When Ronny Deila joined the MLS in January and took over as head coach of the Western Conference side NYCFC, he probably did take into account that he’ll be faced with some challenges and surprises. However nothing prepared him, or the rest of us for what is now happening with Major League Soccer in the US, or with sports and any other aspect of life.
In preparation for talks to the press during what was supposed to be the peak of the MLS 2020 season, the new NYCFC boos didn’t prepare to answer questions about what he’s doing at home with all of his spare time, when will Major League Soccer come out of suspension, and about the crazy notion of playing in an empty stadium with no fans.
But nowadays when truth is crazier than fiction, Deila spoke to reporters out of isolation and shared his views the importance of fans, safety and more.
Deila started his professional soccer career in his home country of Norway, playing as a defender for several of the country’s top teams as a defender. In 2005 he began his soccer-management career for Norwegian teams, where he won with his team Sromsgodset the Norwegian Cup and the Norwegian League title. Delia then moved to the Scottish Premiership to manage Celtic. He won with Celtic the Scottish Premiership twice, as well as the Scottish League Cup two times as well.
In January of this year he joined Major League Soccer in the US and took the job of head coach for NYCFC which is owned by the City Football Group, owning several soccer clubs around the world, including English Premier League Manchester City.
Starting with New York City Football Club in the 2020 preseason, the learning curve was pretty steep, and in the very short stint NYCFC had in the MLS regular season, the team lost both season games at a 1-0 score to Columbus Crew SC on the first week of March, and then to Toronto FC on the following week.
But these were very early days to determine or predict anything about New York City FC’s performance under Deila, or about the Major League Soccer 2020 season in general.
Sadly for Deila, NYFCF and the rest of Major League Soccer, going back to soccer business is going to take even longer now, with the MLS releasing a statement saying now that the previous target return date of May 10th is “extremely unlikely”. The MLS did not give any alternative date, and a training moratorium was placed on all Major League Soccer clubs until April 24th.
There were some optimistic voices in the MLS in previous weeks that still thought there will be a full season played in 2020. However now reality is starting to settle in, and like other soccer leagues around the world, Major League Soccer is starting to consider new plans and options for resuming the season.
When it comes to Ronny Deila, he is taking the practical approach and accepts that the MLS should possibly come back to play in empty stadiums, but still notes the importance of the fans. “For me, we play football because of the fans,” said Deila on a video interview. “We love the game, but it’s something special when you have the fans there. It will be awkward to play without them, but it wil be a new experience.”
About the proposition of playing behind closed doors, as it is now being considered by many in the MLS including Commissioner Don Garber, Deila agrees with that approach. “Safety is the most important thing,” added Deila. “We talk about sports and culture, but to stay alive is most important and for people to stay safe.” So accepting the new soccer reality he said: “we we’ll make the best of the situation.”
During the shutdown, Deila says he has time to catch up on videos and game footage from NYCFC’s history, and to learn more about the MLS club’s style of play. “To have this opportunity is really, really good,” he said.
Last season was the best year so far for NYCFC since joining Major League Soccer in 2015. The club finished atop the MLS Eastern Conference with a club-record of 64 points. So Deila is grateful for the opportunity he has to learn more. “I know everything about last season, It’s important to be very concrete when you talk about the team…I’ve never been more prepared to take over a team than right now.”
