2021 FC Cincinnati season

The 2021 FC Cincinnati season was the club's third season in MLS, and the sixth season of a team playing under the FC Cincinnati brand after three years in the lower-division USL Championship. The club finished with a league worst 4–15–4 record in their second MLS season in 2020, one shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio. The season was the first year that FC Cincinnati played home matches at newly built TQL Stadium.

FC Cincinnati's offseason transfers were executed under general manager Gerard Nijkamp and head coach Jaap Stam. On August 6, 2021, Nijkamp and the club mutually agreed to part ways. On September 27, 2021, Stam was relieved of his duties. The team ended the season with a 4–22–8 record, with the team not being able to qualify into the MLS Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season with a third consecutive last place finish in the overall table.

Club

Roster

No.NameNationalityPositionDate of birth (age)Previous club 22 Przemysław Tytoń GK Deportivo La Coruña 25 Kenneth Vermeer GK Los Angeles FC 30 Beckham Sunderland GK FC Cincinnati Academy 2 Edgar Castillo DF Atlanta United FC 3 Tyler Blackett DF Nottingham Forest 4 Maikel van der Werff DF SBV Vitesse 5 Gustavo Vallecilla DF S.D. Aucas 12 Geoff Cameron DF Queens Park Rangers F.C. 13 Joe Gyau DF MSV Duisburg 14 Nick Hagglund DF Toronto FC 16 Zico Bailey DF FC Helsingør 18 Rónald Matarrita DF New York City FC 26 Chris Duvall DF Portland Timbers 6 Haris Medunjanin MF Philadelphia Union 8 Allan Cruz MF C.S. Herediano 11 Luciano Acosta MF Atlas 15 Kamohelo Mokotjo MF Brentford F.C. 21 Kyle Scott MF Newcastle United 24 Jonas Fjeldberg MF Dayton Flyers 33 Caleb Stanko MF SC Freiburg 64 Florian Valot MF New York Red Bulls 7 Yuya Kubo MF/FW K.A.A. Gent 20 Calvin Harris MF/FW Wake Forest Demon Deacons 31 Álvaro Barreal MF/FW Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield 9 Brenner FW São Paulo FC 19 Brandon Vazquez FW Atlanta United FC 23 Isaac Atanga FW FC Nordsjælland 29 Arquimides Ordonez FW FC Cincinnati Academy

Player movement

In DateNumberPositionPlayerTransferred fromFee/notesRef December 29, 2020 18 DF Rónald Matarrita New York City FC $600,000 December 30, 2020 17 MF/FW Ben Mines New York Red Bulls End-of-year waivers draft December 30, 2020 1 GK Cody Cropper Houston Dynamo Free transfer February 5, 2021 9 FW Brenner São Paulo FC $13 million March 17, 2021 11 MF Luciano Acosta Atlas $250,000 March 31, 2021 23 FW Isaac Atanga FC Nordsjælland Transfer April 13, 2021 2 DF Edgar Castillo Atlanta United FC Free transfer May 7, 2021 25 GK Kenneth Vermeer Los Angeles FC Waivers May 13, 2021 12 DF Geoff Cameron Queens Park Rangers Free transfer July 2, 2021 29 FW Arquimides Ordonez FC Cincinnati Academy Homegrown player August 5, 2021 3 DF Tyler Blackett Nottingham Forest Free transfer August 5, 2021 64 MF Florian Valot New York Red Bulls August 20, 2021 26 DF Chris Duvall Portland Timbers Free transfer August 31, 2021 21 MF Kyle Scott Newcastle United Free transfer

Out DateNumberPositionPlayerTransferred toFee/notesRef November 9, 2020 1 GK Bobby Edwards Indy Eleven Option declined November 9, 2020 2 DF Kendall Waston Saprissa Option declined November 9, 2020 4 DF Greg Garza Option declined November 9, 2020 11 MF Siem de Jong SC Heerenveen Option declined November 9, 2020 17 DF Mathieu Deplagne San Antonio FC Option declined November 9, 2020 18 GK Spencer Richey Seattle Sounders FC Waived November 9, 2020 20 MF Jimmy McLaughlin Louisville City FC Option declined November 9, 2020 25 MF Rey Ortiz Chattanooga Red Wolves Option declined November 9, 2020 26 MF Tommy McCabe Orange County SC Option declined November 9, 2020 47 DF Hassan Ndam Option declined November 9, 2020 81 FW Rashawn Dally Memphis 901 FC Option declined November 9, 2020 96 DF Andrew Gutman Atlanta United FC Selected in 2020 MLS Re-Entry Draft April 13, 2021 12 DF Saad Abdul-Salaam Columbus Crew SC Waived April 20, 2021 24 MF Frankie Amaya New York Red Bulls $950,000 July 29, 2021 3 DF Tom Pettersson Lillestrøm SK Mutually agreed to part ways

Loans in NumberPositionPlayerLoaned fromLoan start dateLoan end dateRef 10 FW Jürgen Locadia Brighton & Hove Albion February 3, 2020 June 30, 2021 21 FW Franko Kovačević TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II October 12, 2020 July 28, 2021 27 DF Gustavo Vallecilla S.D. Aucas April 5, 2021 December 31, 2021

Loans out NumberPositionPlayerLoaned toLoan start dateLoan end dateRef 39 GK Ben Lundt Phoenix Rising FC May 6, 2021 End of season 27 DF Avionne Flanagan Orange County SC May 21, 2021 July 5, 2021 17 MF Ben Mines Orange County SC August 16, 2021 End of season 1 GK Cody Cropper Memphis 901 FC August 25, 2021 End of season

2021 MLS SuperDraft picks

Round Pick #PlayerPositionCollegeNotes 1 2 Calvin Harris FW Wake Forest 2 29 Avionne Flanagan DF South Florida 3 54 Jonas Fjeldberg MF Dayton From Columbus Crew SC 4 56 Matthew Vowinkel FW Hofstra

Competitions

Preseason

Major League Soccer

League tables

Eastern Conference

Overall

Results

Statistics

Appearances and goals Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.

! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers

! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders

! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders

! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards

! colspan=16 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Players who have played for FC Cincinnati this season but have left the club:

Top scorers {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:140px;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- |1 |FW |9 |align="left"| Brenner |8||0||8 |- |2 |MF |11 |align="left"| Luciano Acosta |7||0||7 |- |3 |FW |19 |align="left"| Brandon Vazquez |4||0||4 |- |rowspan="2"|4 |MF |31 |align="left"| Álvaro Barreal |3||0||3 |- |MF |6 |align="left"| Haris Medunjanin |3||0||3 |- |rowspan="2"|6 |DF |5 |align="left"| Gustavo Vallecilla |2||0||2 |- |DF |18 |align="left"| Ronald Matarrita |2||0||2 |- |rowspan="7"|8 |DF |2 |align="left"| Edgar Castillo |1||0||1 |- |DF |3 |align="left"| Tyler Blackett |1||0||1 |- |MF |8 |align="left"| Allan Cruz |1||0||1 |- |FW |10 |align="left"| Jurgen Locadia |1||0||1 |- |DF |14 |align="left"| Nick Hagglund |1||0||1 |- |DF |16 |align="left"| Zico Bailey |1||0||1 |- |FW |23 |align="left"| Isaac Atanga |1||0||1 |- !colspan="4"|Total !37!!0!!37

Top assists {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|Rank ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|Position ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:160px;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:75px;" scope="col"|Total |- |1 |MF |11 |align="left"| Luciano Acosta |10||0||10 |- |2 |MF |36 |align="left"| Rónald Matarrita |5||0||5 |- |rowspan="3"|3 |DF |12 |align="left"| Geoff Cameron |3||0||3 |- |FW |19 |align="left"| Brandon Vazquez |3||0||3 |- |MF |31 |align="left"| Álvaro Barreal |3||0||3 |- |rowspan="4"|6 |MF |6 |align="left"| Haris Medunjanin |2||0||2 |- |FW |9 |align="left"| Brenner |2||0||2 |- |DF |16 |align="left"| Zico Bailey |2||0||2 |- |FW |23 |align="left"| Isaac Atanga |2||0||2 |- !colspan="4"|Total !32!!0!!32

Disciplinary record {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align:center;" |- | rowspan="2" !width=15| | rowspan="2" !width=15| | rowspan="2" !width=120|Player | colspan="3"|MLS | colspan="3"|Playoffs | colspan="3"|Total |- !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#ff8888;| !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#ff8888;| !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#fe9;| !width=34; background:#ff8888;| |- || 12 || DF ||align=left| Geoff Cameron || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 8 || 0 || 0 |- || 5 || DF ||align=left| Gustavo Vallecilla || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 7 || 0 || 0 |- || 14 || MF ||align=left| Rónald Matarrita || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 7 || 0 ||0 |- || 7 || MF ||align=left| Yuya Kubo || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 0 |- || 11 || MF ||align=left| Luciano Acosta || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 0 |- || 33 || MF ||align=left| Caleb Stanko || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 0 |- || 2 || DF ||align=left| Edgar Castillo || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 0 |- || 8 || MF ||align=left| Allan Cruz || 5 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 1 |- || 9 || FW ||align=left| Brenner || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 |- || 31 || MF ||align=left| Álvaro Barreal || 4 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 0 |- || 13 || MF ||align=left| Joe Gyau || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 |- || 16 || DF ||align=left| Zico Bailey || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 |- || 19 || FW ||align=left| Brandon Vazquez || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 |- || 20 || MF ||align=left| Calvin Harris || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 |- || 64 || MF ||align=left| Florian Valot || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 |- || 3 || DF ||align=left| Tyler Blackett || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 6 || MF ||align=left| Haris Medunjanin || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 14 || DF ||align=left| Nick Hagglund || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 15 || MF ||align=left| Kamohelo Mokotjo || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 25 || GK ||align=left| Kenneth Vermeer || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 26 || DF ||align=left| Chris Duvall || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 |- || 23 || FW ||align=left| Isaac Atanga || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 |- !colspan=3|Total !!75!!1!!2!!0!!0!!0!!75!!1!!2

Clean sheets {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:35px;" scope="col"|No. ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:160px;" scope="col"|Name ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:50px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:50px;" scope="col"| ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:50px;" scope="col"|Total ! style="background:#003087; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #FE5000; width:50px;" scope="col"|Games |- | 25 | align=left| Kenneth Vermeer |4||0||4||19 |- | 22 | align=left| Przemysław Tytoń |2||0||2||14 |- | 1 | align=left| Cody Cropper |0||0||0||1

Awards

MLS Team of the Week