FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has said he believes the Supporters’ Shield is now more relevant than MLS Cup.
Noonan’s side clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Toronto FC, completing an incredible turnaround that saw the team finish dead last in MLS for three straight seasons (2019-21).
The Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which is, of course, how the majority of leagues worldwide crown their overall champion.
In MLS though, winning the Shield is merely a guarantee of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and MLS Cup.
In a league where 18 of 29 teams currently reach the postseason, Noonan said on Monday that he felt winning the Shield represented something even bigger than taking home MLS Cup — though he stressed his side’s desire to do both.
“It’s a big achievement, and maybe that conversation is different years back but for me, it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season,” Noonan told reporters in quotes published on the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“For me, now, and even my own opinion of it has changed: I think it has now surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevance. That’s not to take away from the desire of our team to hold an MLS Cup but for that team to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both.”
Noonan’s side will now look to match Los Angeles FC, which won a Shield-MLS Cup double last year, becoming the eighth team to achieve the feat.
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