CUSP OF CUP
Revamped NYCFC have eyes on MLS title
There are no excuses if New York City FC can’t figure this out.
In what will likely be David Villa’s last season in The Bronx, anything but an MLS Cup is going to be a failure for this team. And in Year 3, head coach Patrick Vieira thinks he’s figured it out.
He’s calling it his deepest roster yet. Newcomers like winger Jesus Medina and rightback Anton Tinnerholm, both of whom are expected to be starters, highlight the 10 new faces brought in to propel NYCFC past MLS Cup and Supporter Shield winners Toronto FC.
Vieira and Co. think they’ve done enough, yet questions still remain from a team with younger, flashy players compared to the veterans of the past like Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard.
“The managers are demanding more — collectively and individually,” winger Rodney Wallace told The Post before NYCFC starts its season away at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday (7:30 PM; FOX Sports 1). “We’re adapting to a new way of playing. We’re getting to the point where we are understanding each other’s games.
“The emphasis this season is to pay attention to the details offensively and defensively. It’ll make us more successful team this year.”
The expectations are there — many project NYCFC to be among the favorites for MLS Cup even without winger Jack Harrison, who was sold in the offseason to parent club Manchester City. Replacing Harrison’s production (10 goals, six assists) is something that remains a mystery. The natural selection would be Medina, the 20-year-old Paraguayan Designated Player signed in the offseason, but there could be a learning curve for the flashy winger to adapt to a new style of play and the league itself.
“When you look at our goal scorers f rom l ast season, I thought it was really good,” Vieira, whose team ranked sixth in the league in scoring (56 goals). “Maybe not as consistent as it was in the beginning of the season, but our goal record has been really positive.”
NYCFC will once again rely heavily on Villa, now 36, as the main source for production. The 2017 MLS MVP runner-up scored 22 goals last season despite going on a six-game goal drought late in the year.
NYCFC also added Austrian winger Ismael Tajouri and Norwegian forward Jo Inge Berget, two versatile types who would likely start on most MLS teams, but provide solid rotational options that NYCFC didn’t have a year ago. The team still has young winger Jonathan Lewis, who continues to be spoiled riches wasting on Vieira’s bench.
Any goal production comes from NYCFC’s mentality of building from the back which filters through the midfield trio — Alexander Ring, Maxi Moralez and Yangel Herrera — return for a second season together. The trio made itself one of the best possession-minded groups last season. NYCFC added competition with VFB Stuttgart loanee Ebenezer Ofori, who could
dethrone either Ring or Herrera on the defensive side.
Defensively, Tinnerholm, the reigning Swedish League defender of the year, finally gives NYCFC a true upgrade at right back from last year’s merry-go-round of Ethan White and RJ Allen, neither of whom are still with team. Saad Abdul-Salaam, acquired from Sporting Kansas City, should offer support to Tinnerholm while occasionally sneaking centrally on the back line.
On the left side, Ronald Matarrita will reclaim his starting leftback role after an injury-plagued 2017. It’ll be a big year for the Costa Rican international, who with Wallace, is expected to be part of Costa Rica’s World Cup roster in the summer.