FC Cincinnati fans were pinching themselves as they watched their team take on one of the league’s perennial powers. Swiss midfielder Leonardo Bertone gave the fledgling club a flying start in the 13th minute with a sumptuous volley, and you won’t see many cleaner strikes this year.
BERTONE WITH @fccincinnati's FIRST GOAL IN MLS HISTORY https://t.co/C96QExVe7X
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 3, 2019
Their fortunes quickly turned sour, however, as the Sounders settled in and thoroughly dominated the rest of the way in a 4-1 victory. Cincinnati have spent the week analyzing what went wrong in Seattle, and their maiden voyage doesn’t get any easier in a date with the reigning champions in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday.
Major League Soccer’s 24th franchise made no mistake in stating their philosophy for entering the league, building strength in the back and amassing six defensive midfielders by the end of January. Striker Fanendo Adi recently expressed concern at the limited number of attacking pieces in the squad, but the Nigerian frontman will be beaming at his side’s newest signing, namely midfielder Kenny Saief.
Born in Panama City, Florida, to Israeli parents, Saief joins Cincinnati on loan after spending the previous five years in Belgium’s top flight. He followed in the footsteps of fellow American international Sacha Kljestan by signing for Anderlecht in 2018 following a four-year spell at Gent.
At 25 years old, Saief has plenty of growing to do, but he has all the tools to succeed in Ohio. He brings with him valuable experience against elite talent, having played in the both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. Saief’s versatility, work rate and creative ability has manager Alan Koch thrilled about could be a game-changing signing.
“We’ve only played one game, but if you assess that game we were missing quite a lot,” Koch told media on Thursday. “Kenny is just a very skilled player. He’s comfortable on the ball. He can create something out of nothing. He’s very versatile as well. We can play him as a left back or as a left midfielder. We can even play him inside as an attacking midfielder.”
He featured in Israel’s youth sides and played in two friendlies at the senior level but elected to complete his one-time switch to the Stars and Stripes in 2017. He has appeared four times for the U.S. and will be relishing the chance to earn more playing time and catch Gregg Berhalter’s eye after struggling to find minutes in Belgium since December.
Saief took part in Thursday’s training exercises and, according to Koch, could feature right away on Sunday against the Five Stripes. There may be no better time to face Atlanta as they limp in on the back of consecutive shutout losses and appear to be struggling to find an identity under Frank De Boer. Cincinnati’s new signing could play a pivotal role in helping the club find their way on Sunday and moving forward in 2019.
An avid Roma fan, Wesley Davidson works in youth soccer in Austin, TX, and contributes to FloFC. You can find him on Twitter.