FC Cincinnati just enjoyed a drama- and distraction-free preseason for once. No daily Lucho Acosta spectacle. No constant refreshing of soccer insider Tom Bogert’s X feed for confirmation of Evander’s transfer from Portland. No scrambling to replace starters Brandon Vazquez, Alvaro Barreal, Yerson Mosquera, Junior Moreno, and Santiago Arias.
This January, every player who did not have an excused absence reported to camp on time—though let’s not mistake a shortage of show for lack of change or intrigue. The starting XI will look different, and the coaching staff has a new face (Dom Kinnear is out; Brett Uttley is in). As FCC begins 2026 tonight in the Dominican Republic against O&M FC in Concacaf Champions Cup play, followed by the MLS opener against Atlanta Saturday at TQL Stadium, here are five things to know and watch over the coming months.
Can Evander and Denkey find common ground?
Individually, Evander (39 combined goals and assists in all competitions) and Kevin Denkey (18 goals) were brilliant in 2025. Rarely was the duo uplifting each other, though. Just four of Evander’s helpers led to a Denkey goal. Contrast that with Brenner, who deposited a pair of Evander dimes for scores in a single match after arriving in August.
Caveats apply. Evander and Denkey enjoyed virtually zero preseason time together. Denkey was adjusting to a new league that often rewards physicality. Despite playing roughly the same number of minutes, he drew 15 fewer fouls in 2025 than he did in 2022-23 playing in Belgium’s top division.
Evander’s transfer from Portland was made official on February 17, 2025, and he logged substitute minutes in FC Cincinnati’s season-opening match two nights later. With Luca Orellano and Yuya Kubo in and out of the lineup and Dado Valenzuela failing to earn the consistent trust of the coaching staff, Evander was the offense’s judge, jury, and executioner. He balled out anyway.
Still, after shelling out a combined $28 million for Evander and Denkey last offseason, FCC rightfully expects improved connection, increased goal chances, and more consistent offensive play from them. The Orange and Blue’s offense is not solely incumbent on the duo, but they are two of the team’s Designated Players and are the two highest-earning players. They need to work better together.
“These guys like each other,” General Manager Chris Albright said in early January. “They enjoy each other’s company. I mean, credit to Evander, he gets along with everyone. And it’s tough for a new player to show up and to even have the level of success that Kevin did, so we’ll maybe give him a pass that he had a bunch of success but didn’t connect with the number 10 (Evander) in year one. But it’s something that we’re very keen on improving, because we think if their production (and) their relationship can grow, their production can compound.”
New wheels at wingback, another engine in midfield
Bryan Ramirez, a 25-year-old Ecuadorian winger, and Ender Echenique, who impressed with his pace and dynamism after joining FCC last July, are the clear-cut starters at left and right wingback, respectively. Ramirez effectively replaces Orellano, who was sold to Monterrey in Mexico’s top division. Ramirez and Echenique are tasked with finding Evander in advantageous attacking positions and feeding Denkey near the goalmouth. In Evander’s case, he owns more goals and assists than any MLS player other than Lionel Messi over the past two seasons. Find him in space, and watch the magic happen.
In the midfield, it’s all familiar faces with Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha, Brian Anunga, and Samuel Gidi returning. Anunga is the fourth-choice player in that group, but I’m interested to see if the depth allows Noonan to rest Bucha, the team leader in minutes the past two seasons, more often. Gidi was thrown into the fire straightaway last September and responded well considering he’d been playing in the Slovakian first division.
Concerning center back depth
It’s not even March and FC Cincinnati reporters are already posting worrying updates about Matt Miazga’s health. Last season, the veteran center back made his long-awaited return from a serious knee injury and quickly became a 90-minute-per-game starter, just like he’d been prior to crashing into a goal post and wrecking his knee in June 2024. But after leaving the September 13 match early vs. Nashville, Miazga didn’t log another minute in 2025.
Freshly minted Designated Player Miles Robinson has experience playing in the middle of FCC’s back three, but I prefer to see him using his pace to fight fires at left or right center back. The other players in the room pose major question marks.
Teenage Hadebe was in and out of the starting XI with uneven form until locking down a spot in the season’s final weeks. Nick Hagglund’s leadership is invaluable, but at 33 the totality of the mileage and injuries he’s endured make him an occasional starter, not a full-time one. Gilberto Flores, a U22 signing ahead of 2025, played frequently through June but rarely sniffed the pitch after that. Maybe he’ll be more comfortable with a year of MLS under his belt.
I was concerned about center back depth even before Miazga’s injury. Albright can afford to take a wait-and-see approach for now, though.
Major MLS changes, quirks are coming
Perhaps you’ve heard of the men’s World Cup? The world’s most popular sporting event kicks off on June 11 in venues across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Unfortunately, not only are there no matches in Cincinnati, there are zero matches near Cincinnati. In pure mileage terms, the closest contests will be hosted in Atlanta, nearly 500 miles away.
MLS will pause league play from May 25 through July 16, three days before the World Cup final is hosted in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Robinson, a probable starter for the Stars and Stripes, will likely be the only FCC player to suit up in the World Cup.
This season will also mark the final iteration of MLS’s current calendar setup. Beginning in 2027, the league will shift its schedule to mimic other preeminent leagues around the globe. The 2027-28 regular season will begin in mid-to-late July and conclude in May 2028. There will be a cold weather break in play from mid-December through early February, a pause similar to those employed by the German and Spanish leagues.
The change will be jarring for fans, players, teams, et al., but is a no-brainer move to align with transfer windows and the FIFA calendar and to ensure MLS playoff matches are played in May—meaning better weather, zero overlap with American football, and more TV eyeballs for MLS’s most important matches.
Trophy time? Trophy time!
If the drama-free vibes continue into the summer, Orange and Blue fans will be elated. That will likely have meant better Evander-Denkey chemistry, Ramirez and Echenique tearing up the flanks, and/or the return of the 2023-era defensive spine.
Just like last season, FC Cincinnati has four opportunities to hoist silverware (regular season Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup). And just like 2025, if the Orange and Blue fail to even reach a final, the season will have been a disappointment.
Exclaiming that “this team needs to go get a trophy” is obviously easy for me to say and hard for the club to execute. The sentiment remains true in my mind, however: Denkey and Evander won’t be around forever; Hagglund, Miazga, and Nwobodo are closer to the end of their FCC tenures than the beginning; Robinson turns 29 next month; and Bucha can only log so many near-3,000-minute campaigns before breaking down.
The 2025 side never truly clicked and owned the goal differential of a No. 5 seed, yet still finished second in the East. After all, Head Coach Pat Noonan is the great Floor Raiser. But it’s time to lift something more tangible: a trophy.
Enjoy the season, everyone. And join me here in the digital pages of Cincinnati Magazine every Wednesday throughout the campaign.
Grant Freking is in his eighth year of FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine.
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