Another eventful week around New York City FC means it's another eventful episode of The Soccer Journal Podcast.
Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh (who has a new soccer trivia book out now, which you can check out here) begin by looking back fondly on NYCFC's 3-1 US Open Cup Round of 16 win over their Red Bull rivals. We rate it as a big win, but not just because it knocked the Red Bulls out of a cup competition, something NYCFC had never done before.
The road ahead on the path to potential US Open Cup glory now looks downright enticing for New York City, given they travel to Columbus to face the Crew in the quarterfinals but would then, if they advance, get to host a potential semifinal and US Open Cup final, based on the results of the Open Cup draw held after the completion of the Round of 16.
The other names left in contention for the trophy aren't necessarily the cream of the MLS crop, either, so are we delusional for thinking NYCFC might be favorites to claim the oldest high-level soccer trophy in America?
It might be a bit delusional because, after our Open Cup high, we are reminded of the subsequent low point reached when DC United came to Citi Field and dropped a 2-0 on New York City FC, making it seven MLS matches without a win for NYCFC, and five straight home games without a win, to boot. The level of concern has risen among your podcast hosts, and a lot of the concerns stem from NYCFC's inability to break down teams that stay compact and don't get drawn out defensively, resulting in frustrating, fruitless attacking showings like the one against DC.
After we're done dissecting the DC defeat, we run through some quick news items of note, like ex-NYCFC and current Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Ronny Deila being in hot water in Israel for drunkenly sexual harassing a female taxi driver, MLS teaming up with a private-equity company to relocate and rebrand a bunch of MLS Next Pro teams, and Fluminense defender and rumored NYCFC target João Loiola attending NYCFC-DC United at Citi Field and posting about it on his Instagram.
Then it's another MLS match preview as NYCFC searches for a rare and elusive victory, so we get you ready for the team's eventual Open Cup quarterfinal opponents, Columbus Crew, as they visit Yankee Stadium for a 4:30 pm ET kickoff on this coming Mother's Day Sunday.
It's a jumbo-sized episode with lots of ground covered, so listen to the full thing at the top of this post, or find it on Apple, Spotify, or Bleav, and if you like what you hear, consider leaving the show a five-star review.
