FC Cincinnati 2023 MLS Season Preview

FC Cincinnati’s 5th MLS season is only a few days away.

This is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years to be an FC Cincinnati supporter in the MLS with what looks like all of the puzzle pieces finally getting into place for the season.

The first match of the season looks to be an exciting test as they will be opening TQL Stadium up to the Houston Dynamo who had an extremely disappointing season last year.

Even with all of the positives, there are still a few questions to be had before the season starts.

Out the Door

There weren't a whole ton of departures within the squad in the few months.

One even was a loan to help develop the young and upcoming star Harrison Robledo, who is formerly from the NYCFC academy before signing in February last year. He is off to USL Championship side
Indy Eleven until the end of the season.

The next departure came as a surprise to some people with Ronald Matarrita leaving for the Ukrainian side Dnipro. FCC did decline the contract and he became a free agent shortly after.

The last departure came in as a heartbreaker to many supporters with Calvin Harris going to Colorado Rapids for a fee of around $200K.

There were many rumors going on this winter about a possible move for Brenner to a European side, but nothing ended up coming to fruition and he is still training and looking to play in the first match of the season.

Welcome!

It's been a quite successful off-season when it comes to players arriving compared to previous years.

Marco Angulo was the first one to join the side in the off-season, coming 3 days before Christmas. He also came with the highest fee out of all four incoming, of approximately 3 million.

The primarily defensive midfielder rose to prominence with his performances at Ecuadorian side Independiente in the Copa Sudamericana. His three assists in the knockout stages proved integral toward their cup victory against São Paulo.

Isaiah Foster is the second one coming in early January from Switchbacks FC. With 22 League appearances in the USL Championship, he played on and off the bench with good performances coming at the end of the regular season against Phoenix Rising and New Mexico United.

Yerson Mosquera was the third person arriving, to try to boost the brick-wall defense. He arrived on loan from Wolverhampton till the summer with an option to extend.

He is well known for breaking out of the youth setup of Colombian side Atlético Nacional and was rewarded with a 5-year deal with Wolves after 16 appearances with El Verde.

The last transfer to come in is probably the most intriguing, it is Santiago Arias, who last played for Atletico Madrid.

He's had a pretty rocky few seasons after being loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 and Granada in 2021. The 31-year-old is looking to create a name for himself in the MLS with a one-year deal (an option for extension).

Manager

Pat Noonan is entering his second year in charge of the orange and blue and looking to try to create more history with the club.

He has brought the club to heights never seen before with a playoff berth for the first time in the franchise's history. He also allowed branded Vasquez to fully bloom into a player that has not been seen during his time at Atlanta United.

His biggest victory so far could be debated by many, but for most would be his first-round playoff victory against New York Red Bulls 2-1.

A great season like the last can really put his position as one of the up-and-coming best MLS player to manager change. The transfers seen before certainly look like a new direction is coming for this club.

Talking Points

Leagues Cup?

One of the weirdest events that FCC is participating again in is the Leagues Cup, which brings into question how the club is going to be balancing all of the matches once again.

Of course, the main priority is MLS. The question is, how much is FCC going to take these extracurricular cups seriously? For some, silverware is silverware and this could be a great way of seeing how we perform against such competition.

Acosta the Captain

Undoubtedly the captain will not be changing for the season after a fantastic 19-assist season by Luciano Acosta. More of a talking point is can he reach the height of an MVP-level season again?

One way that he could definitely get those voters is to stay consistent with the progress made last season.

29 goal contributions is an elite-level number to get and getting that again (or better) will really show people that he is still the real deal.