11 Things I'll be Watching for in 2025

All data from FBref unless otherwise noted.

Programming Note: I’m still trying to figure out what the in-season cadence will look like for this newsletter during the season. Right now, I think it’ll consist of a more time-sensitive post on Monday or Tuesday (okay, Wednesday maybe sometimes), reviewing the previous weekend’s game, plus an occasional extra post on Thursday or Friday every couple of weeks, tackling something bigger and/or outside the flow of the season’s rhythm. That’s the plan for now, at least.

The wait is over. FC Cincinnati takes the field for a competitive game tonight in Tegucigalpa (and then again this weekend!). It’s been a drama-filled offseason but we’ll finally get a look at what the next version of the Orange and Blue will look like in a competitive situation. Some off-field questions remain but we can mostly shift focus to what FCC will be doing on the field, you know, playing soccer. In that spirit, here are 11 things I’ll be watching for tonight, this weekend, and in general during the 2025 season.

10 - Replacing Lucho

Most of this list isn’t in order of importance. This one, however, is. How the Orange and Blue transition from having Lucho Acosta at the center of everything to not is the biggest outstanding question entering the 2025 season. Effectively replacing Acosta’s contributions will determine whether or not FCC is a good soccer team in 2025 and, also importantly, if they are a fun team to watch.

As I’ve written previously, Acosta’s importance to the Orange and Blue’s ascendence cannot be overstated. Evander, who arrived from the Portland Timbers in a now-record MLS cash market transfer, will be the club’s direct replacement for Acosta. If you’re looking for the option with the highest floor while also preserving a pretty high ceiling, he’s it. He’s produced in MLS. However, he’s not a one-to-one replacement and there will surely be growing pains. How Evander settles in and the team molds around his style of play will be the #1 thing to keep an eye on in the early part of the season.

Evander won’t be alone in trying to replace Acosta’s contributions. Luca Orellano figures to be the other major piece set for a bigger role as he transitions from playing mostly-wingback to as a full-time attacker. In a small sample size, Orellano proved to be one of the most impactful attackers in the league but in a new season, with new surrounding pieces, things will look different. What’s the best way to fit Orellano and Evander together in the final third? How quickly can FCC’s three principle attackers come to an understanding?

Thankfully, Orange and Blue are building this new attack on a solid foundation. For as much as you’d prefer to be peaking at the end of the season, a Supporters’ Shield can’t be won in the first months of a season but it can be lost. How quickly FCC’s new attackers can settle in and find a rhythm will be the biggest headline for the early part of the season.

9 - Denkey’s Opening Act

Kévin Denkey deserves his own section here even though, somehow, his arrival feels like it might be being slept on. All the other offseason drama and the fact that his arrival was locked down so early in the transfer window put some distance between Denkey’s then-record breaking transfer into the league and today. Make no mistake, Denkey has the statistical profile and track record of a striker to bet on succeeding in MLS.

In Belgium, he consistently demonstrated an ability to take lots of shots from good positions, the most important thing a striker can do. Denkey will be 24-years-old for much, if not all, of the MLS season, putting him firmly in pre-peak age territory. All the indications look good for Denkey being a very productive player.

He should live up to the hype. If everything goes well, the next question might be how long will he be around?

6 - Styles Make Fights

FCC changed tack in 2024, embracing a more possession heavy approach compared a more transition-focused one in previous seasons under manager Pat Noonan.

Will FCC still try to play with the ball as much as it did in 2024? Or will we see a return to a team focused on generating transition opportunities, both through a more aggressive press but also less deliberate build-up in possession?

How will Noonan tweak his preferred game model to get the most of the 2025 iteration of the roster? We probably won’t have an answer immediately but indications shouldn’t take long to surface.

8 - squiggly lines

FCC was very good defensively in 2024 and even though the attack struggled to capitalize on more time spent in the final third, the ball was there quite a bit. However, 2024’s primary engine for moving the ball up the field plays in Dallas now.

Pavel Bucha seems to be an obvious candidate to take on more ball progression responsibility in midfield. Some of the burden will fall to Obinna Nwobodo too, even though he offered little in terms of forward passing last season.

One of the trade offs playing with three centerbacks is generally having one fewer body further up the field. Building through the thirds deliberately in 2024 allowed FCC’s centerbacks to move the ball into the final third but allowed opposing defenses to set. Will we see more of that again or will Roman Celentano and the centerbacks revert to looking for Denkey’s head up the field when he has the ball?

How Noonan sets the team up to move the ball up field will be vital to the team’s success. After all, having a trio of dangerous attackers won’t matter much if they don’t have the ball.

