Thanks to nighttime thunderstorms in New York City, it was already past 3 a.m. on Friday morning by the time Derrick Etienne Jr., finally arrived in Cincinnati.
A few hours later, and admittedly a little tired, Etienne Jr. spoke with reporters, then trotted toward the practice field for his first training session as an FC Cincinnati player.
On Saturday night, he could make his club debut with the team in Columbus in the first MLS #HellisReal derby match. In short, a lot’s happening, and it’s occurring very quickly for the Haitian winger.
“I’m happy to be here,” he said Friday morning. “The club wanted me here and I’m happy to be wanted by the club. I’m going to come here and try to do my best to win games and help the team get better.”
Etienne Jr. was announced as an FC Cincinnati player on Thursday morning after securing a loan deal from New York Red Bulls on Wednesday just before the league’s transfer deadline. He arrived with 10 matches remaining in the season, which isn’t much time, but enough to make an impression.
The loan allows FCC an option to make Etienne Jr. a permanent player here, so the players he just met could turn into his long-term teammates.
But for as quickly as this move and transition materialized, the Haiti international has plenty of background with Cincinnati.
Back in 2016, he played in both Red Bulls II matches against the Orange and Blue and scored a late penalty at Red Bull Arena that September. Soon, he moved up to the MLS side and returned to Nippert Stadium the next August for the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal match.
This season, he was an unused sub when Cincinnati lost to RBNY twice.
For as much as FCC have grown since their inaugural season, Etienne Jr. has done the same. Now, their paths that previously paralleled one other are aligned.
“I think it’s a funny story, actually,” he said. “To be able to play against you guys in your inaugural season and now play for you guys in your inaugural season in MLS, it’s something I didn’t expect but part of the story. Hopefully I can bring some good vibes here.”
Etienne Jr. isn’t the only recently-acquired winger.
An hour before he joined on loan from New York, FC Cincinnati announced U.S. Men’s National Team winger Joseph-Claude Gyau signed on a permanent deal from MSV Duisburg, a German club recently relegated into the third division.
Born in Tampa, at 17 Gyau moved to Germany to kickstart his professional career. Eventually, that even meant a spell at Borussia Dortmund, among other clubs.
But after nearly a decade in Germany, Gyau, 26, opted for a move to MLS for the first time in his career.
“After being away for so long gaining a lot of experience overseas in an entirely new culture, I feel like now is the right time to come back home,” he said Thursday. “I’m still young enough to switch into a different market. I just thought now is the right time with an expansion team like Cincinnati, which is such a big project. There was no better time than now.”
How both are acclimated into the team remains to be seen, especially with Head Coach Ron Jans making his MLS coaching debut Saturday night in Columbus. Both Gyau and Etienne Jr. are on the bench and could make their club debuts.
If one thing is certain, however, it’s that their arrivals – along with left back Andrew Gutman on loan from Celtic FC – suggest Jans and General Manager Gerard Nijkamp have a much different vision of FCC’s playing style than previous coach Alan Koch.
Whereas the previous roster was built from a big backline and center midfielder who are either defensive-minded or box-to-box, the latest acquisitions suggest Cincinnati want an aggressive attack with lots of speed.
Both Gyau and Etienne Jr. mentioned their speed and dynamic style as something that can excite fans. They also mentioned their confidence in creating chances either for teammates or themselves.
If the Orange and Blue are committed to playing an expressive and expansive, possession-based style of soccer, that should certainly excite fans. But how the two wingers make their way into the lineup, and perhaps the club’s long-term vision, remains to be seen.
Saturday night at MAPFRE Stadium is an opportuntity to get better idea of what comes next.
