FC Cincinnati: Athleticism the name of the game

FC Cincinnati are beginning to build their roster, through trades and the expansion draft. Based on the players they have recruited, athleticism is clearly the name of the game.

The successful expansion teams tend to have a clear directive, a philosophy behind which they can unite, a direction that the whole club is built to contribute to, from the players and tactics on the pitch to the coaches, the staff at the training ground and even the fans in the stadium.

Just look at Atlanta United’s example. The Five Stripes had a very certain plan: amass young, South American talent, hire an inspirational coach, play in a high-energy, attacking style, unite a football-enthused city desperate for a championship in a newly, specifically designed stadium.

As FC Cincinnati continue to establish their plans for their inaugural MLS season, there is a philosophy that is being unveiled.

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Take a look at the players that they have traded for and selected in this week’s Expansion Draft. The two most senior players that they selected and kept in the Expansion Draft are D.C. United forward Darren Mattocks and FC Dallas forward Roland Lamah.

Without commenting on the relative wisdom of the selections, — there are very obvious reasons to doubt both decisions, ranging from the quality of the players to the contractual situations that are being inherited — there is one thing that both players share: blistering, truly terrifying speed and athleticism.

Both Mattocks and Lamah have orientated their games around their pace. Lamah, largely from out wide, likes to dribble with the ball with speed and directness, committing defenders to challenges and then skipping into the space behind. Mattocks, meanwhile, makes clever, sharp runs off the ball to pierce the channels between the centre-backs and full-backs.

Similarly, this week, Cincinnati have also made trades for defenders Greg Garza of Atlanta United and Kendall Waston of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Both Garza and Waston are defenders renowned for their physical, athletic style.

Waston especially has been the foundation of the Vancouver defence for some time. Although he has made some individual errors at times, he is still one of the better defenders in MLS. That is, in large part, because of his physical gifts, his speed across the ground, his height and his aerial prowess. Garza, similarly, is a full-back with great stamina, able to bound up and down the flank throughout the 90 minutes, offering defensive security and offensive production.

Many of the players that Cincinnati have targetted and acquired so far this offseason all build their games on their physical and athletic qualities. As a result, this Cincinnati team, while perhaps lacking the cutting quality of the MLS elite, will be an extremely athletic, powerful, strong team, from the defence right through to the attack.

That is the philosophy that FC Cincinnati have adopted. One of speed. One of strength. One of athleticism. For them, that is the name of the game. Time will tell if it is a successful plan or not.