FC Cincinnati aren’t letting their Supporters’ Shield defense, or "championship window," slip away.
That was the central theme of general manager Chris Albright’s post-Secondary Transfer Window press conference on Tuesday.
"I think we're on a two to three-year window here, with a lot of guys in their prime playing at a high level, that we can compete with anyone in this league,” Albright said.
"I don't think we need to shy away from that or be modest about that anymore. We're a really good team, and we're going to be aggressive in how we pursue winning things."
Awaziem & Gioacchini
Cincy acquired two players this summer, starting with Nigerian international center back Chidozie Awaziem. He arrived on a full transfer from Portuguese top-flight side Boavista, reestablishing a position of strength after veteran center backs Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund suffered season-ending injuries in quick succession.
Awaziem has already formed a budding partnership with US international Miles Robinson, helping smooth over losing Miazga (reigning MLS Defender of the Year) to a knee injury.
Then there’s US international forward Niko Gioacchini, who’s on loan from Italian Serie A side Como through the winter. Gioacchini, who St. Louis CITY SC sold to Como last winter, occupies the Designated Player roster slot that opened when Aaron Boupendza’s contract got terminated.
A season ago, Gioacchini had 10g/1a as St. Louis broke numerous expansion-team records and topped the Western Conference. Now, he adds a new dimension alongside reigning MVP Luciano Acosta, Luca Orellano, Yuya Kubo and others.
There’s no hiding it, though: Gioacchini, back in MLS temporarily, wasn’t Cincy’s first-choice move.
"We had something sort of leave us at the altar and fall through; that was our safe bet," Albright said. "And when that happened, we had to go to plan Z, and Niko was sort of in that category. And it's not that he's not a quality player, it's just that we were looking at other options, and we were very upfront with Niko on that.
"We said, 'Look, we were chasing some other things, it didn't come to fruition, but we think this is a really good opportunity.' … A lot of credit goes to Niko being willing to trust us and trust some crazy person talking to him from a parking lot that this was going to be a good idea."
Aiming big
The other moves in question?
Cincy reportedly pursued US international striker Josh Sargent, but EFL Championship side Norwich City’s asking price was too high. Then at the eleventh hour, a deal for CF Monterrey striker and former Portland Timbers transfer target German Berterame wasn’t finalized due to personal reasons.
Earlier in the transfer window, Cincy also reportedly explored a deal for US international midfielder Weston McKennie. The FC Dallas academy product plays for Juventus in Italy’s Serie A.
Those names piqued fans’ interest, leaving some wanting more from Albright and his staff.
"We're a club where we do have great ambition,” Albright said. "And there's a lot of reporting out there that's pretty darn accurate in how we approached this window and chased some really world-class, big, high-level players. And often those big deals are the hardest to get done. There were a few of them that we were in for and for whatever reason, they didn't come to fruition. And so, you don't always get what you want. It's a tricky business."
Albright added: "We had tens of millions of dollars floating out there all window for a bunch of different players, and that's the ambition from ownership. It's my job, our job, to execute on that ambition. Sometimes you pull it off to the level that it's a home run. Sometimes you have to be patient and wait."
Trophy hunt
As the dust settles, Cincy have nine regular-season games remaining. They trail Inter Miami CF by five points, though can make up ground starting with Saturday’s trip to face the Supporters' Shield leaders (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
With some post-Leagues Cup rest and new faces, Cincy are aiming big.
"We were in the trophy conversation to start the year,” Albright said. "We don't shy away from that now, and I think we've strengthened ourselves to give ourselves the best shot to win a trophy."
