The end of the 2025 season has come for The Orange and Blue, and as is annual tradition, today will be the last day until the team gathers again for preseason for the media to chat with FC Cincinnati players.
Like in previous years, players will rotate through the media spaces for interviews before departing for the offseason. Some will be 1-on-1 interviews, others will be for the entire room based on volume of requests. Any players who I speak with 1-on-1, or speaks with the room, I will update here.
The schedule at this point is unclear as to the order of who speaks, but I've been told to expect the first interviews to begin around 10 a.m.. As we go today, the newest piece of information will be at the bottom of this page so everything stays in chronological order.
Thanks for hanging around today, lets have a good day!
Evander - 10:25 a.m.
First guy through the doors this morning is none other than Evander. It's not uncommon a player of his stature to go first through these meetings but starting the day with him gets things going early.
The biggest theme of Evander's press interview is his regret in the final match but also found memories of this team and this season. Says he feels like he didn't play his best during the playoffs and that is something that will weigh on him through this offseason as he looks to where he can improve for 2026. The playoff experience is fresh on his mind but he says he is going to see what he can learn this offseason from the experience so as to keep building for me next season.
"We need to achieve something," Evander says in short.
A goal he's looking forward to, and/or has set for himself is to get better connected with his teammates during a full preseason. Says his early days at the club were hectic as he just arrived at the very end of those preperations.
Roman Celentano - 10:33 a.m.
As Evander walks out, Roman Celentano walks in so things may be flying fast and furious now.
Roman opens by saying that looking at it right now, it's hard not to see the season colored by the end of it. His hope is that as time moves on maybe he can see the more positive feelings of the collective year, but maybe that feeling can be a good way to find improvement.
The biggest place Roman says he's grown this season is finding his voice on the field and being better at communicating with his teammates, but overall he's grown year-over-year. Says a big change for 2026 is going to be that the goalkeeper room dynamic is changing, particularly with Alec Kann retiring, so navigating that kind of leadership role without him will be something they all look to adapt too moving forward.
Lukas Engel - 10:46 a.m.
Lukas up next. He echoes a lot of the regret Roman did in terms of not yet being able to see past the end of the season but with time that will come. He says his time in Cincinnati has been a dream and he's really enjoyed his time here. It's been eye opening to see the quality and challenges that MLS presents. "I came with an open mind, but it was a really good experience," he says.
He says it's currently unclear what comes next for him. "That's the crazy thing about this world, you never know what will happen tommorow," he says. Engel is with Cincinnati on a loan but says he's really enjoyed his time and felt like he was a member of FC Cincinnati from the beginning. He had a good talk with Chris Albright and Pat Noonan and says he will see what they come up with. He's got a place back in England he will be heading back to right now, but says he's not sure what's going to happen at this moment.
No matter what, Lukas says he's enjoyed his time in Cincy and that he's really greatful for the oppertunity to play and be apart of the club. He did say, if nothing else, the loan oppertunity he was given shows that when provided the trust Noonan gave him, he can be a contributor.
Nick Hagglund - 10:55 a.m.
Nick Hagglund is next up, waiting now...
Nick Hagglund (cont.) - 11:05 a.m
Nick Hagglund provides us with some grander personal perspective in terms of how he goes into this offseason, which is healthy. So being able to go into 2026 healthy, and spend this offseason on general recovery while also doing so spending quality time with his family and really being able to enjoy that is a massive plus.
Another big take away from 2025 that he will remember is just how bonded the locker room was and how even when there was adversity the team stayed together. He kind of highlights how that really came through when there were so many injuries throughout the year everyone stuck together and rallied around each other.
Another theme of his chat is being proud of being able to come back and (not in his words) surprise with his performance. He didn't surprise himself, he felt like he played at the level he always does, but recognizes people may have not expeced him to get back to that level.
He closes by highlighting the self improvement he's looking for is finding ways for him to help the club as a whole improve...and not in repeating in Comeback Player of the Year any time soon.
Brian Anunga - 11:25 p.m.
I sat down with Brian Anunga for a quick 1-on-1 and he tells me how much he's enjoyed playing for FC Cincinnati and is very proud of the fact that he has been able to come in and be a contributor in his first season with the club.
"Cincinnati is a great club. Great people, great organization. So I would always be happy to be in a place like this. To play for a top team that operates like a top club and has top people, the perfect combo," Anunga says. "You always want to be in these kinds of environments."
A big contributor in 2025, Anunga's presence as a stabilizer this season given some of the injuries in the midfield, was a big reason FC Cincinnati was able to continue to find success this season.
"I take a lot of pride in being someone who is always ready," Anunga said of what he was personally most proud of this season. "Doesn't matter if it's 90 minutes or 5, I always want to compete and I'm always ready. So I was really happy I was able to help the team in winning."
More to come from this in the future.
Pavel Bucha - 11:52 a.m.
Also got a quick chat in with Pavel Bucha, who says he is feeling more settled into both the team and the community now at the end of his second season with FC Cincinnati. Bucha has spoken before of the challenges of adapting to a new culture like that in the United States, and moving so far from home, but two years later he is feeling both more comfortable and more empowered to be a leader.
