ORLANDO, Fla — New York City FC’s MLS debut comes Sunday at fellow expansion side Orlando City SC. And the game is a pretty convincing statement about how far the league has come, with David Villa captaining the visitors, Kaka leading the hosts and a sellout crowd of over 62,000 at the Citrus Bowl (5 p.m., ESPN2).
“My grandpa used to say what starts well ends well. It’s important to start with a win,’’ said Villa, the 33-year-old striker who won a World Cup with Spain, a Champions League with Barcelona and now aims to being his winning ways to NYCFC.
NYCFC had made more than its share of headlines for the wrong reasons, most notably announcing Frank Lampard as their player when in reality he didn’t have a contract with the club, and won’t show up until this summer. But now they can concentrate on the games at hand.
If U.S. National Teamer Mix Diskerud and either Andrew Jacobson or raw youngster Kwadwo Poku can execute coach Jason Kreis’ preferred diamond formation, NYCFC can overcome a questionable defense sure to be tested by Kaka, the only Ballon d’Or winner in MLS history and the man Lampard once said was the only player he’d pay to watch.
“It’s going to be real quiet when we score, and once we win that game its going to be even more quiet,’’ midfielder Sebastian Velasquez said.
Orlando’s Adrian Heath hasn’t had to build a squad from scratch as Kreis and sporting director Claudio Reyna have, they have maintained the core from the USL club. But considering Orlando wants to attack and has a shaky defense as well, Villa and Miskerud should get some chances to attack.
The last NYCFC practice before the debut was uneventful except one positive nugget: Keeper Ryan Meara trained fully & is ahead of schedule. The Fordham product — on season-long loan from the crosstown rival Red Bulls — was considered a likely starter until suffering a torn meniscus.