SoccerWise - Chris Albright(FC Cincinnati) On Evander/Lucho, MLS Schedule Change & Academy Building

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

Chris Albright sits with David alongside the field from GA Cup to talk about building an academy in MLS, Cincy's spending power, the Evander & Lucho experience & how a schedule change could affect roster building in MLS. Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Hey everybody, David Goss here, interview coming up in just a moment with general manager of FC Cincinnati Chris Albright. We talked all about the offseason with Lucho and Evander, the potential for this club to continue to push things forward, the potential to compete at a high level, we talked about a schedule flip in Major League Soccer, how would it affect his role and the work in building rosters in Major League Soccer. So enjoy all of that small technical issue right off the top of the interviews, you don't hear the live intro. And the opening question is about his role in building the Academy at FC Cincinnati that has really turned things around over the

last few years and become one of the stronger ones in major league soccer. So enjoy the interview. We always look at the first things. Talk a little bit about how the Academy affects what your job is and the work you're doing in Cincinnati. Yeah well I mean I think ultimately you know we saw over time of it in Philly, that kind of becomes a talent foundation for your club. It's something that the ownership in Cincinnati is committed to, continuing to put resources in to be able to be competitive with some of the better academies in in the league I think we've made a lot of strides over the first three years

But yeah as far as it is how the Academy affects Kind of overall first team success it the way our league is structured salary cap and and some of the player designations It's it's really beneficial to your salary cap to have homegrown players and you know, we saw one the other night and Dotto Valenzuela scored the winning goal in DC. And so we'll continue to kind of, you know, grind at the academy level to try to, you know, reach some of the heights that we've reached with the first team over the first few years.

Your background is with the Philadelphia Union, who are, to many people, the top of this work. What was it that you saw there that you wanted to bring to Cincinnati? What did you learn to sort of help for Cincinnati really feels like start from the beginning to build to the top? Yeah, I mean, learned a lot there. You know, obviously, you know, Richie Graham was really a champion and still is a champion of youth soccer, creating a better American player to be able to compete at a World Cup level. There was a ton we learned over our time there. Really an understanding of player pathway I think is probably the most relevant thing

that we've brought to Cincinnati, how you take a kid like Dotto or Stefan Chirilla or we have some young prospects now and then Adam Archavez or Andre Chirilla, you know how to kind of bleed them up the system a little bit so that they're not overexposed, not underexposed, making sure that you have really good good people around them to support them because they are just kids, they're children, you know, for mind everyone, they're children. And so you have to remember that and just try to give them as much support as possible. How does a head coach or a pat Noonan,

specifically for you, how is their role and responsibility in that whole process and for the front office working with that person to say, we believe this player is good enough, because you know, we have a lot of people who come on our platforms and say like, it's hard to win with young players. Young players make mistakes.

Young players are less reliable than a veteran. How do you talk with the coach and work with the coach to make sure those players are getting the steps they need while also remaining competitive? Yeah, well, I think mine and Pat's communication in general has been a reason that we had success quickly and why we've had some sustained success. And so his understanding of what we wanted to do,

what we did in Philly, his time there, and I think the, you know, not just him, but Dom Kenear, Kenny, Paul, Ricky, all these guys on our staff, they really enjoy working with young kids, right? Cause they're not the finished product. I mean, that's where a coach can really put his imprint on someone's sort of, what their career is gonna look like.

And so we just have a really good staff that believes in the American player, believes in playing young players. And yeah, how you mix that with, you know, Anna Vanderer, Kevin Denke, or Matt Miasga, that's kind of the secret sauce. But ultimately we have a really good group that works together and likes developing you know, young players. You talked about the roster structure being a huge reason why an academy, a club is infesting and pushing. We always talk externally about what if everything changed and you took away

