For FC Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls, their performances seemed in 2024 as a story of two seasons.
FC Cincinnati started strongly before fading in the last few months. Red Bulls also vacated late before making a surprising run to the MLS Cup finals.
This time both teams hope to maintain their texture during the regular season – and it starts Saturday night when Red Bulls goes to Cincinnati.
FC Cincinnati comes from its third straight look after the season, and for a while last year they were among the best teams in the league. Cincinnati won 15 of his first 22 games (15-4-3) before he finished 3-7-2 and made a first playoffs.
This version of FC Cincinnati will look for filling the void created by Luciano Acosta, which was sent to FC Dallas on February 12 in a transfer of $ 5 million plus. Acosta scored a team high 14 goals last season and stands as the leader of the franchise all the time (54) and Assists (72), but he requested a move.
FC Cincinnati hopes that high -priced additions Kevin Denkey and Evander can help compensate for Acoosta’s departure. Both players made in their debut Wednesday during a 4-1 victory over CF Montagua in a Concacaf Champions Cup competition in Honduras.
“I think the character of the group is very strong, and it was clear when we had to do with some challenging moments throughout the season,” said FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan. “When you see it behind the scenes and see how guys handle difficult situations, it gives me plenty of hope for a high roof and expects even more than we saw (Wednesday).”
Evander amounted to 15 goals and 19 assists last season for Portland Timbers. The Cincinnati ownership paid $ 12 million to acquire him this week after shooting an MLS record $ 16.2 million to acquire Dankey from Belgium’s Cercle Bruge in November.
Red Bulls reached the title game for the second time in team history last year even though he stumbled down the route with a 1-5-3 finish. New York warmed up with three endings during the season before losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup Championship match.
“Last year was an ‘a-ha!’ Experience for the entire team by realizing, ‘Oh, we can do it,’ “Emil Forsberg told Amnewyork this week. “When I said it then (how good we could be), everyone was just like,” OK, we want to be a little better. We want to get better. “
New York will try to stay warm during the duration for the 34 game season with an assortment containing former Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. He goes with Lewis Morgan in front of the losses of Dante Vanzeir and Elias Manoel and defender John Tolkin.
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