He says that first season, and the start of this season was a real challenge for him given the birth of his son and the challenges new fatherhood can bring but as the year went on he and his family have felt far more comfortable than ever before and that has helped him be a better player and teammate.
I asked how that's helped his leadership and he laughed at the idea of him being a loud guy or a big talker but he has felt he's been able to "try and lead by my actions" in a better way.
More to come on this as I type quickly but here comes...
Miles Robinson - 11:58 a.m.
Miles Robinson says he will look back on the 2025 season and remember his teammates the most, and try to remember the positives and not the disappointing end.
He adds that, moving forward, its a little crazy to realize that this will be his 10th year in the league and that he still sees himself as a young player. He says that his chance to be a captain this season is one he's grateful for, and that growing as a leader is something he's both done a lot of this year but also something he needs to do alot more of moving forward.
The big picture goal for him is to continue to be himself, and to to feel confident in being himself and he's excited to be in a place that he feels empowered to do so.
12:13 p.m. - A short break
Sounds like we have about 20-25 minutes before our next man in the room, so I am going back and making some edits now and fixing my numerous typos thus far. Thank you for affording me some grace as we work through this whirlwind of a day!
12:35 p.m. - Ayoub Jabbari
After practicing his english a few times, Ayoub Jabbari sat down with me and said that he's really enjoyed his time with FC Cincinnati and feels like it has helped him grow a lot. He says this time has helped him understand the style, level and expectations of the club and that he's really motivated for next season.
Jabbari is on loan to FC Cincinnati from French club Grenoble so it is unclear what the future holds for him, but he says he's excited about the opportunity to continue to grow, build and impact the team.
1:10 p.m. - Kévin Denkey
Kévin Denkey sits down with us now, and he tells us the thing he will remember most about the 2025 season is the fans, the noise they brought, and the support they provided. He adds that a big area of growth for him this season has been his connection with his teammates and his ability to adapt to the changes MLS brings.
He says the conversations they are having today are positive, and he's positive, but he also says, "We all knew I can do better." He says he is going into this offseason challenging himself to do more next season because he feels he wasn't his best this year and wants to show he can do better.
"I want to win the Golden Boot," he says.
Adds that this offseason, he will need to train smart and rest well. Says he will rest when he needs to, but then when the time comes to train, he will train at his top.
1:26 p.m. - Samuel Gidi
Sami Gidi says his 2025 experience has been crazy, and what he'll remember most is the experience of coming into an exciting new place and contributing right away. "You kind of expect to have some time to come in and get settled but I just kind of didn't," Sami laughed. "I am very grateful to the staff, they made that easy for me, so I will just remember the time we had doing this."
More to come on him at a later time. Sitting down now with Ender.
1:35 p.m. - Ender Echenique
Ender Echenique also says that moving to Cincinnati this season created a crazy year in his life but says that he has been grateful for the move and is excited for what comes next with FCC. He says that when he initially made the move to Cincinnati he was very nervous but he feels like FCC have set him up for success and given him "no excuse" to not improve his game.
"They've taken great care of me. They helped me adapt, you know, anything, anything that I needed, it was just a matter of when it could be done," Ender says. "'I've only been here three or four months, and so for me the focus is just on continuing to grow across the board. I'm very excited, and makes me very happy to be coming back here next year, because, as I said, Cincinnati has all the tools for me to grow. There's no excuse."
He says he likes living in Cincinnati because he feels comfortable in it, even if its very different from Caracas.
1:51 p.m. - Gilberto Flores
Gilberto Flores says the goal for him moving forward is to put Cincinnati into the highest places possible and they didn't do that this year, so he says he will be working hard to continue that mission next season. On a personal level he says he feels very comfortable now in Cincinnati and that the fans inspire him to keep working hard.
The big goal Gilberto says he has for himself this offseason (and really moving forward long term) is continuing to learn English because he knows how valuable that is on the field. He says he wants to be a vocal leader but also just how to better communicate with his team on and off the field as that can help take his game to the next level. Says he feels like on the field right now his english is like 4 or 5 out of 10, but only a 2 or 3 off the field. He wants to make a big jump there this winter.
2:03 p.m. - Nearing the finish line
We are nearly at the end of the day now as we wait on perhaps only one or two more players for the group. It's been a long day but good to see so many different guys. We didn't get everyone (we never do) as this is a voluntary event but a really good chunk of guys spoke today and hopefully that provides some color as we go into the offseason.
We are still a few minutes away from our next appointment, so hold tight.
2:23 p.m. - Matt Miazga
Matt Miazga steps into the room to regretfully say he can't speak with us today, he has a family obligation he needs to head out for quickly because his meetings went long. He provided some times after the holidays when we can make up for the the time and chat. He shares briefly that he's feeling good and only has a little while left on his rehab. He will be sticking around Cincinnati to finish that before heading out for the holidays.
2:31 p.m. - Signing Off
That concludes the day of player interviews! Thank you for sticking around through this with me and I appreciate your readership! There will be plenty to come from today and in the coming weeks so keep checking back for new stories and web content.
Until then, Happy Holidays and All For Cincy