One day after the San Jose Earthquakes officially fired Matías Almeyda on Tuesday, D.C. It wasn’t a good week for Argentine coaches in MLS. Kamara announced Thursday his retirement from Sierra Leone’s national team, which he led earlier this year to its first African Cup of Nations appearance since 1996.ĭoug McIntyre chats with CF Montréal forward Kei Kamara about his retirement from the Sierra Leone national team after 14 years. But the fifth-leading scorer in MLS history (and one of just 10 players with more than 100 goals) is walking away from the global game. No, 37-year-old Kei Kamara isn’t hanging up his cleats just yet. "He can score 15 goals a year in our league." "We want to help him be successful," Albright said. With Cincy determined to not just keep the former São Paulo FC standout but also get the best out of him, the club hired a fellow Brazilian as the team’s player welfare coordinator. "It’s hard to lose that many games, to be 2-15 in a foreign country and not speak the language."īrenner reportedly pushed to return to the Brazilian league earlier this month, FCC turned down a transfer offer from Internacional. "I think his expectations weren’t met," Albright said. The 22-year-old Brazilian, bought last year for a near-MLS-record $13 million fee, scored eight goals in 33 games during his maiden MLS season but was reportedly unhappy on and off the field in Ohio. Now recovered from the injury that limited him to a substitute’s role in early 2022, star Cincinnati forward Brenner Souza da Silva made his first start of the season in last weekend’s scoreless draw with Atlanta United. GM John Thorrington could even move out a regular or two, with Cristian Arango and/or Brian Rodríguez potentially available for the right price. But they could still add pieces as Cherundolo continues the process of rebuilding the squad in his image. With Vela set to return, LAFC won’t have to swing for the fences for his replacement in the transfer market this summer. The 33-year-old former Mexican national team star’s previous deal was set to expire in June. LAFC know better than to take Cincy lightly.Īs sources told FOX Sports earlier this week, Carlos Vela and LAFC have agreed to a contract extension that will keep the 2019 MLS MVP with LAFC this season and beyond. Despite their early struggles, that’s starting to change. The scouting report in the past was that FC Cincinnati didn’t play together. "Before we got here, I think the focus was on identifying talent, not building a team." "To try and bring in a big-name designated player to help a group that needed stability first would be foolish," Albright said. The club inked Nigerian midfielder Obinna Nwobodo last week. The idea was to stop the bleeding first and bolster the roster later.
More than anything, Albright and Noonan went looking for good people, "the kind of guys you’d trust to take your kids to the park," Albright joked. All seven of their winter signings came from within the league.
They even lured veteran fullback Ray Gaddis, who worked with both men in Philadelphia, out of his brief retirement. "Pat’s done a really good job being believable and owning the room and all those things that sometimes first-time head coaches don’t do," Albright said.Īnd just as LAFC did with the offseason acquisitions of proven MLS players such as Crépeau, Kellyn Acosta, Ryan Hollingshead and Ilie Sánchez, Albright and Noonan targeted known quantities in Dominique Badji, Alec Kann and Alvas Powell to help right the ship. But first-year coach Pat Noonan and rookie general manager Chris Albright are slowly changing the culture of dysfunction that existed during the club’s first three years in MLS, when Cincinnati went through five head coaches. Meanwhile, at 2W-4L-1T, FCC is off to another poor start. "We have a quality squad, but it’s really the desire to push and pull together, being on the same page and applying what the coaching staff wants," LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau said ahead of Sunday’s trip to FC Cincinnati ( 5 p.m. In his first MLS head-coaching job - in what even he expected to be something of a transitional season for LAFC, following the departure of Bob Bradley - Cherundolo’s team leads the Supporters Shield race. Still, the clubhouse leader must be Steve Cherundolo. Nico Estévez has resuscitated an FC Dallas team that missed the playoffs last year. Josh Wolff’s Austin FC sit second in the West. Jim Curtin, the winner two years ago, has his Philadelphia Union back atop the Eastern Conference. Two months into the 2022 campaign, several bench bosses are building a case. Is it too early in the MLS season to talk candidates for the Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year award?
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