (2.2 million USD), he was their record transfer-fee spent, but the timing of the move made for a difficult transition for new players. With Como in the middle of a promotion bid, integrating new players for the sake of future success — and perhaps sacrificing current success by disrupting the flow of things– wasn’t an option. Como eventually won promotion and that move from Serie B to Serie A opened up significant financial flexibility for the club. The newly promoted side added 16 new players this offseason and Gioaccini’s then record fee quickly moved from the top to sixth-most after this summer's window.
Seeing the writing on the wall in Como where, with promotion to Serie A and several other purchases corresponding with that, Gioachinni says the decision to join FCC to continue playing and continuing developing was proposed quickly and decided on even quicker.
“Seeing the situation, Como was personally supportive with me and I thought it was a good idea to come (to Cincinnati),” Gioachinni added. “I got (to Como) in a difficult moment for arriving players, because as a team that was winning a lot, getting playing time was not simple. But the objective was reached. It was actually a hell of a six-month experience so I definitely keep that in the back of my mind…but, I know that there are eyes on me, and I've come into a role that is extremely important.
“I didn't have much time to think about it, but I think I didn't really need it. I’ve seen how this team has been doing this season.”
On the penultimate day of the secondary transfer window closing, Gioachinni was informed by his agent FC Cincinnati was interested in a loan. He says he agreed to it later that same day. FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright, who disclosed Tuesday that he made most of the pitch to the striker in an impromptu Zoom call from a car in the parking lot of a Target while moving his daughter into college, promised Gioacchini that this is not their typical methodology of recruitment but laid out a plan that highlighted how effective the partnership FCC and Gioachinni could be.
“We're on a two-to-three year window here, with a lot of guys in their prime playing at a high level, so that we can compete with anyone in this league. Again, 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,” Albright said of the mindset in acquiring Gioacchini. “We still feel like we have a championship caliber team, and so we're going to continue to address the team like that's the reality.”
The elephant in the room, or more so perhaps the expected elephant in the room, is that Gioacchini was not only not plan A, but not plan B or C of the transfer window either. Albright in that Tuesday media availability, laid out a pretty distinct timeline of being left at the altar from some other transfer targets and that Niko was adapting at the final stretch to improve the roster.
That’s a difficult situation to be in as a player. But not a problem for Gioacchini, he says. He sees it as mutually beneficial, so why not be pleased with the move regardless of the extenuating circumstances? Which speaks to the maturity and experience the young American forward brings with him to FCC. It also helps paint the picture of why the recruiting staff were so high on him.
“A lot of credit goes to Niko being willing to trust us,” Albright said of the new FCC forward on Tuesday. “Being willing to trust us – trusting some crazy person talking to him from a parking lot – that this was going to be a good idea.
“Adding Niko [Gioacchini] on the last day of the window, I think, gives us a guy that understands this league, how we play, coming from a similar-ish system with St. Louis and how they play against the ball, and a good athlete. I think he's a good compliment to some of the pieces we have up front.”
That’s all great off the pitch. And while there is a track of evidence that suggests, with all teams but specifically this team, that cohesion off the field leads directly to success on the field, his performance on the field is largely how Giacchini’s time with FC Cicninnati – and the move as a whole for the FCC braintrust – will be evaluated.
There is a belief from FCC leadership that Gioacchini’s transition and integration into the team will be swift and effective. They feel his fitness level means he is ready to contribute quickly and his familiarity with the intensity and style FCC want to play from his time with St. Louis CITY SC will translate well to what Pat Noonan wants his team to do. He’s talented in the air, has ball skills to create shot opportunities and has the finishing instincts to be lethal in the box.
But most of all Niko Gioacchini has a deep appreciation, or even more so an excitement, for what it means to play with Luciano Acosta. Which, with little debate, may be the most important aspect of any FC Cincinnati attacking addition at this stage in the season and championship contenting window The Orange and Blue have created for themselves.
“He’s a guy who makes a difference. I'm here for that…I have a lot to learn from him. So that's exciting. I can't wait for it,” Gioacchini said of his new captain. “I've seen him play many times. And I mean, what an exceptional guy, exceptional player.
“He didn't play against us when I was in St Louis (in 2023) and we were happy about that at the time…I need to study him in the sense that I'm playing with him and not against him. That's definitely some homework I have to do.”
Chris Albright feels FC Cincinnati have set themselves up for trophy winning contention this season based on their success in the first half of the season, and just because of injury or transfer window drama there’s no reason to back away from that now. The Orange and Blue tooled up, to the best of their abilities (and in some ways fortunes) would allow and are set for the final furlong (ok technically two and a bit furlong’s) of the season.
“I want to win. I want to win. I want to win all the games,” Gioacchini said. “That's what I'm here for…There's a lot of things that I learned (in Como) that I can bring here and hopefully help carry this group even further.
“(In Como) it was in a promotion position and here it's to win the title. There's definitely a big mental game in winning trophies and going all the way. There are some tips and clues that I've learned over there on how to keep the mind efficient in those situations that I hope to bring here.”
