New York City FC made history on Saturday as they captured their first ever MLS Cup trophy. The Boys in Blue played out an enthralling and dramatic game with Portland Timbers at Providence Park with the two sides unable to be separated after 120 minutes of action. That saw the contest settled by penalty kicks, with NYCFC winning 4-2.
Ronny Deila
On the game…
"The game was a very similar journey than the whole season's been. There's been so many ups and downs. But we have learned from our downs and we have also learned from our ups, and we are bonded more and more during the season. Everything came together in the end, and what we have done in these playoffs and also the month before we came into the playoffs has been so impressive. I'm so proud of the boys. I'm so grateful to be the coach of this team. And you see the honest work, how they deal with hard times during the game. They come back. How they support each other, give everything for the club and for each other. That was amazing, and they are winners now. They are winners, and that's going to be there forever."
On allowing the late goal and rebounding from it…
"That was, of course, really, really tough. I think we struggled the first half in extra time. But in the second, we started to play more. That was the biggest challenge in the game that we stopped playing. We are thinking too much of results. We should keep the ball, cause them more problems, and we could do that, but we started to defend very early, and in the end we get punished. Just again, it shows what kind of character is in the team when you come back from that and get through the two extra times, and then in the end, also win the penalty shootout in this stadium on the artificial [field] in the weather they love, and the atmosphere was electric. So belief and discipline and hard work, honest hard work is paying off, and that's great to see."
On the run of the team since October…
"I think this is more the New York City media and outside the whole situation, you feel that. And just judging the result, you understand that we had problems. In my opinion, it was very, very clear reasons why we were not at our best. We had no consistency in the team. We had a lot of central defenders out with their national teams. We get red cards. We had a lot of tough away games, and we played a lot of games in a short period, so it's hard to turn things around. But I knew if we just get the consistency in the defense and get everybody ready to play, that we can beat anybody. For me, it's like the media has to understand the big picture, but that's not easy, of course. We knew what we can do, and then of course, the goal in Atlanta was important because you get a little bit of belief and confidence backwards. After that, we didn't look backwards, and just go and go and go.
“Big, big credits to the leaders in the group. You know, Sean [Johnson], Maxi [Moralez], Maxime [Chanot], [Alexander] Callens had an unbelievable season, James [Sands], Alfredo [Morales] stepped up unbelievable. Taty, you know, that central line has been amazing during the season, and when we get that right, we get points and we win football games. That's been consistently now. And even though we have lost Anton [Tinnerholm] and Keaton [Parks] on the way, players come in and perform, and that says something about the culture in the club.”
On winning on the road in the playoffs…
"We have a young team. That's very important to understand. All the players we have except for Alfredo Morales, we have added young players that has their career in front of them. And when you are struggling with consistency on the team because of different things, it puts a lot of pressure on the young players. But having said that, there's no team in the 38, 39 games we have that has outplayed us. I can't remember one time, that one team was causing us a lot of trouble. We lost the games ourselves. And that gives a lot of confidence in the team of course.
“Even though we haven't played well, nobody has created more chances than us in the games. So we knew that when we get things right, we are very hard to play against, and our defense has been top, top during the whole season. We have conceded little chances, and we have been very unlucky in the season as well. If you can see all the stats, easy to talk about that now. But in the end, if you keep believing and keep working hard and want to improve, you get what you deserve in the end. This team what they have done, they deserve to win the MLS this year and they did it. I am unbelievably proud and grateful to be a part of it.”
On if Maxi Moralez was injured, and his finishing the game…
"I don't think that was anything he was thinking about. He will never go out. This is Maxi's game. He's been here for many years. If there one guy that has done unbelievable things for the team, it's Maxi.
“Now he gets the big trophy, and he deserves it; what he has done for the league and the club has been amazing. There was not one thought in my mind that he's going to go off. When you play so many games and you come to the last point, everybody has pain somewhere. You have to deal with it. That's about character and determination and just fight. And the whole team did. Tayvon looked very tired in the end, but they stick in there, they did the job when Maxi was down. Now they have a month to prepare for a new season and the Champions League, so that's great.”
On goalkeeper Sean Johnson and midfielder James Sands…
“I think both of them have developed during the season. I think it was tough for Sean in the very first period to be captain. I think he thought a lot about it, how he's going to act and what's important and find out to it. But the way he's stepped up the last months has been absolutely unbelievable. And for me, he's the big, big winner. He wins us this game in the end. And the way he speaks to the team; the way he goes in front every day, in training, and brings people together. And also when the big moments is coming, how he just stands out, time after time. He's a winner, a real winner, and is a leader.
“He is a captain that the whole club should be really, really proud of. And James, what can I say? He's been good the whole season. He can play every position on the pitch almost, from midfield and back. He has to sacrifice himself for the team, play right back in some games. He can play in the center, back, right, left. He has played midfield, he played three-back. And also attitude, every day first into the training center, going last, do everything right all the time. Unbelievably clever football player. And this is just the start of a big career for him as well.”
Sean Johnson
On winning a championship after 321 league games played in MLS…
“It feels unbelievable to be able to call ourselves champions. You know, what a ride so far. This journey was crazy this year. So many ups, so many downs, and we talked amongst ourselves before the game and said this is a massive opportunity to make it all worth it, and this is what we live for, these moments. To be the MVP of the finals means the world, but it means so much more to lift the Cup for this club.”
