Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Shaking Things Up


FC Cincinnati might only be in its fourth year of existence and first year in Major League Soccer, but the young franchise is not afraid to pull the trigger on making big moves. Following the team's loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, FCC dismissed head coach Alan Koch and named assistant coach Yoann Damet as interim head coach.

Under Koch FCC attained a record of 2 wins, 2 draws, and 7 losses totaling only 8 points in the MLS eastern standings through their first 11 games. The club had gone winless in their last seven matches in a row and had not scored in their previous five.

Signs of Koch's dismissal were pretty apparent. After the team's fell to the Philadelphia Union in a Wednesday night match, Koch said he needed additional players in order to win. The comments essentially threw FCC's front office and roster under the bus. Following the team's next loss to the Earthquakes, a few players such as Fanendo Adi voiced their frustrations with Koch's coaching style and lack of team identity. The club released a statement saying that Koch was dismissed because of "a series of recent issues and a team culture that had deteriorated."

At the time that this post was written, FCC had only played one match with Damet at the helm. The team earned a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Impact as Allan Cruz ended the club's 528 minute scoreless streak early in the first half. Fatal Alashe scored his first goal of the season in the second half. It is still early, but the team looked very different under Damet. They were passing the ball more and creating more opportunities on offense. Whether or not that is a result of Damet's style or a lack of film on it remains to be seen but for now, everything seems to be copacetic in the Queen City.

Will Damet be the permanent coach for FC Cincinnati? Let's see him coach a few more games first. Rumors are that Gerard Nijkamp has been hired by the club to be the new general manager, and he will make the final decision as to who the next head coach of FCC is. If Damet can actually turn the team around and string together some wins, then I could definitely see FCC naming him as head coach. If not, then I really hope the team conducts an international search and brings in the best coach possible that can lead this team to a future MLS Cup victory.




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