Games like Saturday’s matchup between the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati are ones to be treasured.
Passionate rivalry? Check. Contrasting tactical styles from a pair of astute managers? Check. A battle for seeding ahead of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs? Check. Oh, and a matchup between two of the best players MLS has ever seen? Double check.
Clearly, there’s a whole slew of ways to think through and preview the latest edition of Hell is Real (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). But because the players are the ones who ultimately win and lose games, we’re diving into the on-field centerpiece for each team (who both happen to be Landon Donovan MLS MVP candidates, by the way).
Today, we’re examining what’s made Cucho Hernández and Lucho Acosta so special in 2024 – and why they could end the year with an MVP trophy.
Plenty of Columbus Crew players have come to embody Wilfried Nancy’s style of play, acting as conduits for the Frenchman’s tactical instructions to leak out onto the field.
There’s Patrick Schulte, who’s developed into a brave, risk-taking goalkeeper when his team needs an extra player to help them build out from the back. There’s Steven Moreira, who’s transitioned from an under-performing right back to a key cog in possession from a right-sided center back position. There’s Darlington Nagbe, whose press resistance has made him an obvious fit for a team that wouldn’t mind having nearly 100% possession in any given game. And then there’s Cucho Hernández, the man who helps tie everything together in the final third.
Without Cucho’s constant threat in the most important part of the field, the Crew’s commitment to smooth ball progression just… doesn’t matter all that much.
Want proof? Sure, the Houston Dynamo have shown more in the final third recently. But, for a team that commits to buildup and possession much like Columbus, Ben Olsen’s squad has suffered through far more frustrating results over the last year-plus than the Crew. Look no further than their lack of an all-around superstar like Cucho to see why.
I don’t toss around the term “all-around superstar” left and right, but Cucho can truly impact the game in so many different ways that stand out from the forward line.
The 25-year-old Colombian thrives when asked to play through the center of Nancy’s three-man attacking unit. He can do so many of the traditional No. 9 things, working off the ball to find space and using quick, efficient touches and shifty movement on the ball to create his own shot even when surrounded by opposing defenders:
For being listed at just 5-foot-9, he’s also surprisingly good at latching onto crosses inside the box and heading them on frame:
But if defenders think for a second Cucho is content with only giving center backs headaches, then they’ve got it all wrong. Nancy’s system involves a ton of fluidity, with players having the freedom to interchange with their teammates while working within a structural framework. After swapping spots with a pal, Cucho can use his sensational right foot to put the ball on a platter for a teammate. According to FBref, Cucho ranks in the 92nd percentile in expected assisted goals per 90 minutes among MLS strikers.
When you combine Cucho’s varied on-field impact with his statistical resume and his role in Columbus’ broader success, he surfaces as an obvious MVP candidate. He’s fifth in combined goals and primary assists per 90 this year among players with at least 1,000 regular season minutes. He starred in the Crew’s run to the Leagues Cup trophy. He was an essential part of the team’s run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final.
And you can bet your bottom dollar he’ll give FC Cincinnati problems on Saturday.
No one – not Carlos Vela, not Josef Martínez, not Sebastian Giovinco, not Landon Donovan, not Marco Etcheverry – has ever claimed back-to-back MVP titles in MLS. Lucho Acosta, who earned last year’s award after leading his team to the Supporters’ Shield, has a real chance to make history.
We ended with Cucho’s statistical accolades, so let’s begin with Lucho’s. FC Cincinnati’s star No. 10 currently leads MLS in combined goals and primary assists, with 26 in the regular season. When you look at things on a per-90-minute basis, the Argentine leads the entire league in expected assisted goals, according to FBref. Yes, you read that correctly: Cincy’s diminutive Argentine playmaker has outpaced Inter Miami’s diminutive Argentine playmaker when it comes to setting up his teammates for quality shooting chances.
No regular starter in MLS completes more passes into the box or hits more key passes, ones that lead directly to a shot, on a per-90-minute basis than Acosta.
We’ve known the 30-year-old is an absurdly talented attacking midfielder for years now, dating back to his time with D.C. United. But the fact Acosta is in front of Lionel Messi in a handful of statistical categories? And that he’s putting up even better numbers this year than he did last year? Lucho is on another level in 2024.
Crucially for FC Cincinnati, Acosta has been the biggest and most important through-line from the 2023 Shield-winning team to this season’s very different squad. Cincy played their first game of this year’s regular season with five new starters. Then they did even more chopping and changing in the summer transfer window. With his absurd close control in the tightest of tight places, Acosta serves as an obvious outlet for his deeper-lying teammates, no matter who they are.
If you need a bail-out, call Lucho:
If you need a game-breaking pass, you should probably pick up the phone and dial that same number:
His skill will dazzle even the most jaded viewer, but Acosta’s game is about so much more than what he does with the ball at his feet. One of the biggest reasons he’s produced at such a high level this year, even with a slew of new faces rotating around him, is his truly elite understanding of space. So few MLS players know where and how to move in possession quite like Lucho. Take this goal sequence from his late game-winner against the Philadelphia Union back in June as an example:
Before making his decisive run towards the box, Acosta waits for Philly midfielder Leon Flach to step towards the ball. Once Flach steps forward, Acosta knifes into the space between and behind the Union’s midfield line, finds a pocket to receive the ball, keeps his momentum, and, well, you know the rest.
Lucho’s brilliance isn’t dependent on any specific individual around him. He drives FC Cincinnati and could drive himself to a historic MVP award later this year.
