# 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.

## Club
### Roster

    As of October 18, 2021
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Date of birth (age) | Previous club |
| 22 | Przemysław Tytoń | Poland | GK | (1987-04-01) April 1, 1987 (age 37) | Deportivo La Coruña |
| 25 | Kenneth Vermeer (INTL) | Netherlands | GK | (1986-01-10) January 10, 1986 (age 39) | Los Angeles FC |
| 30 | Beckham Sunderland (HG) | United States | GK | (2003-06-30) June 30, 2003 (age 21) | FC Cincinnati Academy |
| 2 | Edgar Castillo | United States | DF | (1986-10-08) October 8, 1986 (age 38) | Atlanta United FC |
| 3 | Tyler Blackett (INTL) | England | DF | (1994-04-02) April 2, 1994 (age 30) | Nottingham Forest |
| 4 | Maikel van der Werff (INTL) | Netherlands | DF | (1989-04-22) April 22, 1989 (age 35) | SBV Vitesse |
| 5 | Gustavo Vallecilla (INTL) | Ecuador | DF | (1999-05-28) May 28, 1999 (age 25) | S.D. Aucas |
| 12 | Geoff Cameron | United States | DF | (1985-07-11) July 11, 1985 (age 39) | Queens Park Rangers F.C. |
| 13 | Joe Gyau | United States | DF | (1992-09-16) September 16, 1992 (age 32) | MSV Duisburg |
| 14 | Nick Hagglund | United States | DF | (1992-09-14) September 14, 1992 (age 32) | Toronto FC |
| 16 | Zico Bailey (HG) | United States | DF | (2000-08-27) August 27, 2000 (age 24) | FC Helsingør |
| 18 | Rónald Matarrita | Costa Rica | DF | (1994-07-09) July 9, 1994 (age 30) | New York City FC |
| 26 | Chris Duvall | United States | DF | (1991-09-10) September 10, 1991 (age 33) | Portland Timbers |
| 6 | Haris Medunjanin | Bosnia and Herzegovina | MF | (1985-03-08) March 8, 1985 (age 39) | Philadelphia Union |
| 8 | Allan Cruz (DP) | Costa Rica | MF | (1996-02-24) February 24, 1996 (age 28) | C.S. Herediano |
| 11 | Luciano Acosta (DP) | Argentina | MF | (1994-05-31) May 31, 1994 (age 30) | Atlas |
| 15 | Kamohelo Mokotjo (INTL) | South Africa | MF | (1991-03-11) March 11, 1991 (age 33) | Brentford F.C. |
| 21 | Kyle Scott | England | MF | (1997-12-22) December 22, 1997 (age 27) | Newcastle United |
| 24 | Jonas Fjeldberg (INTL) | Norway | MF | (1998-09-30) September 30, 1998 (age 26) | Dayton Flyers |
| 33 | Caleb Stanko | United States | MF | (1993-07-26) July 26, 1993 (age 31) | SC Freiburg |
| 64 | Florian Valot | France | MF | (1993-02-12) February 12, 1993 (age 31) | New York Red Bulls |
| 7 | Yuya Kubo (INTL) | Japan | MF/FW | (1993-12-23) December 23, 1993 (age 31) | K.A.A. Gent |
| 20 | Calvin Harris (INTL, GA) | England | MF/FW | (2000-03-20) March 20, 2000 (age 24) | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| 31 | Álvaro Barreal (INTL) | Argentina | MF/FW | (2000-08-17) August 17, 2000 (age 24) | Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield |
| 9 | Brenner (DP, INTL) | Brazil | FW | (2000-01-16) January 16, 2000 (age 25) | São Paulo FC |
| 19 | Brandon Vazquez | United States | FW | (1998-10-14) October 14, 1998 (age 26) | Atlanta United FC |
| 23 | Isaac Atanga (INTL) | Ghana | FW | (2000-06-14) June 14, 2000 (age 24) | FC Nordsjælland |
| 29 | Arquimides Ordonez (HG) | United States | FW | (2003-08-05) August 5, 2003 (age 21) | FC Cincinnati Academy |

## Player movement
### In

| Date | Number | Position | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes |
| 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 | $50,000 |
| August 20, 2021 | 26 | DF | Chris Duvall | Portland Timbers | Free transfer |
| August 31, 2021 | 21 | MF | Kyle Scott | Newcastle United | Free transfer |
* ↑ FC Cincinnati will pay $50,000 in allocation money for the 2022 season and an additional $50,000 if certain performance incentives are met

### Out

| Date | Number | Position | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes |
| 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 |
* ↑ New York could pay an additional $125,000 in allocation money if certain performance incentives are met

### Loans in

| Number | Position | Player | Loaned from | Loan start date | Loan end date |
| 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

| Number | Position | Player | Loaned to | Loan start date | Loan end date |
| 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 # | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 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

Win  Draw  Loss

### Major League Soccer
#### League tables
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 10 | CF Montréal | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 46 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League |
| 11 | Inter Miami CF | 34 | 12 | 17 | 5 | 36 | 53 | −17 | 41 | |
| 12 | Chicago Fire FC | 34 | 9 | 18 | 7 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 34 | |
| 13 | Toronto FC | 34 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 28 | |
| 14 | FC Cincinnati | 34 | 4 | 22 | 8 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 20 | |
* 1 2 Canadian clubs cannot qualify for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.
* ↑ As 2021 Canadian Championship winners

