The more things change, the more they stay the same for Nashville SC, who have made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs every year since joining the league in 2020 despite facing drastically different circumstances each time.
But for US men’s national team center back Walker Zimmerman, 2023 can be Nashville’s most stable year yet, a chance to improve upon postseason exits of past campaigns.
“This feels like the freshest start that we've had in terms of a normal year, where it's expansion team is over and done with, COVID over and done with, the hype of the new stadium over and done with,” Zimmerman told MLSsoccer.com at the league’s Media Marketing Day in January. “And now we're here kind of on a fresh foot with everyone else. There's no excuses, and I like that for us.”
GEODIS Park, the “new stadium” in question, opened May 1 last year, just over two months after the regular season kicked off. That forced Nashville to play their first eight games on the road, posting a surprisingly solid 1.38 points per game over that stretch but not quite continuing their home dominance of years past once Music City matchdays filled the calendar.
Hany Mukhtar, the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP and Golden Boot presented by Audi winner, thinks a more consistent travel schedule will do wonders.
“We had so many away games in the beginning before we came home, so now will be a regular season where you have a home game, [then an] away game. So, yeah, now there are big opportunities for us,” said the German No. 10, who signed a long-term Designated Player extension last spring.
More possession needed
Ironically, the qualities that have sustained Nashville’s consistency from 2020-22 under manager Gary Smith are the same qualities that may be holding them back from competing for more trophies – that is, a winning formula that’s built around a Zimmerman-led defense and Mukhtar-fueled counter attacks and set pieces.
While Zimmerman expects the overall approach to remain largely similar in 2023, he’s adamant that wrinkles must be added for Nashville to reach a higher level as they return to the Eastern Conference.
“I think that's the identity we have with our player pool, but also with our coaching staff and how we want to set up,” said Zimmerman of Smith’s tried-and-true system. “So we will always be very secure and sound defensively. But I do think that we're going to have to tweak and evolve moving forward, maybe more ball possession, figuring out better ways to create higher-quality chances that aren't just on the counterattack or off set pieces.”
Mukhtar, who directly contributed to 65.4% of Nashville’s goals in 2022, agrees: “You see that in the Champions League and the World Cup. Like the top teams, they control periods, long time periods, like 15, 20 minutes in the game with the ball, even though it's 0-0, but they control the game. And when we come to that stage, then I think we can be a very good contender for winning silverware.”
The search for Mukhtar’s wingmen
Nashville could be forgiven for building around Zimmerman and Mukhtar. Over the last three years, they’ve combined to earn five MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire nods and a collection of individual awards. Mukhtar’s 2022 accolades came after Zimmerman won back-to-back MLS Defender of the Year awards in 2020-21.
Still, both stars feel the club needs a wider cast of players to produce, particularly in the final third.
“I think in general, it is important for us to be more successful and to really make the next step to win silverware that we have like three, four weapons that you say, ‘Hey, any second or any minute in the game, someone can score a goal,’ because you need that,” Mukhtar explained. “And when I have a bad day or Walker has a bad day or someone, that other people can score a goal or help the team win.”
“It's like, okay, where are we going to get the goals from?” added Zimmerman. “And I know that the other guys around them feel the same way. And they felt like they could do more, and now is their chance to prove it this year. Step up their game, provide more goals, more assists.
“Not to say that all their work went unnoticed because it helps Hany produce, it helps us create chances. But, at the end of the day, we need production in the form of goals. … It's not a dig on them at all, but they know that it's going to be hard for Hany to reproduce what he did last year. Guys obviously know him better. Teams know him better.”
Based on the current state of their roster, the most likely candidates to step up are all MLS veterans, some of whom played for Nashville last year: C.J. Sapong, Teal Bunbury and Randall Leal. Others were acquired this offseason via trades, including wingers Fafà Picault (Houston Dynamo FC) and Jacob Shaffelburg (Toronto FC).
For fans, hope remains that a big-name DP striker could join if Liga MX’s Mazatlan trigger their purchase option for loaned-out forward Ake Loba, or if another club makes a permanent transfer offer. Given the loan terms, Nashville haven’t recouped the DP spot that Loba occupied.
In a January interview with MLSsoccer.com’s Tom Bogert, general manager Mike Jacobs indicated a DP signing is more likely to come in the Secondary Transfer Window, which spans from July 5 to Aug. 2.
Winning time
What’s clear is both Zimmerman and Mukhtar expect Nashville to compete with the best in 2023.
“If you look up one of my first interviews [after joining Nashville], I think I said, 'I'm not coming to the United States to have a great life and enjoy the United States – even though the United States is amazing and the lifestyle is very good.' I'm coming here to be successful and making the next step in my career,” Mukhtar said of his lofty ambitions.
Zimmerman was more explicit: “We've been in the playoffs the past three years, which is like, it's great. But for me, that's an expectation that we should always have going into a year. And so now it's about not being content with just making the playoffs, just fighting for a home playoff seat. It's how can we compete for actual championships? Whether that's Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup – whatever it is – we need to be competing for these trophies.”
Nashville’s hunt for silverware begins at GEODIS Park on Feb. 25 in the league’s first match of the season against New York City FC (4:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, FOX).
Charles Boehm and Edgar Acero contributed to the reporting of this story
