Rodríguez returns to NYCFC as Designated Player
Concerns about New York City FC’s chance creation in the post-Maxi Moralez era abated Friday, as the club announced they’ve permanently acquired midfielder Santiago Rodríguez from Montevideo City Torque. The 23-year-old has signed through the 2027 MLS season, returning to NYCFC after his 18-month loan from the Uruguay-based City Football Group sister side expired last December. Rodríguez will be a Designated Player and don the No. 10 shirt Moralez previously wore.
Giorgos Giakoumakis cleared for Atlanta United debut this weekend
Giorgos Giakoumakis has received his visa and is available for selection in Saturday’s Matchday 2 showdown vs. Toronto FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). The Greek international striker, while awaiting paperwork clearance, previously couldn't join training since his Feb. 8 transfer from Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC.
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What’s just as good as opening day? Second opening day mixed in with some actual opening day left over from the first weekend. It’s not quite like having excellent leftovers to heat up from the fridge. It’s more like you finished a great meal, hung out for a second, made friends with the folks working at the restaurant, got hungry again, and convinced them to bring out a special extra meal on the house. Or, better yet, getting donuts for breakfast then circling back to the folks at Massive Donut Chain late that same day and getting them to give you all the donuts they didn’t use that day instead of throwing them out and they (this is real) give you a garbage bag full of donuts. Mmmm, garbage bag donuts.
Look, point being, MLS had some opening day donuts left over. We’re looking into the bag and seeing an inaugural home game, a few extra home openers, a couple of LA debuts, some DPs taking the field for the first time, and a Boston Cream no one will ever eat. Why do those even exist?
Ok, so here’s the situation. CITYPARK, the home of St. Louis CITY SC, holds 22,500 people. The club has reported 60,000 deposits for season tickets. 60,000 minus 22,500 equals a whole lot of folks on the outside looking in for tonight’s inaugural home match against Charlotte FC. You can still get a couple of tickets via resale sites, but, as of this morning, it’s going to cost you about $264 to get in.
Not every game will be quite this level, but it feels reasonable to expect every St. Louis game for a while to be a tough ticket. There should undoubtedly be a sense from the folks in attendance tonight they’re one of a lucky few. No matter what, with 22.5k packed in, it should be loud. Really, really loud. For a city that prides itself on its connections to its pro teams, they have a high bar to meet in St. Louis tonight. It feels like they’ll meet it.
But what might make an already special event truly special is that they may be one of the few inaugural crowds that has something to cheer for. Charlotte lost 1-0 last year. Austin drew 0-0 with San Jose in 2021. Nashville lost their first home game in 2020 while Inter Miami won, but had zero fans in attendance. In their first game with most pandemic crowd restrictions lifted, they lost 3-0 to D.C. United. FC Cincinnati actually thumped the Timbers in their first game… I’m not really sure how that happened in 2019. LAFC won in their first home game, too. But Atlanta and Minnesota United lost in front of sell-out crowds. It is hard and rare to win your first game.
Fortunately for St. Louis, they already have some momentum heading into game one. Last week’s win over Austin perked up everyone’s ears around the league. Yeah, they needed what we’ll call a “lucky break,” but that doesn’t take away from the fact they put one of the best teams in the conference to the sword. There’s a good chance they get the job done tonight against Charlotte. And you can bet that a first goal and a first win is going to produce a wild, wild scene.
St. Louis are the protagonists today, but teams all around the league will potentially be introducing main characters of their own. NYCFC may see the return of James Sands and Santiago Rodríguez. Atlanta United may finally get their second-ever DP striker, Giorgos Giakoumakis, on the field. New York Red Bulls may put yet another DP striker on the field in Dante Vanzeir, but they feel really, really good about this one. And a collection of big, but-not-quite DP signings like LAFC center back Aaron Long, LAFC winger Stipe Biuk and SKC midfielder Nemanja Radoja could all make their debuts as well.
We still have a lot of data to collect on these teams and their new possible stars before we make any real assessments, but it feels good to get the process started. We’re at the point where we can’t be a bummer about any of them. All we can do is sit back and be excited to see them take the field and inspire some optimism in their fan base.
LAFC, Chicago Fire FC and the LA Galaxy all make their 2023 debuts today. There are a few new pieces like Long and Biuk to keep an eye on as LAFC face Portland (4:30 p.m. ET | Apple TV - Free, FOX), but it’s also worth tuning in to see how LAFC’s front line looks without Chicho Arango. The center forward spot seems to belong to Mahala Opoku for now. And, as much as we love Mahala here at The Daily Kickoff, it’s fair to wonder if he can benefit LAFC the way Arango did.
Meanwhile, Chicago are entering the year with real “Nobody believes in us!” energy. Except, this time, they’re one of the few teams that can say that and be telling the truth. We’ll see how they respond against an NYCFC team looking stronger by the day.
And the Galaxy will be running out for the first time this year without Chicharito available to lead the line. It will likely be Dejan Joveljic’s chance to make an impact as the lone striker and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him grab it by the collar against FC Dallas. We know about the Galaxy’s top-end talent at this point though. The question is if their question marks elsewhere on the roster will come back to bite them. We probably won’t find out much on that from game one, but we’re still talking about a matchup between two of last year’s best teams in the West. Not bad for a delayed opening day.
Columbus Crew acquire Vallecilla on loan from Colorado Rapids: The Columbus Crew have utilized the intra-league loan market to enhance their center-back corps, announcing Friday they’ve acquired Ecuador international Gustavo Vallecilla from the Colorado Rapids for the 2023 MLS season. As part of the loan agreement, Columbus sent Colorado $175,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money. The Crew also hold a purchase option. The 23-year-old defender initially came to MLS with FC Cincinnati in 2021 on loan from Ecuadorian top-flight side Aucas. Vallecilla was traded to Colorado nearly a year ago, making this his third MLS club in as many years.
Details revealed for 2023 eMLS Cup at SXSW: Major League Soccer and Electronic Arts on Friday revealed details surrounding eMLS's season-culminating event, set for Sunday, March 12 at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater in Austin as part of this year’s SXSW. Fans can tune into the 2023 eMLS Cup Sunday, March 12 (3 pm ET) on the official MLS Twitch channel. Featuring world-class EA SPORTS™ FIFA 23 competitors, eMLS Cup already has 11 clubs locked in for the competition following the completion of eMLS League Series 1 and Series 2 earlier this year.
Charlotte FC sign goalkeeper Walker: Charlotte FC have added depth at goalkeeper, announcing Friday that they’ve signed Isaac Walker from the University of Kentucky. The 22-year-old arrives on a semi-guaranteed deal for the 2023 MLS season.
- St. Louis CITY SC’s home opener has arrived after "everybody underrated" them.
- The LA Galaxy are embracing "big club" expectations after a stormy offseason.
- Schuyler Redpath has all the MLS Fantasy advice you’ll need for Matchday 2.
- Jonathan Sigal looked at which key offseason signings may make their debut today.
- Take a look at the MLS Disciplinary Summary for Matchday 2. And then take a look at the latest injury report to know who you will and won’t see today.
- Fans can visit the MLS Season Pass Experience at SXSW.
- The 2023 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs qualification format has been released.
- Here’s how to watch and what to know for Matchday 2.
Good luck out there. Make sure the right folks are watching.
