The French coach, the Spanish striker, the Italian playmaker and the American goalkeeper all agree on this: New York City F.C. will get better at communication, and defending, and everything else, as the season goes on.
Not that last week’s season opener in Chicago was anything to run from: N.Y.C.F.C. started the season with a victory, which was an improvement on last season’s inaugural game. And the team produced four goals for its new French coach, Patrick Vieira, none of them scored by that Spanish striker, David Villa, or that Italian playmaker, Andrea Pirlo.
The problems were mostly at the other end of the field, where a leaky and makeshift defense surrendered three goals. But Vieira and goalkeeper Josh Saunders assured fans last week that those errors can be fixed.
“It’s a process,” said Saunders, whose four-man back line included three newcomers to the team. “First game, we got a win out of it, away from home, which is very difficult.”
