FC Cincinnati: Reason to hope with Jaap Stam
Jaap Stam is the new FC Cincinnati head coach. And the Dutchman, despite an indifferent coaching record, provides reason for hope after a turbulent time in MLS thus far.
2019 was a torrid season for FC Cincinnati. Entering Major League Soccer with expectations and hope abounding, they proceeded to flounder upon their promotion from the United Soccer League. They were historically poor and entirely restructured the organisation, squad, and management team because of their disastrous results.
Entering their second season in MLS, Cincinnati had three new Designated Players, a new head coach who was hired in the latter stages of last season, and reason to believe that they could finally deliver on their potential.
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Then that head coach, Ron Jans, uttered a racial slur in the dressing room, resigned, and left FC Cincinnati with caretaker manager Yoann Damet in charge once again. They lost the two games they played before the current postponement.
With the coronavirus putting the entire league on hold, FC Cincinnati took their time in hiring a Jans replacement. Their search was disrupted as they struggled to get candidates into the facility due to travel restrictions, but eventually, they landed their man: Dutch football legend, Jaap Stam.
This week, Stam was officially unveiled as the new head coach. His arrival offers hope for FC Cincinnati once more. It also helps that he seems to arrive with both a plan and a belief in the talent he inherits.
“A very important thing for myself to join FC Cincinnati and makes it a little bit easier as well, they already play the system I like to play, a 4-3-3,” Stam told reporters on a video conference call Friday. “I like to play in a dominant way, pressing high up when you’ve got the opportunity, and being patient at times.”
He has a clear approach in the way he wants to play. That is important for a new manager coming to a league that he has never competed in, either as a player or coach. Stam has an identity, and FC Cincinnati will be the better for it.
He also believes the players can execute it. “If you look at the roster this season, there’s a lot of quality,” Stam said. “I analyzed FC Cincinnati’s last two games they played. I’ve seen all the players individually. I know in a certain way what they can bring, what they can do.”
The Dutchman conceded that he would know them better if he got to work with them in training. That is not currently possible with Stam stuck in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, he has scouted the players he will work with and he believes they are capable of playing at the level he demands.
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Stam, then, provides hope to FC Cincinnati. How that will translate to success on the pitch remains to be seen. But after a wretched first season in MLS, hope is more than many fans had entering the offseason. For now, that is all they can ask for and all that they have to cling to.