FC Cincinnati, along with the rest of Major League Soccer, was off this past weekend. But with a few off-pitch developments and the Club World Cup and Gold Cup being staged in venues across the U.S., it certainly hasn’t been a slow news week in the land of soccer/football. Let’s dig in.
FCC tries to get a ‘ja’
FC Cincinnati Co-CEO Jeff Berding has gone public with his club’s interest in German attacker Thomas Müller, who is set to leave Bayern Munich after the conclusion of the Club World Cup. Berding told German publication Bild that FCC made Müller reps a “good offer” and that “it’s not over until he signs with another club.” Müller reportedly turned down Berding and FC Cincinnati in April.
Müller, simply put, is one of the greatest players to ever emerge from one of the world’s premier football pipelines. He’s won 34 trophies in his career, tied for the most by any German player with Toni Kroos, his former club and international teammate. That silverware includes one World Cup, two Champions Leagues, and 12 Bundesliga titles. Across more than 750 appearances for Bayern Munich (a club record) and 130-plus matches for Germany, Müller has scored in excess of 300 goals.
At 35, his status as one of the world’s top goal contributors is in the past, but his diminishing physical skills would find a soft landing in MLS. And that’s not to say Müller is washed; he notched 12 goal contributions in 44 matches in 2024-25, and his supercomputer of a football mind will always be his greatest asset. With the NBA Finals having just wrapped, pairing Müller with Evander would be akin to handing the keys of Cincinnati’s offense to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton. Müller still boasts plenty of technique and can still place himself and his teammates in advantageous scoring situations.
Berding’s continued pursuit of Müller could also explain FCC’s roster management strategy. MLS teams can choose between two roster models:
- Two Designated Players, four U-22 Initiative Players, and up to $2 million in General Allocation Money, or
- Three Designated Players and three U-22 Initiative Players.
At present, FC Cincinnati have embraced the first option and had to declare their intentions in February. Evander and Kevin Denkey are the Designated Players, and Gilberto Flores is the lone U-22 signing, though another was reported last week (more on that below).
But—there’s always a “but” with MLS roster rules—clubs can update their roster model between July 1 and the close of the league’s Secondary Transfer Window on Aug. 21. That transfer window opens on July 24.
FCC adds U-22 winger
As I mentioned earlier, FC Cincinnati have reportedly signed another player to a U-22 Initiative contract. Ender Echenique, a 21-year-old Venezuelan winger, appears to be the addition. I’m still waiting on a midfielder to be added to the fold, but winger was another problem area for FCC. With Luca Orellano seemingly at wingback for good, the Garys needed another attacking player with pace to dribble head-on at defenses.
Echenique is quite young, and obviously the jump from the Venezuelan first deivion to MLS is a big one, but the possibility of him contributing off the bench later in the summer doesn’t appear to be a far-fetched notion.
Miles Robinson moves on at the Gold Cup
Miles Robinson and the U.S. Men’s National Team topped their Gold Cup group and advanced to the quarterfinal round Sunday vs. Costa Rica. Relegated to a pair of substitute appearances, he’ll miss at least one more FCC match.
In other Gold Cup news, old friend Jurgen Locadia had a well-taken goal narrowly disallowed for Curacao against Canada over the weekend. Locadia, whose time with FC Cincinnati ended in summer 2021, played last season in Spain’s third division.
Club World Cup at TQL Stadium
Luckily, Bayern Munich’s 10-0 disassembling of Auckland City has stood as an outlier in the three Club World Cup tilts hosted by TQL Stadium. Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg edged Mexican outfit Pachuca thanks to stoppage-time winner. And on Saturday German power Borussia Dortmund skated by South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, 4-3.
Dortmund face off against South Korean club Ulsan FC today in TQL Stadium’s final Club World Cup tilt.
Next up for FCC
FC Cincinnati, which has played just once since May 31, travels to East-worst Montreal tonight before visiting Orlando, which is three points behind FCC, on Saturday evening.
Grant Freking writes FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine. You can follow him on X at @GrantFreking.
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