After being crowned the 2021 MLS Cup Champions in a victory over the Portland Timbers, NYCFC had quite the interesting 2022 campaign. Up until the departure of Taty Castellanos, the team looked almost unstoppable. Castellanos's last game for the club was on July 23rd, against Inter Miami. Despite a rough first few games, their record sat at 12-4-5. At this point, there seemed to be a direct correlation between Valentin Castellanos joining Girona and NYCFC plummeting. They proceeded to win one single game out of their next nine, seven of those being losses. Castellanos scored 13 goals in 17 games, and still won the team's golden boot by a wide margin by the end of the season. But, Nick Cushing's side regained their form at the perfect time. They earned 9/9 possible points in the closing weeks of the season, leading to a two-win playoff run. When Maxi Moralez put New York in front of the Philadelphia Union in the 57th minute of the Eastern Conference Final, it felt like they were destined for the cup. That was where the drama ended, as the Union smashed home three goals in succession to take a 3-1 lead across an eleven minute span. NYCFC went out, and now a new chapter must start.
NYCFC added a few players this off-season, though nothing astronomical. In a pair of MLS additions, they added center back Tony Alfaro from DC United and goalkeeper Matt Freese from Philadelphia, for $350K+ in GAM. With Sean Johnson's departure to Toronto FC, Matt Freese will be competing with Luis Barraza for the starting job. A couple of other NYCFC legends left the club during this window, too. Maxi Moralez left to return home to Argentina and play for Racing Club, while Anton Tinnerholm also returned to his home in Sweden to play for Malmo FF. Heber was traded to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for up to $550K in GAM. Alexander Callens joined Taty Castellanos at La Liga's Girona FC in free agency. Uruguayan midfielder Nicolas Acevedo went on loan to Bahia for the year. Needless to say, NYCFC lost a large portion of their biggest contributors over the years. To combat these losses, they also added US youth international striker Gabriel Segal from FC Koln's reserve side, as well as 18-year-old right back Mitja Ilenic. On the other side of the defense, left back Braian Cufre joined from Mallorca on loan through the end of the season, including an option to buy. Perhaps their most important move was acquiring Santiago Rodriguez in a shock permanent transfer from Torque, which will be announced officially very soon.
Despite losing so many key pieces, NYCFC's lineup is still serviceable. They retained some of the youthful South Americans in the attack, including Santiago Rodriguez, Talles Magno, Thiago Andrade, and Gabriel Pereira. These four players are all dangerous going forward in their own right, but this team should not have problems scoring goals with all of this talent. With that being said, Talles Magno is far from a true #9, and that is something this team lacks at the moment. It wouldn't be Magno's first time playing up top though, he will continue to perform at a high level. Matias Pellegrini will get some looks on the wing as well. In the center of defense, DP Thiago Martins will likely team up with Maxime Chanot, while Alfaro provides the depth. The right back duel will be an interesting one, as Tayvon Gray will need to prove his value with Ilenic hungry for minutes. Cufre is set to become the starting left back, with Kevin O'Toole and Malte Amundsen behind him. The midfield, though is where the problems lie for the most part. Depth is virtually non-existent. Alfredo Morales and Keaton Parks are penciled in starters, partly because there's almost no other options. Hybrid midfielder/defender Justin Haak is practically the only other option in the center. NYCFC still has some time to add players, which they should take advantage of to gain some depth. There are indeed some obvious holes, but for those thinking that this team has nothing left, you might want to reconsider.
Projected XI:
GK: Freese
DEF: Cufre, Chanot, Martins, Gray
MID: Morales, Parks, Rodriguez
FWD: Pereira, Andrade, Magno
Off-Season Grade: D+
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