DP spots and open up salary caps and everything that do you think that would negatively affect the opportunity for young young domestic players to push through or maybe the value that they would have on a roster? Uh that's interesting yeah I mean I guess there is in some ways a mandate right the way the the salary caps and then and the roster set up I don't think so though because I think ultimately set up. I don't think so though because I think ultimately right that outside of a giant television contract that that really what is what makes world soccer tick is the transfer market. So I think developing your own and being able to sell them on at a X multiple is still a lucrative part of the business. So I don't think it would sort of disincentivize teams to move away from it, but I think perhaps

the flexibility would allow teams to have their own recipe as to how they want to compete a little bit more than maybe what exists now. One of the things we've heard is the other thing that could change the transfer market for MLS teams is the flip of a schedule. We had the vote last week. It's not going to happen. From your point of view, in your perspective, your role, what do you think about it? How would it affect what you do?

Yeah, I think generally it gives us a level of, let's call it, credibility that we're at least lined up with most of the rest of the world. I think that's kind of optically where it's advantageous. I think after that, it clearly affects the transfer market, you know, how you're able to be in the same shopping window as the other teams, selling window as the other teams, you know, multiple examples over the years of us overpaying for a player or missing out on a player because the

window is not lining up. Clearly there would be some, you know, time to adapt for everyone, the fan, myself, owners. But I think ultimately it's where we need to go, wanna go, and we'll eventually get there. We'll have to cancel those ski trips, but they become beach vacations instead for you. I assume there's a 36 hours you get off between every season, right?

It's something, it's a little bit more than that, but phones always nearby. This off season was a hectic one for you. Obviously the Lucho conversation happens right as the season ends. A long time then working through the event or stuff. We watched it from the outside. Take me inside a little about what it was like for you and how you came and found this solution and the waiting game. Yeah, it was this preseason. I tell people was like 10 preseason of activity and drama.

And most of what was going on in Cincinnati was playing out on social media. So not a lot of secrets. But no, it's it's it's part of the job. Obviously, there was definitely a little bit more volatility. You know, Lucho moving out, the clear favorite to replace him with the amount of goal contributions and just quality that Evander has. That was kind of clear how we got there

in the recruitment process. I have to hats off to Merritt, Ned, and those guys in Portland for just operating with a lot of class and allowing us to kind of go through the recruiting and investigative process, even though it's a player in league, so very different than what you would look at on a world market or whatever,

and allow us to kind of turn over every stone and get some of the questions answered that we had. And Vander and his camp was great in the process. And so in the end, I think it was a great fit. Got a little knock right now, but getting them back on the field and and hoping to continue the start that he had to the season. We've never had this before. We call them cash first on soccer wise.

Cash transfers. Yeah. So you could take that. You could use it. It's spreading. There's literally dozens of players. I saw it trending. There we go. We've never had it before and now it happens this year and it works out so well for you. How big of a proponent were you to bring this in

before it happened and what do you make of that process, as you said, of it's different than what we've seen in the past where you'd be doing this externally from trying to figure out about a player outside the league? Yeah, I mean, obviously you get all the intel of teammates being able to talk to teammates and the players playing in your building and physical data, running data, just kind of a world of information that doesn't necessarily exist the same way when you're recruiting a player overseas.

Look, I think everybody in the league would probably look around and say, given the early doesn't necessarily exist the same way when you're recruiting a player overseas. Look, I think everybody in the league would probably look around and say, given the early returns on this mechanism, it's like, probably should have been doing this for a little while now. I think Todd and Don and those guys would probably willingly admit,

but that's what makes our league, is that we're constantly trying to improve and make it better. That's why we're talking about perhaps a schedule flip now. You know, that's what makes it MLS. And you got to, like I said, the people that complain about it don't hang around too long. They try to embrace it and try to be a proponent for change that makes sense. And I think this was just another example of that. You now have this team built with the Vander and with Denke. It is a large expenditure for any

