Tag: Nicholas Gioacchini

St. Louis City SC makes MLS expansion history with fourth straight win

No expansion side has ever started life in MLS like this

No one’s ever started an MLS season like St. Louis City SC.

The league’s 29th team, and 21st expansion side, became the first ever to win the first four competitive games of their existence after rolling to a 3-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes.

That broke a record set (or should we say, invented) by the 2009 Seattle Sounders, who won the first three games as they joined MLS.

A fairly even game at Citypark was broken open by yet another glaring mistake that St. Louis ruthlessly punished. John Nelson’s 34th minute cross wasn’t well-struck, but San Jose center back Rodrigues made a bizarre attempt to chest the ball out of trouble.

That interception missed, and Nicholas Gioacchini pounced. The winger kept his run going to take a touch, then somehow guided the ball past Miguel Trauco and goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.

It turned out to be all the new kids on the block needed, but Bradley Carnell’s team seems to only have one speed. Late in first-half stoppage time, striker João Klauss tried to bring some flair with a no-look pass towards Rasmus Alm. Klauss missed the mark, sending the ball right into Michael Baldissimo, but the big Brazilian conjured up a goal anyway.

Klauss surged forward, beating Baldissimo and Tommy Thompson to the loose ball before quickly getting a shot away that beat Marcinkowski before the goalkeeper could get set.

By this point, St. Louis had taken things over, and there was time to put an exclamation point on the victory.

As with the Klauss goal, it came down to picking up second balls. St. Louis sent a free kick in that San Jose got the first touch on, but Tomás Ostrák was first to it.

His shot was blocked, setting a pattern into motion. Some strong counter-pressing from there ended with Eduard Löwen seeing his 19-yard shot blocked by Jonathan Mensah. St. Louis was first to the rebound again, and Indiana Vassilev tried the same thing only to again fire a shot that hit Tanner Beason.

Again St. Louis collected the ball, and Ostrák had the patience to take a touch to change his angle before letting loose with yet another shot. Beason got a foot to this one as well, but could only divert the ball further into the corner.

Speaking after the match, Carnell attributed the good start to being “relentless and ruthless.”

“The boys had their most complete performance as of today’s date. Historical night for the club, historical night for the league,” said Carnell. “We have a bunch of guys from all over the world, to come here and commit to something that’s bigger than all of us? It’s humbling… right now, the motto is ‘comfortable, but never satisfied.'”

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Niko Gioacchini on his move to Orlando City, USMNT hopes, and his ‘Momager’

The USMNT forward is hoping to make a last push for a World Cup spot after moving to MLS

Consecutive phone calls last month sparked Niko Gioacchini’s move to Major League Soccer — the first from his agent, the second from his mother.

Both delivered the news of Orlando City’s interest in making the 22-year-old USMNT forward its marquee summer signing.

With a year left on his contract at French second-tier side Caen, and having spent the previous campaign on loan in Ligue 1 with Montpellier, Gioacchini knew it was time to find a new club — and to follow his instincts halfway across the world.

“(My mom) asked me, straight up, ‘Niko, what do you want?’ She is very straightforward; she doesn’t beat around the bush under any circumstance,” Gioacchini told Pro Soccer Wire.

“She asked if I wanted to go back home, play in the MLS, stay in Europe. She doesn’t tell me what to do. She asks questions and allows me to understand what my options. That’s why I consider her my manager, my ‘Momager,’ if you will.”

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Intrigued by Oscar Pareja’s project, and with hopes of impressing Gregg Berhalter in time for the 2022 World Cup, Gioacchini made a permanent move stateside on July 20. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with a club option for 2025.

“Niko is an exciting young player that has a great ability to break lines and has a keen eye for goal,” Luiz Muzzi, Orlando City’s EVP of soccer operations and general manager, said in a release. “He’s begun to work his way into the national team pool already and we look forward to him furthering his young career with us here in Orlando.”

During his loan spell at Montpellier, Gioacchini collected three assists in just 473 minutes of league action. It was a beneficial experience, but one with which he feels he could have done more.

“I may not have been given the best opportunity. Obviously, it’s one of the best leagues in the world,” Gioacchini said. “It’s difficult to play in, and difficult to find a spot. I just didn’t get that confidence booster, that goal that really shoots your confidence straight up into the sky and allows you to perform better and better.”

Photo by Pascal Guyot/AFP via Getty Images

Gioacchini debuted for Orlando City on July 27 with a five-minute cameo in the team’s 5-1 thrashing of New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals. He’s since made two appearances in MLS contests, clocking up 35 minutes in losses to D.C. United and New England Revolution.

It will take some time, Gioacchini admits, to develop chemistry with Orlando’s retooled cast of attacking players. There is also an adjustment period to the brutal humidity and summertime temperatures approaching triple digits throughout the U.S.

“When I first got here, I thought it wasn’t going to be too bad and that I would get accustomed to it,” Gioacchini said. “Two weeks in, I was like, ‘Wow, this is hot.’ If you do the right procedures, if you hydrate, sooner or later the weather becomes normal.

“I can’t complain. It’s better than the freezing cold.”

The Kansas City native said his only previous trip to Central Florida was when he took part in a U-12 showcase near Walt Disney World more than a decade ago. Gioacchini said he felt encouraged by Orlando given the success of fellow USMNT striker Daryl Dike at the club.

Dike bagged 19 goals in 41 matches for Orlando during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, ultimately securing a $9.5 million transfer to West Brom in January.

“I had backing, even more reason to consider the proposition and the project,” Gioacchini said. “Through the phone calls, I didn’t get the feeling that this was not something we would consider. It was really positivity. … I heard what I needed to hear, and that’s how my decision was made.”

Orlando City hopes Gioacchini can make an impact in its pursuit of a third straight trip to the playoffs. The club also completed loan signings for Colombian winger Ivan Angulo and Peruvian midfielder Wilder Cartagena — from Palmeiras and Ittihad Kalba, respectively — prior to last week’s MLS transfer deadline.

With 10 games left in the regular season, the Lions sit on the wrong side of the bubble, level on points (30) with Chicago Fire but six goals worse on differential. Orlando City also hosts USL Championship side Sacramento Republic in the U.S. Open Cup final on September 7 with a chance to hoist an elusive trophy.

Should he hit the ground running, Gioacchini could re-enter the World Cup conversation. He played five times in last year’s Gold Cup, scoring against Martinique and assisting the winner against Qatar in the semis.

Photo by Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images)

No clear candidate has emerged for the No. 9 position. Jordan Pefok, who scored on his Bundesliga debut for Union Berlin at the weekend, is among the pool’s few in-form strikers along with FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira and FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez.

“This is a place where I can develop, and will develop,” Gioacchini said.

“Obviously, the USMNT concept and the World Cup did cross my mind. It allowed me to think about it. But that was not the main reason why I chose Orlando.

“I wish the best to everyone; I really do. It’s important that we go as far as we can at the World Cup, and hopefully I will be a part of it — whether I am a nine, a left or right winger or a midfielder. Let’s see where that will be in a few months.”

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