by CHRISTIAN ARAOS
New York City FC are still waiting for Maxime Chanot’s visa paperwork to go through, but head coach Patrick Vieira said he hopes Chanot will be able to join the team at the end of the week.
Once that occurs, NYCFC’s transfer activity for the summer could be finished.
“I’m really happy with what we have,” Vieira said. “We had two players leave and Maxime is coming. I’m really happy with the roster and if there is no players who can improve our roster, improve our starting eleven, there is no point in bringing anybody.”
Although Vieira and sporting director Claudio Reyna said they were potentially interested in adding a center forward, the focus seems to have shifted towards giving Steven Mendoza, Tony Taylor or Khiry Shelton a chance to make their case to be the first-choice backup striker.
There was no update on any activity relating to Mix Diskerud.
Vieira discusses struggles vs Red Bulls
Able to reflect more on Sunday’s loss to the New York Red Bulls with a cooler head, Vieira said he was disappointed with his team’s competitive spirit during the game. The players, he observed, seemed to lack the conviction needed to perform for the occasion.
“We didn’t compete,” Vieira said. “When we go to a big game like that, there is a minimum that the team has to do and it is to compete.”
NYCFC have been able to rebound from their emotional letdowns and their standing in the table shows that. Vieira said the league is too competitive for the team to not bounce back.
“The game on Saturday will be important for us because we want to be among the top teams and it will be important for us to win the game and we will have to work hard because the game will be complicated and difficult.”
Matarrita begins training
Ronald Matarrita joined for the final half-hour of training doing individual work with and without the ball. Matarrita has missed the last two games since aggravating a left ankle injury during NYCFC’s loss to Sporting Kansas City July 10. The ankle was heavily taped but Matarrita was able to move laterally and cut in both directions. Vieira said he will monitor Matarrita before deciding on his availability for Saturday.
“We pushed him a little bit more today and we have to look at how the ankle will react tomorrow morning and then we will make a decision,”
McNamara: This season a stepping stone
Thomas McNamara’s goal was the silver lining to NYCFC’s loss Sunday and it is the latest highlight to a breakout season. McNamara said the team did not execute on Sunday and was chasing the game after conceding an early goal. McNamara now has four goals and eight assists this season.
“I’ve had an interesting start to my career at the club level,” McNamara said. “With the injury and the different teams, this was an important year for me. Being two years out from the ACL injury, I felt like it was a year to really make a stamp and consistently play or earn a starting role and make an impact on games. That’s what I’ve been doing this year and use it for bigger and better things.”
“You never know what’s in the future but for here, I’m really happy here. And the bigger and better things is to be successful as a football club and to win trophies. That’s our goal for this year and we’re going to try to do it as best we can. If it doesn’t work out then hopefully it’s a stepping stone to next year to be successful and to win trophies.”
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