3 - Wingbacks

Central to FCC’s ball progression plan also will likely be FCC’s newest wingback pairing: Lukas Engel and DeAndre Yedlin. The latter is a known MLS quantity who has proven to be a better option receiving forward passes in wide parts of the field rather than moving the ball there himself, either with a pass or by carrying it.

Engel is more of a question mark. He doesn’t appear to be a wingback in the same mold that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few seasons, that is a player who is basically the second most important creative force on the field. However, Engel should bring more consistent balance - allowing Yedlin to push forward more often on the right while he provides reliable width on the left.

He should also bring increased flexibility to the Orange and Blue’s backline. At Middlesbrough, he played on the left in both four and five defender set ups. Giving Noonan the option to tweak lineups further should help the manager ensure that FCC can always put its best eleven players on the field, no matter the circumstance.

4 - Early Centerback Uncertainty

FCC was really good defensively in 2024 even as injuries ravaged the backline. However, the team’s centerback depth chart is in flux at the start of 2025.

Ian Murphy and Chido Awaziem, who combined to make 30 starts at the position last season, both play now for the Colorado Rapids.

The Orange and Blue’s first choice centerback trio of Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, and Teenage Hadebe profiles as one of the best units in MLS. However, Miazga is still recovering from a leg injury and bench option Nick Hagglund is similarly not back to full fitness yet.

How Noonan mixes and matches options at the beginning of the season as the position group (hopefully) gets back to full fitness will be an important storyline.

1 - Celentano

Roman Celentano is…fine, even if he continues to be the same shot-stopper that he has been across his first three MLS seasons. But if he can take a step forward, and it doesn’t even need to be a big one, FCC’s defensive outlook would improve considerably.

5 - Prospects

Stefan Chirila is almost certainly the most hyped FCC Homegrown player in the club’s history and rightfully so.

As a 17-year-old in 2024, playing mostly against players four or five years older, he scored six goals in MLS NextPro on 8.06 expected goals (0.53 xG per 96 minutes) according to American Soccer Analysis.

He’s on the Senior Roster now. Is it too soon for real contributions? Probably. But I’d love to proven wrong.

How Dado Valenzuela progresses will bear close watching as well. He played more than 1,100 minutes for the Orange and Blue in 2024 and, outside of some flashes, struggled to really make his mark. Can he take a step forward and provide a more consistently dangerous option off the bench? It would certainly help.

11 - Depth

Quietly, this might be the deepest bench in FCC’s MLS history.

Corey Baird and Sergio Santos may not be the most exciting options off the bench but both are proven MLS attackers. Like much of the Orange and Blue’s attack in 2024, Baird struggled to find a rhythm. Will a new offensive infrastructure line up more with his strengths? In Santos’ case, so long he remains healthy (and Father Time stays away), he provides a solid piece to change the team’s fortunes at the end of games. His pace and strength, combined with a striker’s ability to find dangerous space in transition, makes him a valuable.

Brian Anunga provides a bonafide depth piece in defensive midfield. The aforementioned Valenzuela should also absorb midfield minutes.

Bret Halsey makes a lot more sense as a backup wingback when he won’t be faced with the replicating the very specific responsibilities required of its left wingbacks in previous seasons. Alvas Powell’s quest for a banger into the upper 90 continues, whether he’s playing as fill-in for Yedlin at right wingback or as a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency centerback option.

7 - Jack Of All Trades, Master Of?

Yuya Kubo deserves his own section instead of being lumped in with the rest of the team’s depth. He’s coming off his best season in Orange and Blue, at least from the perspective of what he was originally signed as a Designated Player in 2020.

Hopefully the ramifications of Kubo’s brief preseason holdout are behind us. His role in 2025 will be an interesting one. Though Kubo’s coming off his best season in Orange and Blue, at least from a goal scoring standpoint, there are plenty of indications that he’s probably still not a long-term answer in the final third.

I’ll be curious to see what’s the position where he makes the most difference coming off the bench. Is it backing up Bucha in central midfield? Is it as an attacker off the bench? FCC’s depth should be in a healthier place (barring another injury crisis) allowing Kubo to occupy a more set role. What exactly that role is is the question.

2 - FCC2

FCC2 is coming off its most successful season. There will be some returning faces, like Amir Daley and Kenji Mboma Dem, but much of roster is likely to be new.

The club seems to have spent some resources in bringing Andrés Dávila to Scudamore Field in 2025. I have no idea what Davila’s inclusion on The Guardian’s Next Generation 2024 means for his long-term prospects. However, it’s good to see FCC looking to use every available resource to improve the present and future of the team. Assuming Stefan Chirila logs a decent number of FCC2 minutes, there will be certainly be a draw to watching those games over the course of the coming season.

Using every available resource to improve the first team seems like good business. Depth is vital in MLS, especially depth on cheap contracts, and FCC2 is one avenue that can lead to finding those pieces.