##### Overall

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 23 | FC Dallas | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 47 | 56 | −9 | 33 |
| 24 | Austin FC | 34 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 31 |
| 25 | Houston Dynamo FC | 34 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 30 |
| 26 | Toronto FC | 34 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 39 | 66 | −27 | 28 |
| 27 | FC Cincinnati | 34 | 4 | 22 | 8 | 37 | 74 | −37 | 20 |

#### Results

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | W | D | D | L | D | L | D | D | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus-sign(+) denote appearances as a substitute.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Cody Cropper | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | POL | Przemysław Tytoń | 15 | 0 | 14+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | NED | Kenneth Vermeer | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | DF | USA | Edgar Castillo | 14 | 1 | 12+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Tyler Blackett | 11 | 1 | 8+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ECU | Gustavo Vallecilla | 25 | 2 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | USA | Geoff Cameron | 28 | 0 | 26+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | USA | Nick Hagglund | 24 | 1 | 17+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Zico Bailey | 11 | 1 | 9+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | USA | Chris Duvall | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | CRC | Rónald Matarrita | 22 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 6 | MF | BIH | Haris Medunjanin | 29 | 3 | 18+11 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Yuya Kubo | 29 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | CRC | Allan Cruz | 22 | 1 | 18+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ARG | Luciano Acosta | 31 | 7 | 30+1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | USA | Joe Gyau | 21 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | RSA | Kamohelo Mokotjo | 13 | 0 | 4+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Calvin Harris | 16 | 0 | 4+12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Kyle Scott | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ARG | Álvaro Barreal | 33 | 3 | 26+7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | USA | Caleb Stanko | 20 | 0 | 12+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | MF | FRA | Florian Valot | 9 | 0 | 4+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 9 | FW | BRA | Brenner | 33 | 8 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | USA | Arquimides Ordonez | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | USA | Brandon Vazquez | 31 | 4 | 6+25 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | GHA | Isaac Atanga | 22 | 1 | 12+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who have played for FC Cincinnati this season but have left the club: ||||||||||
| 3 | DF | SWE | Tom Pettersson | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | NED | Jürgen Locadia | 9 | 1 | 2+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | CRO | Franko Kovačević | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: November 15, 2021
* Source: Team Stats

### Top scorers

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Brenner | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 2 | MF | 11 | Luciano Acosta | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | FW | 19 | Brandon Vazquez | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | MF | 31 | Álvaro Barreal | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | MF | 6 | Haris Medunjanin | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | 5 | Gustavo Vallecilla | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 18 | Ronald Matarrita | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 2 | Edgar Castillo | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | 3 | Tyler Blackett | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 8 | Allan Cruz | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | 10 | Jurgen Locadia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | 14 | Nick Hagglund | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | DF | 16 | Zico Bailey | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | 23 | Isaac Atanga | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 37 | 0 | 37 |
* Last updated: November 15, 2021
* Source: Team Stats

### Top assists

| Rank | Position | No. | Name | MLS | Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | MF | 11 | Luciano Acosta | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | MF | 36 | Rónald Matarrita | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | DF | 12 | Geoff Cameron | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | FW | 19 | Brandon Vazquez | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | MF | 31 | Álvaro Barreal | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | 6 | Haris Medunjanin | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | 9 | Brenner | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 16 | Zico Bailey | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | FW | 23 | Isaac Atanga | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 32 | 0 | 32 |
* Last updated: November 15, 2021
* Source: Team Stats

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Player | MLS | MLS | MLS | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Total | Total | Total |
| 12 | DF | Geoff Cameron | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Gustavo Vallecilla | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Rónald Matarrita | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Yuya Kubo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Luciano Acosta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Caleb Stanko | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Edgar Castillo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Allan Cruz | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Brenner | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | Álvaro Barreal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | Joe Gyau | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Zico Bailey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Brandon Vazquez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Calvin Harris | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | MF | Florian Valot | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Tyler Blackett | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Haris Medunjanin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Nick Hagglund | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Kamohelo Mokotjo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Kenneth Vermeer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Chris Duvall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Isaac Atanga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 75 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 1 | 2 |
* Last updated: November 15, 2021
* Source: Team Stats

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | MLS | Playoffs | Total | Games |
| 25 | Kenneth Vermeer | 4 | 0 | 4 | 19 |
| 22 | Przemysław Tytoń | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 1 | Cody Cropper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* Last updated: November 15, 2021
* Source: Team Stats

## Awards
### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Player | Opponent | Position |
| 1 | Przemysław Tytoń | Nashville SC | GK |
| 1 | Luciano Acosta | Nashville SC | Bench |
| 6 | Geoff Cameron | CF Montréal | DF |
| 6 | Jaap Stam | CF Montréal | Coach |
| 9 | Luciano Acosta | Chicago Fire FC | Bench |
| 10 | Luciano Acosta | Toronto FC | MF |
| 12 | Luciano Acosta | Columbus Crew | Bench |
| 13 | Brenner | CF Montréal | FW |
| 14 | Kenneth Vermeer | Atlanta United FC | GK |
| 24 | Luciano Acosta | Toronto FC | MF |