Julián Malatini is the newest member of FC Cincinnati, arriving on loan from German Bundesliga side Werder Bremen and is looking to help boost the backline in Cincy.
At the very end of the summer transfer window, FC Cincinnati got their guy as The Orange and Blue confirmed the addition of the center back on Thursday morning. The Argentine 25-year-old, who represented his nation at youth national team levels, is set to join FCC on a reportedly loan deal through the 2027 sprint season, with an option for the club to make the move permanent.
An athletic, toolsy defender who has plied his trade in the Bundesliga for the last three seasons, Malatini has learned English and German (in addition to his native Spanish) and comes to Cincinnati excited to play and ready to make a difference with his new club.
“We looked at probably over 300 center backs this window, and I think three or four kind of rose to the level of where we see Julián as a fit for FC Cincinnati,” FC Cincinnati General Manager Chris Albright said of the newcomer at a press conference on Thursday. “Pedigree-wise he’s (been with the) Argentina U-23s then has Bundesliga experience at 25, and physically, athletically what we look for. He's a worker. He's a winner. He's learned German and English, he's a bright kid that wants to get better and we think his ceiling is not close to yet reached.”
Malatini has made over 30 appearances with Werder Bremen and was a standout young player in the Argentine ranks after breaking through with the first team at CA Talleres as a teenager, where he would start in continental competitions like the Copa Libertadores and the Sudamericana.
After making 11 appearances in the Bundesliga last season for Werder Bremen, Malatini’s season was cut short due to injury, suffering a high ankle sprain and missing the end of the year from March to May. That injury, though, has been surgically repaired, and he has recovered to full fitness. He played 90 minutes in recent club preseason friendlies and was available off the bench for his German club in their first two league matches in August.
“With Julián, we feel good. We have his physical data from training. He is a high-level athlete,” Albright explained in his press conference. “He had an injury in maybe March that was surgically repaired that he's been back from, so we saw that as a great market opportunity (to get) Bundesliga experience at 25 years old with those athletic traits, so we really don't have concern about the injuries.”
On the field, Malatini is a center back but has experience playing at right back as well. He’s right-footed, but has played effectively everywhere along the back line and is capable of slotting into FCC’s three-person backline or into a four-man back line like he had been deployed in at Bremen.
As an FC Cincinnati defender, Chris Albright said he felt Malatini had the tools they like to see in defenders, and while there’s some more work to be done in certain parts of his game, they like the way he could add to the group both in the long term and in the immediate term.
“He's able to defend forward like we like to do and anticipate plays in midfield. He can be dominant in the air. He can run, which is a pretty good thing for a professional athlete, and he can run at a good rate,” Albright explained. “I think he's got room to grow on the ball, and I think he would tell you the same. I think some of that talent is there, but when you're playing away at Bayern Munich, you're maybe a little bit safer than if you're playing at home at TQL Stadium.
“So I think we look at the level and try to project that he can take a jump here and sort of profile. But ultimately, when you talk to Julian, his character, his intellect, his desire to learn, desire to want to be better, desire to be a good teammate-you know-you put all those things together, and we really think we have something that we can help mold and be a long-term presence in the backline for FCC.”
Albright indicated it could be two to three weeks before Malatini arrives and is available to play for The Orange and Blue, as it’s currently in the hands of United States immigration. But the admin team at FCC, led by Blair Stevenson (Manager, Team Administration), Josh Hancock (Soccer Operations Senior Coordinator) and Rodrigo Frank (Director, Player Welfare) are hard at work and excellent at what they do in terms of working with the legal team and making sure all player arrivals are handled efficiently and seamlessly.
It was indicated that it’s unlikely any of FCC’s newcomers will be available for the next two weeks as the documentation is sorted out. Still, once it is, FC Cincinnati will have a promising center back with experience in one of the biggest leagues in the world, with untapped potential on a risk-free deal. If things don’t work out, in the words of Albright, the loan ends at the conclusion of the sprint season, and everyone goes their separate ways. But if Malatini is the player FCC feel he could be, they have the option to keep him in Cincy permanently and have added a key defender for the future.
It’s excellent business all around for The Orange and Blue.
