Evander has been the star of MLS All-Star week in Austin, Texas this week as FC Cincinnati’s star midfielder and favorite for the MVP continued to dazzle amongst his peers at the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T. With 72 points in the Shooting Challenge, pushing MLS over the top of Liga MX to win the event, Evander set the record for most points earned in the challenge.
“I wasn’t imagining that at all, like, I was just trying to win the challenge but I was happy that I broke the record,” Evander said in the mixed zone after the Skills Challenge. “I got so excited. It was a fun night.”
The Brazilian superstar for The Orange and Blue would then go on to win his portion of the Passing Challenge, defeating fellow Brazilian Rodrigo Dourado of Liga MX side Athletico San Luis by completing all five target passes in less than 30 seconds.
The cherry on the cake for Evander at the All-Star Game was that ahead of the marquee game on Wednesday night, the FCC number 10 was named Captain of the MLS All-Star team after winning the fan vote.
Evander’s appointment as captain means that FC Cincinnati players have captained the All-Star team in each of the last three seasons. Now, with the game set and his duties clarified, Evander is looking to head into the match with the intention of having fun while competing for glory in Liga MX.
“Just enjoy, have fun and play a good game,” Evander said after the Skills Challenge on how he was looking to approach the match. “Of course, you want to win, but you know, having in mind that this is not like not playing for the league. We have our teams. We have to take care a little bit as well. But of course, you want to play and have fun.”
Additionally, at the All-Star festivities earlier in the week were FC Cincinnati Academy standouts Ademar Chavez and Andrei Chirila, who represented the East at the MLS NEXT All-Star game held on Monday night. Chavez, 16, played in the first 45 minutes and earned an assist on the first goal of the game – serving in a quality free kick to help the score. Chirila, also 16 and whose older brother Stefan was selected to this same game last year, came on for the second 45 and helped the Eastern Conference secure a 4-3 result to win the matchup against the Western Conference.
Back in Cincy…
Meanwhile, while All-Stars Evander and Miles Robinson represent the club at All-Star week, training continues as FC Cincinnati takes to the fields at Mercy Health Training Center to prepare for Inter Miami CF.
In a rare twist of the calendar, after playing The Herons just a week ago at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati head to South Florida for the return match and to close out the season series at Chase Stadium.
With an emotional week behind them, a week that started with disappointment and frustration and ended with two clean sheets and a spot at the top of the Supporters’ Shield table, FCC is looking to stay steady again and continue their strong form. They’re also looking, according to Head Coach Pat Noonan, to use their veteran experience to carry them through the tough times and keep them level in the good times so they continue to improve, rather than follow the emotional swings.
“We know what we could expect from the group,” Noonan said after the match on Saturday. “That’s where our group is. These guys are professional. They understand when we aren’t at our best and how we can improve, and then they apply themselves in the ways that we need to improve in a good way. That allows us to get past disappointment and go and perform in a better way and get a better result and then not settle for that one good performance. Go and turn it around and do it again. So that’s what you can expect of this group, because I think we have a lot of strong characters and good leaders, and they have a way about them that you just trust that we’re going to get things right, and you can count on them even in the toughest moments. So that’s what the last two games have looked like, and that’s why I think we’re talking in a different way.”
Meteorology
Part of the trip to Fort Lauderdale, the home of Inter Miami CF’s Chase Stadium, will be accounting for the weather conditions after coming back from an already grueling week where they played Saturday at nearly 4700ft of elevation when they took on Real Salt Lake. However, given the weather in Cincinnati, it may not be much different from what a July summer night in South Florida will feel like.
With temperatures expected to be in the high to mid-80s in both cities, and humidity between 65 and 70 percent, things in Cincinnati are feeling a lot like South Florida right now.
That brutal weather, particularly for playing professional soccer, has helped FC Cincinnati prepare mentally for the challenges they may face. It even helped some overcome the potential challenges of playing at attitude over the weekend and could help level the playing field this weekend.
“I feel like, given the weather some of our games have had, I didn’t even notice the thin air here tonight,” midfielder Brian Anunga said Saturday after the match. “We’ve been playing every week in hot, humid weather so having a little less humidity was nice but really it didn’t feel any different.”
“That kind of helps us I think,” Anunga continued. “We’ve played in the worst of it, and we’ve learned how to manage and get through it. Now, when we go somewhere with its own challenges, it’s not new, it’s just different. But we know how to handle it.”
Seven times in club history have FC Cincinnati kicked off with a game-time temperature of 90 degrees or higher, but if it exceeds the expected mid-80s forecast, it could make for a historically challenging game.