On rebounding from the late goal, and the ensuing penalty shootout…
"I think credit to Portland. They made it a game the entire time, over the course of the 90 minutes, extra time, they were great to score right there at the end and make it a game. Just wanted to make sure that we stayed level. You know, we had been in that position before. I told the guys we had the experience, not to panic, not to get down on ourselves because there's more of an opportunity to go for it and win the game. And no one said it would be easy. It's been difficult, but that's how it should be to win a championship and to triumph in going through so much adversity.
“Yeah, that's what it took to win this game. The penalty shootout, the only insight is that I was doing my best to make a save for the team. Happened to make two. The guys made two, and yeah, it feels good to be a champion."
On serving as captain in his first season…
"You said those words [mentality and character]. One you left out was family, and that's what we emphasized all year, the togetherness with this group. Our fans, our fans are incredible, traveling 2000-plus -- six hours across the country, we heard them in full force tonight. They spurred us on in extra time, PK shootout to go for it and win it. Yeah, that's something that we can be proud of, showing up together and be proud of and ultimately that's what won us the Cup.
Valentín Castellenaos
On returning to the team for MLS Cup, and coming back from the late equalizer…
“I was very happy to be back with this team. I missed out on the previous game but this is a team effort. It's not just me. It's 70 people, not just me, and the people on the field. It's the staff members and everyone and all of our supporters and we are really happy to be here in this position.
On Portland's scoring at the (94th) minute…
“It was tough for the team. We were playing really well but obviously we respect Portland and they are a very tough rival, and we were playing at their home. We had a couple of chances ourselves and then PK is just all luck, so I’m happy it went our way and we were able to take advantage of the situation and now we're here.”
On any pressure during the penalty shootout…
“I don't think the pressure was really there. Obviously we both played a really good game. It turned out that we were going to shoot the PKs and whatever happened, happened. I think they were under a little bit more pressure being they were at home playing in front of their fans. And obviously we have Sean [Johnson]. He's a great goalkeeper and he made two great saves. He's probably been the best goalkeeper all season. That's why we're here now, and we'll take this victory and we'll celebrate and then we'll cool off a little bit and see what the future brings.”
On sharing the victory with Maxi Moralez…
“It was just pure emotion. He's a very important player for the club on and off the field. He's been here for a number of years. We have a good relationship and we share a lot of moments. We love soccer the same way, when we win, when we lose. And we just told each other that we are both MVPs to this team. We came here to make history and give the club its first star, and we were able to do that, and it's a beautiful moment that we were together and hopefully there's many more to come.”
James Sands
On the play of goalkeeper Sean Johnson…
"I think as his teammate, and our whole team just feels so confident going into shootouts when we have him that he's always going to make a play and make a big save, and in big moments, he's just clutch. I think we felt confident going into the penalties, and Sean is a big reason why we made it this far in the season. I'm happy to see him doing well, and in the national team, as well."
On the form of the team down the stretch…
“I think it certainly did. We are a team in form, and the team had a lot of momentum. I think we had confidence going into the final, and I thought we all believed we could get it done. I think if you look at the time during the season when we dropped out of the playoffs, the six games after that were all playoff games for us. So we've been playing high-pressure, high-intensity games for two months now. I think it showed today; that we were able to stay calm and keep composed.”
On the leadership of Sean Johnson as captain and playing together on the U.S. national team…
"Sean did step up towards the end of the season. We had that bad stretch of games, and he's been in the League a long time, he was just telling us to keep calm, and we'd get through it if we just kept working together and work hard for each other. Then I think the second part of your question, being in the Gold Cup Final definitely helped me for this. Finals are always different because of the intensity it and the pressure. And having been through it once during the summer, I think it really served me well today, and I was happy with the way I played for sure."
Alfredo Morales
On the late equalizing goal and coming back from it…
"In the first moment, it's devastating. We deserved to win, but we gave up a goal -- that's how it is. This is soccer. You have to get up again and stick together, be calm and do your job. Just keep on going. We struggled for a few minutes, we are only human beings, but this group is special. We stuck together and we made it."
On the strength of the team…
"Everybody is important, everybody who works for us, the staff, the coaches, everybody is important here. We really believe it, and this group is special. We just deserve it. We just deserve it. I have no words for this team. It's a privilege to be a part of this team. It's just amazing; the work we put in the whole year. We had our ups and downs, but like I said, we stuck together. We went all the way. Give credit to everybody, and like I said, it's just a privilege to be a part of this team."
On the way the game played out…
"We always talk about before the game that we have to stick to the game plan. Doesn't matter if we score. Doesn't matter if we concede a goal. Doesn't matter if they score in the last second. It's not about this; it's about executing our game plan, be organized, do what we do, and do what makes us who we are. It's just about getting up and being calm, like I said before, maybe take a deep breath. Just we wanted to win this game, and we wanted to win this game for the fans, for the city, for us, and we made it. That's it."
Maxime Chanot
On winning MLS Cup and what it means for New York City…
"It's just like a great achievement. So happy and so proud for the performance we have. So happy for the fans and everybody who works at the club, and the city, it's been such a long time for a Major League won anything in New York. To bring back the Cup to New York is something very, very special."
