Soccer <\/p>\n
Chris Albright has been watching Evander<\/a> for a long time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n FC Cincinnati<\/a>‘s general manager saw what he did the last two seasons with the Portland Timbers<\/a>, of course, but also had the player on his radar when the Brazilian attacker was still with Danish club Midtjylland \u2013 and Albright himself was still working with the Philadelphia Union<\/a>.<\/p>\n So when it came to replacing Luciano Acosta<\/a> this offseason \u2013 \u201cno small task,\u201d as Albright noted this week \u2013 there was a clear favorite in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you looked around the league at who could replace that level of production, there\u2019s only a few names in that discussion,\u201d Albright told MLSsoccer.com.<\/p>\n \u201cEvander was one of them and three, four years younger. That was obviously attractive, knowing it was a piece we could build around for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s exactly what Cincinnati hope to do.<\/p>\n Already, Evander has one goal and one assist in four MLS matches plus two goals and another assist in Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> play. Now, he heads into Saturday afternoon\u2019s marquee match with Atlanta United<\/a> hoping to set the tone and bounce back with three points against an Eastern Conference rival (2:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cI want to win,\u201d Evander told MLSsoccer.com this week. \u201cI want to be part of the playoffs and push the team to the title. If we can win Supporters\u2019 Shield, MLS Cup, everything, I want to win. I know this group has a lot of quality and power to win both trophies.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s going to be my role in the team: Try to push them to the highest level possible and push them to success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n From the forest to The Fortress. ???? pic.twitter.com\/u5P8oC9inJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) February 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Evander arrived in Cincinnati via one of the league\u2019s first cash-for-player trades<\/a>, moving from Portland in exchange for $12 million plus incentives and a portion of the sell-on. While the deal was announced in mid-February, conversations started before then, with the Timbers open to moving on from their star No. 10.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the first talk we had, the connection was good. I already knew the team also from playing two years in the league. I knew Cincinnati was a very strong team, always going for the playoffs and winning trophies,\u201d said Evander, a 2024 Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalist and Best XI midfielder.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what made me move to the city, to the club. My passion, as well, to bring this winning mentality, it matches up and that\u2019s why I wanted to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing to talk and another to actually get on the training field. Evander said this feels like the first week he\u2019s actually gotten proper training with his teammates. He\u2019s yet to get to any of Cincinnati\u2019s restaurants or check out much of anything \u2013 though he\u2019s looking forward to the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament this summer where he hopes to check out a match or two.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also figuring out exactly how to work with fellow new arrival K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a>, who joined from Cercle Brugge on a club-record fee, and with Luca Orellano<\/a>, who’s back after an initial loan from Vasco da Gama (coincidentally Evander\u2019s boyhood club).<\/p>\n \u201cI just got here, so I\u2019m still getting to know everybody. I\u2019m a guy who takes time to be open with everybody, but I think the connection is going the right way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re getting to know each other better, getting that connection we need to get. It\u2019s all about time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Evander gets one back. ???? pic.twitter.com\/lgBBgGVSAv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) March 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n While FCC were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> in the Round of 16, falling 4-2 to Tigres on aggregate, the tournament and the first few weeks of the MLS season provided several moments that hint at what the reworked Orange & Blue attack could look like at its full power.<\/p>\n In the team\u2019s first match of 2025, Evander had a goal and an assist in just a half-hour of action as Cincinnati rolled to a 4-1 win<\/a> over Motagua in continental play. Days later, FCC opened the MLS season with a home victory in which Evander made his first start at TQL Stadium. He also scored a trademark first-time finish at Tigres off Orellano’s spectacular set-up.<\/p>\n Yet, Evander isn\u2019t content to allow those flashes to be the finished product. With Atlanta in town this weekend, he said fans should begin to expect big things from the team. He’s expecting big things himself, after all.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the pressure needs to come, and we need to feel it. We need to enjoy being under pressure,\u201d the former Brazil youth international said. \u201cThat\u2019s the life of a soccer player. We need to know that moments like that will happen, and now we need to be under pressure to win this game at home.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to enjoy this moment. When I say pressure, it\u2019s always in a good way. I think as a soccer player we have everything around us to just focus on the game, and now it\u2019s time to switch and go for the three points and try to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n An absolute masterclass from Luca and Evander. ????pic.twitter.com\/zut6QlMM8X<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Getting situated<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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High expectations<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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