Sustained success in MLS is possible, but it certainly isn't easy. The salary cap and other mechanisms breed parity.
Yet several teams have defied the odds for years. Seattle Sounders FC and the New York Red Bulls are currently riding playoff streaks of more than a decade, while Sporting Kansas City missed just one year. Toronto FC were in and around multiple finals for a half-decade. The Portland Timbers always seem to be on the right side of those moments, too.
One team not mentioned enough lately? New York City FC.
The Cityzens have made the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs each of the last six years, missing only during their inaugural MLS season. They've been top four in the Eastern Conference in five of these six seasons as well. Playoff success hadn’t yet arrived – until this year. Their first trophy could follow when NYCFC face the Timbers in MLS Cup on Saturday at Providence Park (3 pm ET | ABC, UniMás in US; TSN, TVA Sports in Canada).
“Sustainable success in MLS is just about the hardest thing,” City sporting director David Lee told MLSsoccer.com. “The system is built to make that difficult. It’s something that we’re really proud we’ve made the playoffs six years in a row, even if we hadn’t had the playoff success we would have liked until this year.”
Every playoff run needs some semblance of luck – one-off games are fickle and cruel – but NYCFC have been capable of some of MLS' best soccer all season long. The roster is deep, with match-winning talent, exciting youngsters and steady veterans.
Lee told MLSsoccer.com in April that he believed this group was good enough to make MLS Cup. And he was right.
“We felt really good about the group we had all season, honestly,” Lee said. “We knew we needed to add some pieces. It was a challenging start to add those pieces, but we held firm to try and get the players we believed were right for us. From preseason, we felt a different mood in the group. A different intensity, desire.”
That refresh, plus incumbent core players, the U22 Initiative and head coach Ronny Deila taking this group another step forward got them within 90 minutes (or more) of their first trophy.
NYCFC found themselves at an inflection point last offseason. To call it a transformational winter would be stretching too far, but for a team that had an established core and years of success, it was certainly more than a little tinkering.
The club generated a ton of allocation money with trades of Alex Ring (to Austin FC) and Ronald Matarrita (FC Cincinnati). Two mainstays in their prime, including the club captain (Ring), departed. New signings were a bit slower, leading to some consternation and criticism.
That was calculated, too. They were content to wait out their long-term targets.
First kick was delayed until mid-April, due to collective bargaining negotiations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. And the first part of the schedule was light, before the summer brought a ton of midweek matches. As long as City could navigate the first month or two, getting to the end of May when there would be a break, they’d be fine.
“It may have taken slightly longer than we would have liked, but we stayed resolute to the players we wanted to add,” Lee said. “Big credit to Ronny. It’s easier in my chair to take a longer view, but it’s harder for the coach. Ronny was unbelievable. It was a big help for me.”
Left back Malte Amundsen was the only assumed regular signed before preseason started, and then central midfielder Alfredo Morales arrived just before the season.
“Simple answer is yes, we reached our offseason [transfer] goals,” Lee said. “All of the things we did were on our list of to-dos. We had to move players out for salary cap/budget reasons, but also to refresh the group. We had a team with limited changes for a prolonged period, we felt it was the right time to refresh plus the salary cap situation necessitated it.”
Three more key arrivals came thereafter: U22 Initiative wingers Thiago Andrade and Santiago Rodriguez, as well as Young Designated Player Talles Magno. The club identified Magno for their third DP spot specifically to ensure they could use all three U22 Initiative spots, with Nicolas Acevedo being reclassified for the third spot.
“The addition of the U22 Initiative is something we were delighted by,” Lee said. “We had a very clear plan going into the offseason.”
With all that young talent around a veteran core including Maxi Moralez, Alexander Callens, Sean Johnson and Maxime Chanot, NYCFC had a good blend. Deila maximized and improved the talent at hand.
“Ronny’s influence has been enormous,” Lee said. “He works unbelievably hard and he likes to work with players who want to improve. It can be an 18-year-old or a 34-year-old.”
Valentin Castellanos was the club’s brightest star. The rising forward signed a new contract amid rejected transfer offers from Brazil's Palmeiras and ultimately won the Golden Boot presented by Audi with 19 goals and eight assists.
“Taty is the prime example: If a player commits to wanting to improve, Ronny will give them everything they need to reach their goals,” Lee said. “That’s something that’s been fantastic, we’ve seen so much growth in our young players over the last two years. Ronny has done a remarkable job in trying to make sure our players are the best they can be.”
Castellanos scored the game-winning goal against Atlanta United in Round One and then the go-ahead goal in extra time against the New England Revolution, but then got sent off and was forced to miss the Conference Final vs. Philadelphia.
Back for MLS Cup, Castellanos is looking for the perfect dismount to his career year.
“Taty has had an incredible season, we’re all immensely proud,” Lee said. “For a No. 9 to start 32 games and play the number of minutes he played is just incredible. And then his quality, his goals, his assists, the work he does in pressing for the team – it’s been remarkable.”