MLS club, especially one in Cincinnati. What do you make of or what do you tell people of where your club has established yourself in the hierarchy as one of the big spending, big pushing clubs in MLS when a market maybe many people didn't expect or five years ago that wasn't the case. Yeah well look we the infrastructure existed before I got there, training facility, stadium. Certainly we have an ownership group that's really passionate led by Carl Lindner about Cincinnati and the civic pride of Cincinnati, something I can get around as a as a Philadelphian and now I'm understanding as a Cincinnatian. Less Johns though. Less Johns, yes. Less Johns. But I think ultimately they want to win and you know will we

always be in this stratosphere of spending? I don't know. I think we saw an opportunity where we kind of stack up with the rest of the league and how we've constructed the roster over the last couple years. Well, yeah, we're, you know, I don't think it's any secret. We want to go into games and win games. And so when you have that opportunity, the ability to then perhaps double down, so to speak, and, and, and spend, you know, significant transfer fees on players that we think could help us win, that's where we sit right now. Things are cyclical.

We continue to build the academy up and we could be sitting here five years from now saying, wow, look at this crop of home-growns that you've sold. And so I think that's just where we sit right now. Again, hats off to Carl to be able to really, again, open the checkbook and allow us to go get really talented players that are really good people. It's part of it too.

And ultimately, you know, it's on us now to try to, you know, to make it work. Is that part of the idea for you though, is to have maybe as this generation of first team comes through, whether it's the home-grown or the next prospect, I mean, we just came out of a long conversation about how Peter Vermeese built 10 years of SKC basically on two drafts and to have the Beaslers and the

Zeus season them. That's what a lot of it was built on. Is that the idea in MLS now is while you're spending on a first team level, doing the work in the background and the homegrown Academy level to then be able to fill in? Absolutely. You know, I think because we're so young as a club that we're really on the early part of that timeline, building that infrastructure in behind. So we don't, it's what we suspect is going to happen,

but we haven't had enough proof to say, yes, that's exactly what we're going to be. I think right now, we've done a good job of, you know, hitting more than we missed when we signed players. And so it's kind of how you tick over from some of your core pieces like a Lucho to now on a Vander that's, you know, four years younger and then build around him and what supplemental pieces, whether they're academy pieces or whether they're just, you know, hopefully more hits from other markets. Again, that's kind of just where we sit right now.

We joke on the show that you guys should just sign centerbacks and then sell them within the league. What's the secret sauce there? If you don't want to give it all away, it feels like Flora's another hit. Uh, yeah, no, he, he, player we're really high on, man. He is, uh, he's 21 years old, does not play like that, doesn't carry himself

like that. You know, Jim and I would always joke in Philly, it's the hardest position to really hit on our league consistently. Because of spending profile? Or because of the way the league style is? It's just such a unique position. It's the hardest position for us to rate in our data for whatever reason. You know, it's really hard to project how a player being a cerebral center back will play in our league. Sometimes it works unbelievably and sometimes it's a complete flop because the guy can't run Mm-hmm and so it's really just a blend of those things and ultimately those are the guys that are going to be

You know have their name in the papers for good or bad, right? It's like a place kicker or goalkeeper and so I just think there's a different level of scrutiny And then luckily for us, you know Pat changed from a back four to a back three So now all we have to do is find one more every year. No, yeah. It feels like at the rate of injury, sometimes you guys have to find six or seven. Yeah, yeah. We've been we've been hit by the injury bug at that position. But yeah, I mean, a guy like Nick Hagland, who had an unbelievable game

the other night against a world class striker. We've been we've been lucky there there to get guys that work for us in the locker room and on the field. What are you, as you sit right now with the group, feelings about how the season's gone so far and where you are? Probably surprised to be, you know, when you look up at the standings,

given what it feels like a little bit injury-wise and expectation-wise. like a little bit injury wise and expectation wise, probably a little bit ahead. I think everybody around Cincinnati probably feels the same way. I think it's a testament to the overall group. I think the guys that are getting opportunities now, you know, they become some of your depth guys, bench guys, rotation guys, whatever you want to say. And I think that's really how you build a winning roster so that the coaches have done

a really good job, Pat and his team of, you know, being sort of nimble. You know, and hopefully that pays off when we start getting some of our horses back. When that happens, it feels like a murder is rowing the Eastern Conference. What do you make of the competition and what what you're gonna have to go up against? I mean two teams undefeated still at this point and that doesn't include last year's MLS Cup finalists and so much other talent in the East Yeah You know, I think a lot of the bigger spending teams are in the East I was talking to Garth about this the other day and so it's it's you know

