Among the debuts made on opening day for FC Cincinnati was one by the club's newest Ecuadorian wingback, Bryan Ramirez. The 25-year-old wingback joined The Orange and Blue this offseason, making the jump out of his native land for the first coming from L.D.U Quito of Ecuadorian Serie A.
After a partial preseason with the club down in Clearwater, Florida, joining the team after his visa paperwork was confirmed, Ramirez made his club debut in the Concacaf Champions Cup against O&M FC in FCC’s match in the Dominican Republic. Three days later, he made his MLS and TQL Stadium debut and put forward an impressive display in front of his home fans, helping to fuel a 2-0 victory over Atlanta United.
In a 90 minute performance, Ramirez earned his first assist, completed over 90 percent of his passes and a match high 52 completed passes from open play, logged two key passes, a 100% completion rate on long passes from open play and was second on the team in balls played into the box with five – which was also top 20 in the league on matchweek one.
Fans, pundits and coaches all took notice as the performance garnered an unprompted and unmitigated praise from Head Coach Pat Noonan after the match on Saturday.
“Look at Bryan Ramirez. That's a player,” Noonan said of Ramirez enthusiastically from the postmatch press conference desk Saturday evening. “How he sees the game and how he moves for his teammates when we have the ball, how he anticipates plays defensively. He's very alert and engaged. He was another standout performer tonight.”
The assist off Hagglund's header also made Ramiriez just the second FC Cincinnati player in club history to earn an assist in their club MLS debut and the fourth in all competitions.
The Ecuadorian wingback – who has been called up to his senior national team on several occasions, even making the bench for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2025, but has yet to make an appearance for La Tricolor – has been a key contributor to a strong team offense that has started 2026, earning the assist on the corner kick that gave FCC its second goal of the night Saturday and sixth goal of the season across all competitions. While Ramirez only played the first half of the Concacaf Champions Cup match, his contributions have been noticeable as FC Cincinnati have become more dynamic in their attack holistically, and his partnerships with FCC attackers have been very clear.
“You’ve had two games now to see this group, but I think what you can see is they know how to work together, and it won't always be perfect, but I like the fight that they have. I like the desire they have to play together,” Noonan explained. “We've talked a lot in the offseason about how we can be more dynamic and how we can create more opportunities at goal, but controlled. It's not just to dump balls forward. There were plenty of moments where that happened tonight, but certainly you can be effective with it. But it's playing around. It's playing through, it's playing behind, it's recognizing the moments and what's the game presenting to you.”
Bryan Ramirez and FC Cincinnati are back in action this weekend as the club continues its MLS season after confirming their advancement in the Concacaf Champions Cup in midweek. The Orange and Blue hit the road for the first time in 2026 to visit Minnesota United FC on Saturday, February 28, at Allianz Field. They return home the following week for a home tilt with Toronto FC when Sunday Night Soccer comes to TQL Stadium on Sunday, March 8.
