Atlanta United at FC Cincinnati: 3 questions with Laurel Pfahler

Atlanta United’s 10th season begins at TQL Stadium on Saturday as they take on FC Cincinnati.

The two sides couldn’t have been more opposite in 2025. Atlanta, of course, finished second-from-last in the league standings. FCC, which started its season on Wednesday night with a 4-0 win at O&M in Leg 1 of a Round of 16 Concacaf Champions Cup tie, was a point back of the Supporters’ Shield-winning Philadelphia Union.

So what’s the scoop on FCC? Laurel Pfahler (X, Bluesky) covers them for her outlet, Queen City Press, and took a few minutes to provide the scoop on the Ohio side during the previous campaign.

FC Cincinnati finished second in the Supporters’ Shield standings — ultimately claiming a Concacaf Champions Cup berth — but ended up losing to Inter Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals. What was the general sentiment among fans about the season? Were they more or less resigned to their fate given the quality Miami showed, or was there an overall feeling that the club could have achieved a bit more?

Fans were extremely disappointed not to come away with any trophies last season, after club officials continued to say they expected to win trophies.

I think everyone knew Miami would be a tough hurdle, despite having success against the Herons during the regular season, but a 4-0 loss was a tough pill to swallow, especially after only managing three goals in the first round with a very talented group of attackers. FCC spent almost $30 million combined to acquire Kevin Denkey and Evander last offseason, and that raised expectations even higher and even more so when Brenner returned on loan from Udinese.

Not even putting up a fight against Miami was a huge disappointment, and there were definitely feelings the club could have achieved more. One bad stretch in August (three straight home losses) kept FCC from winning a second Shield, as well. 

The shortcomings in 2025 led to some changes this offseason. FCC moved on from veteran assistant Dom Kinnear to bring in up-and-coming assistant Brett Uttley, who now oversees the attackers. The club also tweaked some things in the style of play to try to get more out of the attack. The big gripe among fans was that games got a little boring to watch when FCC would consistently take leads and then immediately seem to take the foot off the gas and play more defensive. Pat Noonan has become a genius at winning one-goal games, but the Orange and Blue never dominate. Fans want them to dominate. Even GM Chris Albright said it led to a “stale” environment.

Now, the focus is on getting the ball into the box, playing a little more direct and utilizing the wingbacks even more in the attack. We’ll see how that looks this week.

Both Atlanta and Cincinnati welcomed high-priced strikers in Emmanuel Latte Lath and Kévin Denkey. Unlike Latte Lath in Atlanta, though, Denkey came good almost immediately, and it’s seen him receive some offers from Europe. Right now, where would you put the odds of him seeing out the season in Cincinnati?

There is definite interest in Denkey, but I am not aware of any formal offers and FC Cincinnati has a steep price for him for good reason. I could definitely see him drawing offers the club cannot refuse this summer if he gets off to another good start this year. It would need to be at least a $25 million sale.

The question is, will FC Cincinnati be able to afford letting him go? Right now, there are a lot of questions as to where goals will come from outside of Denkey and Evander. Brenner departed this offseason, and the club did not really replace him. Ayoub Jabbari, whose purchase option was exercised at the end of his loan, and veteran Tom Barlow are the two options next to Denkey at forward, but neither have been big goal scorers to this point in their careers.

The hope seems to be that Jabbari is the next Brandon Vazquez — a player Atlanta and FCC fans knew as a decent backup still waiting for his turn until 2022 when he had his breakout season with 22 goals. But, that’s a big unknown. So for now, I put it at 30 percent odds.

(SnS Note: Jabbari was a 60th-minute substitute for Denkey during Wednesday’s match at O&M, scoring two late goals and coming a penalty miss away from a hat trick.)

What’s FC Cincinnati’s ceiling and floor in 2026? Put differently, what would constitute a successful season for the club?

FC Cincinnati has been known for its consistency over Noonan’s tenure, but in Year 5, this could be a defining season for him. The club signed just six new players this offseason and it’s mainly the same group that ended 2025, after returning all but three starters (LWB Luca Orellano was sold to Monterrey, LWB/LCB Lukas Engel’s loan from Middlesbrough ended and he ultimately was sold to Real Salt Lake and as mentioned previously, Brenner went back to Udinese only to be sent to Vasco da Gama). That means theoretically, the team should be even better this season with quality depth, though they only replaced one of those starting caliber players with Bryan Ramirez coming in at left wingback. Any major injuries at forward or center back could be costly.

All that to say, this team has to win something this year. I think the Supporters’ Shield, given the talent on the roster, is the most likely piece of hardware they will come away with, but there’s pressure on the staff/front office to show they’ve built a team that can fare well in Cup competitions — something this club has not been able to do.