It kind of ebbs and flows and the East now is where? And so it kind of ebbs and flows. And the East now is where at least a lot of the maybe top heavy teams are. No offense to any of my Western colleagues that I'll see tomorrow. But yeah, I mean, that's what makes it fun. A lot of good markets, good fan bases, good places to go, hostile environments.

And I think we're up for it. When you go out, last one for you, just give us an idea of whether it's the Denkes of the world or it's MLS free agents, what's the pitch of what Cincinnati is? What are you selling? Infrastructure, ownership, and an ability to win, but a place where we think we treat people really well. I mean, I think that's what we kind of, I think we have a lot of people in our building that have not only been in the game, whether it's ex-players, but have been in MLS for a very, very long time and have seen, you know, what Donut Tuesday and Bagel Wednesday looks like.

And now it's evolved to, you know, hot cold fresh pressed juices every day and and salad bars and just and that's that's great to be able to to pamper be able to take care of the athlete that way and we've seen when it wasn't that way. And so we we really take that to heart and say, man, this is an awesome thing for you guys to be a part of and let us sort of come here and we'll try to get you to where you want to go. And along the way, we'll try to win some games.

I mean, that's what's been fun about pitching Cincinnati. And that's what's fun about having an ownership group that believes in the same things. You're not like opposed in kinda how you do business. And so that's what's been a lot of fun. You talk about going from Donut Tuesdays and Bagel Wednesdays to like this even. The Academy teams it feels like now

have more resources and opportunity than some of the full teams did in the late 90s and early 2000s. Completely. It's incredible. I mean, this event, GA Cup, I was at MLS Next Fest earlier this year. It's neat. It's, you know, I was, I think I played in one Dallas Cup when I was a kid with like 60 mile an hour wins going across the field.

Like, why are we here? Why did we come here? In a cotton bowl that was turned on to high heat. Exactly. And so, yeah, this is really, again, a commitment from all our owners in the league to try to develop our own. And I think it's, you know, the national team level, it's been a little up and down, but I think for MLS it's been, you know, a lot of homegrown American kids have contributed to a lot of successful teams in MLS, and that's been really cool to see.

I was done with you, but then you reminded me of my last question. All right. There's two Sullivan's right now who are doing pretty well. Those are your family, as they like to say. What is it like to watch them come through, and what's the messages that you're sending? It's

They don't really need any advice from me. I mean, you know, they're you know, they're running around with my kids in the summer and I get to root for them from afar and You know the games when we play Philly and I you know, those are always a bit more Complicated I would say. But they're both such good kids from such a great family. Their immediate family, not our extended family, although we think it's a pretty good one too. Do we get a Thanksgiving game going? No, Quinn, he doesn't want any of this. He knows. I still got the uncle strength. He doesn't want any of this. He knows I still got the uncle strength. He doesn't want any of this.

No, they're great. They obviously have bright futures. I think Quinn's playing at a really, really high level right now. I would love to see him sneak in a national team camp. I think it's deserved. I don't think, I think that's a, I try to take a pretty neutral take and he certainly deserves a look. And then, you know, Cavs just got to keep his head down and ignore as much of the hype as possible. And he's going to be a hell of a player too. Sometimes it feels impossible to ignore that hype. And then you remember like, he's got an older brother on the team who can yell at him every day.

He's got family like you. If anyone's going to make it and be able to do it, it feels like that's the situation. He gets plenty of scrutiny at home and around the rest of the family, so we try to keep him honest. Well, I appreciate you taking the time. Good luck this season.

Hopefully we're doing this again at MLS Cup or something. Awesome. Thanks, David. Thank you.