After a two-week sojourn across Spain, yours truly has returned refreshed and minimally sunburnt. Among the many experiences I was able to enjoy was, of course, a football match! I took in a clash between Spanish top league foes Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad at the lively Metropolitano Stadium on the outskirts of downtown Madrid.
Atletico striker Alexander Sorlorth pumped in four (!!!) goals to power the hosts to a comfortable victory. Methinks I am goal good luck charm; in March 2024, I witnessed Bayern Munich throttle Mainz 8-1 (featuring a Harry Kane hat trick). For any soccer executives who believe my presence in their stadium can result in goals galore for your club, my inbox is open.
But enough prattling on. There are plenty of FC Cincinnati topics to catch up on.
I’m certainly no good luck charm for the Orange and Blue, at least not lately. The last match I took in on television was a disappointing 3-1 setback at New York City. While I was away, FCC enjoyed a modest three-match unbeaten streak, notching one-goal wins over Austin and Toronto and escaping Columbus with a 1-1 draw.
Sunday brought a road tilt at hapless Atlanta. A preseason trophy contender, the Five Stripes were winless in eight matches and second to last in the East standings. Naturally, Atlanta went on to pummel Cincinnati 4-2, equaling the most goals the Orange and Blue have conceded all season.
The visitors surged in the opening 15 minutes but couldn’t secure an opening salvo. The match shifted after center back Nick Hagglund departed in the 14th minute following a collision of questionable intent with Atlanta star forward Emmanuel Latte Lath. (Hagglund was later diagnosed with two broken ribs and a collapsed lung, continuing his two-year run of poor injury luck.)
Six minutes later, Atlanta was up 2-0. The Five Stripes, who spent $32 million on Latte Lath and fellow attacker Miguel Almiron over the offseason, had logged just four goals in their past eight contests. Miles Robinson’s well-taken header inched the visitors within one early in the second half. Minutes later, Luca Orellano—still struggling to find his scoring rhythm—should have leveled the proceedings, narrowly missing on a counterattack.
At this point, the Garys seemed assured of at least nabbing a point. But Atlanta struck again in the 66th minute, scoring for the second time off a set piece.
FC Cincinnati finished this basketball-on-grass match with nine shots on target and 27 shots overall. The Orange and Blue never seemed to recover their defensive rhythm after Hagglund’s early exit, which forced Robinson to switch from left to right center back and threw Teenage Hadebe, only recently back after a long absence, cold off the bench onto the back line. I also thought FCC got the short end of the officiating stick from referee Guido Gonzales. Aside from Hagglund play, Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan crashed into Dado Valenzuela in the penalty area without repercussions in the second half. The fact that Atlanta escaped the match without a yellow card was laughable, too.
Sunday marked Orellano’s fourth successive start at wingback, his home base for much of 2024. What’s different about 2025 is the lefty has been installed at right back—Orellano played mostly left back last season—shifting the underperforming DeAndre Yedlin to the bench and ending the Orellano-Evander-Kevin Denkey experience in attack.
Skipper Pat Noonan allotted nearly three months for the Orellano-Evander-Denkey trident to develop chemistry, but the Orange and Blue’s “big three” never clicked. FCC’s center backs can cover for Orellano defensively, whose skills as a solo dribbling artist are more useful on the flanks. One year after notching 15 goal contributions (including 10 goals), he’s still looking for his first score of 2025. The 25-year-old has looked more at ease on the wing, but his overdribbling and turnovers remain an issue.
Yedlin will find his way back into the rotation soon enough. But due to Hagglund’s latest long-term injury and Robinson’s approaching extended absence with the U.S. Men’s National Team, that playing time will likely be at center back. Robinson has been named to the Americans’ Gold Cup roster and will leave the team after Saturday’s home tilt with D.C. United. The U.S. has a pair of friendly matches before three group stage games and the knockout round. After Saturday, FC Cincinnati likely won’t see Robinson—on track for his third All-Star appearance—again until July.
Hadebe, Yedlin, Gilberto Flores, and Alvas Powell are all in line for center back minutes over the next two months.
Looking to provide more of an aerial threat, the Orange and Blue inked MLS legend Kei Kamara for additional striker depth. The 40-year-old Kamara is the league’s second all-time leading scorer. FCC actually selected him in the 2018 Expansion Draft but traded him to Colorado for an international spot.
Now suiting up for his 12th club—Kamara is MLS’s Rich Hill—he can play alongside Denkey late in matches or spell Denkey during busy fixture periods.
Tonight, old friend Lucho Acosta returns home with FC Dallas. The Garys’ famous ex is struggling in Texas, having registered more yellow cards (five) than goal contributions (three) through 13 league matches. Meanwhile, Evander, his replacement, has 12 goal contributions over the same period.
General Manager Chris Albright procured $5 million plus incentives for a player who hasn’t looked the same in the second halves of the past two seasons, has battled nagging leg injuries for years, and turns 31 on May 31, and that deal is looking like a heist. Reminder: Evander is four years younger than Acosta and entered 2025 having played 8,000 fewer career minutes.
Don’t be surprised if Cincinnati looks a bit leggy tonight, as it will be their third match in seven days. Another contest at TQL Stadium looms on Saturday against D.C. before a two-week international break.
Grant Freking writes FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on X at @GrantFreking.
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