Ahead of FC Cincinnati’s first season in MLS, we’ve created a roster breakdown for each position group. For goalkeepers, click here. For the backline, click here.
Here’s a preview of The Orange and Blue’s midfield:
Nazmi Albadawi
Age: 27
Previous club: FC Cincinnati (USL)
Albadawi signed with FC Cincinnati last season and made an instant impact in the club’s midfield. He finished with a career-high 11 goals and produced four assists.
He also has international experience and played with the Palestine National Team in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Before Cincinnati, FourFourTwo said Albadawi was one of the best players in the country not playing in MLS. That was 2017. He gets his first chance in 2019.
During the preseason, he made six appearances and had a goal against D.C. United and an assist against the Colorado Rapids.
Leo Bertone
Age: 24
Previous club: Young Boys (Swiss Super League)
Bertone’s last competitive game was in UEFA Champions League for Young Boys against Juventus. Young Boys won.
The center mid arrives in Cincinnati with an impressive resume. He played 131 matches for Young Boys before FCC. He’s also made 23 appearances for Swiss youth national teams. As someone who can play as a holding or box-to-box midfielder, Bertone is composed under pressure and creates space for his teammates.
He made five preseason appearances.
Roland Lamah
Age: 31
Previous club: FC Dallas (MLS)
The winger arrives in Cincinnati as an explosive attacking player who can use his pace and shooting quality to torment opposing backlines. Lamah made 61 appearances in two seasons with Dallas and scored 19 goals.
Lamah also has international experience and has five caps for the Belgium National Team. In FCC’s preseason, he made seven appearances and scored against the Chicago Fire. He was red carded in the last match against Columbus Crew SC. That suspension doesn’t carry over to the regular season, however.
Lamah was Cincinnati’s third pick in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft.
Victor Ulloa
Age: 26
Previous club: FC Dallas (MLS)
Another acquisition from Dallas, Ulloa arrives at his second professional club with 144 MLS regular-season appearances and more than 10,000 minutes logged.
Ulloa’s role fluctuated during his seven preseason appearances between a box-to-box or defensive midfielder role. The Mexico-born midfielder was one of Cincinnati’s most consistent players during the trips to Florida and South Carolina.
Allan Cruz
Age: 23
Previous club: Herediano (Liga FPD)
Cruz joined FC Cincinnati in the offseason and is the club’s first Young Designated Player. He’s a center midfielder who’s also versatile between positions in the midfield.
During the preseason, Cruz played six friendlies. The game missed was for an appearance for the Costa Rica National Team against the U.S. Men’s National Team. Cruz has seven caps with Los Ticos.
Before FCC, he helped Herediano win the 2018-19 Liga FPD winter season. He made 27 appearances.
Eric Alexander
Age: 30
Previous club: Houston Dynamo (MLS)
FC Cincinnati selected Alexander with the fourth pick in the Expansion Draft from Houston. When Alexander features for Cincinnati, it’ll be his sixth club in MLS. He arrives as the club’s most-experienced MLS player, having made 212 regular-season appearances. He has one cap with the USMNT.
He played four matches this preseason.
Corben Bone
Age: 30
Previous club: FC Cincinnati (USL)
Along with Jimmy McLaughlin, Corben Bone is one of only two FC Cincinnati players to be with the team since the inaugural 2016 season. Then, Bone arrived as a midfielder looking for a new start after only playing 20 MLS regular season matches with two clubs across five seasons.
“I expected to come in and hopefully just play soccer,” Bone said. “I was excited to play, it was a new start for me and I wanted to start playing soccer again.”
Bone became an instant fan favorite.
In three USL seasons, he made 102 appearances for FC Cincinnati. As a central midfielder, his role has rotated as an attacking mid, holding one and even as a box-to-box option.
Originally drafted No. 13 to Chicago in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, FCC entering MLS means another opportunity in his former league.
Jimmy McLaughlin
Age: 25
Previous club: FC Cincinnati (USL)
Similar to Bone, McLaughlin enters his fourth season at FC Cincinnati. His 103 competitive appearances lead the club through the first three seasons. He’s scored 12 goals and has 11 assists.
McLaughlin is expected to miss the season, however, after tearing his ACL before the 2019 preseason began.
Frankie Amaya
Age: 18
Previous club: UCLA (NCAA)
The Orange and Blue picked Amaya No. 1 overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. A Generation Adidas signing, Amaya played one season at UCLA and has experience with the U.S. Under-20s National Team.
The youngest player at the club, Amaya is a central attacking midfielder who’s quick on the ball, can link play between teammates and can create attacking opportunities. He made five preseason appearances and started against Chicago in a 1-1 draw.
Fatai Alashe
Age: 25
Previous club: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
Alashe joined FC Cincinnati on loan from San Jose last July and played nine matches with FCC, scoring once. He also had an assist.
Before Cincinnati, he made 85 appearances with the Earthquakes across four seasons, including 69 starts. In 2018, Alashe proved he’s a reliable option in the midfield who can snuff out attacks as well as create chances in the final third.
He made three preseason appearances.
Caleb Stanko
Age: 25
Previous club: SC Freiburg II (Regionalliga)
Stanko and Alashe played on the same youth team growing up in Michigan before Stanko opted to play professionally in Germany. The center midfielder — who also played center back — made 71 appearances for Freiburg II and 11 for Freiburg.
He also has one appearance for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Stanko made six preseason appearances.
Emmanuel Ledesma
Age: 30
Previous club: FC Cincinnati (USL)
“Manu” is the reigning 2018 USL MVP after 16 goals and producing a league-record 16 assists. The winger also featured as a forward during the season and either scored or assisted on 44 percent of all FCC goals in USL play.
This is his first time in MLS. In his 12-year career, he has more than 260 combined appearances. He made six during the 2019 preseason.
