Time to shine
Medina must reward NYCFC’s faith
There have been stretches when things have appeared to click for New York City FC midfielder Jesus Medina.
The Paraguayan ended last season with five goal involvements (three goals, two assists) in the final five regular-season contests. A similar hot streak burned in the summer of 2018 — five contributions in five matches — when he was still making his first impression in New York.
The player who emerged since that debut campaign in MLS has impressed as well as frustrated, though maybe not in equal parts.
A designated player signing at just 20, Medina was always going to be surrounded by high expectations, especially after NYCFC struck gold with their first designated player signing, David Villa. Still, Medina has not quite lived up to his billing in New York, with the stench of inconsistent performances sometimes masked by star attackers around him.
That depth is no longer there, and NYCFC now need Medina to be the star they are paying for.
Alexandru Mitrita is out on loan. Heber, still recovering from a torn ACL, is unavailable to start the season. Maxi Moralez started just 10 games last year and is a year older at 34.
NYCFC still have enough talent to be a playoff team, maybe even a contender if things break right. But they won’t get there unless Medina takes a step forward.
“I think Jesus had a lot of improvement last year,” coach Ronny Deila told reporters on a Zoom call Wednesday. “For me, he’s very valuable because he works really hard, he’s one of the guys who runs most on the pitch. At the same time, he’s [started] to get better in the last third of the pitch, he’s involved in goals and chances all the time.”
Nineteen goal involvements (chiefly from Mitrita and ex-captain Alex Ring) have departed from last season, and Medina and Taty Castellanos are the only players who had at least five goals last season (The next-highest remaining on the team, Anton Tinnerholm, had four on an expected goals of 1.5, suggesting some regression could be coming).
While Castellanos will be relied on for goals at striker — especially before the return of HeHeber — he’ll need healthy support from Medina, who has never topped more than six goals in an MLS season. Especially with the stalwarts remaining elsewhere on the pitch, it’s not an understatement to suggest NYCFC’s hopes of being a real contender will live and die with Medina.
Newly minted captain Sean Johnson is still in goal, Tinnerholm returns after a stellar season at right-back, and James Sands and Keaton Parks figure to continue their midfield partnership — at least for now. The spine of a very good team is there — if NYCFC can find a way to score and create consistently.
Medina, now 23, will need to answer that question not just in stretches or bursts, and not just later on in the balmy summer months of the season.
After NYCFC’s gentle opening pair versus DC United (8 p.m., YES) and FC Cincinnati, comes a five-game gauntlet featuring Philadelphia, Orlando City, Toronto, Columbus and Los Angeles FC. Last season’s disastrous four-game losing streak to open the season (it eventually became six losses in eight) confined NYCFC to a fifth-place Eastern Conference finish — and difficult postseason matchup — even after a strong end to the year.
NYCFC should improve further when Heber returns, but they can’t afford a slow start to the season. That means getting consistency from Medina.
“Right now he’s good,” Deila said, “but he can be much better.”