New York City FC midfielder Maxi Moralez has confirmed the club’s objectives ahead of the new season.
Moralez, 34, is in his fifth season with the Boys in Blue and feels refreshed and recharged after spending the offseason with his family.
“It was great,” Moralez told the Club’s official website. “I spent it with my family. It’s always good to have this kind of break, to recharge, to be with family and friends. I’m recharged 100% to start the season off great. Hopefully we have a great year.”
The veteran midfielder is keen to have a big influence on the team in 2021 after seeing injury disrupt his form last season. Limited to just 875 minutes of regular season action in MLS, Moralez is determined to bring success to the Bronx during the next twelve months.
“The objectives are clear: to try to reach the final of the [MLS] cup, to try to qualify for the playoffs as high as possible, we also have the Open Cup coming up,” he said. “There are various objectives that we’re going to work for. We’re preparing for those, we’re having a great preseason so hopefully we start off on the right foot when the season starts.”
Ronny Deila and his staff have been putting the players through their paces in Orlando, and the hard running and ball work is nothing new to a seasoned pro like Moralez. That said, there were some new faces for Maxi to meet in the form of the academy players included in the traveling roster, and the playmaker was more than happy to welcome them.
“I think it’s great, the age of the younger guys,” Moralez said of the academy players that made up the traveling roster. “I think it’s a unique and important experience for them to take advantage of, and they’re doing a great job. I think it’s a good mix to have people with experience together with the younger guys.
“Hopefully soon we’ll see them part of the first team. They’re helping us a lot. The competition with the older guys is important too. Hopefully we’ll get more players soon too so we look forward to that. Hopefully when the league starts up in April, we’ll have a complete team to start a new year in the best way yet.”
New York City FC’s next preseason assignment will take place vs. Orlando City SC behind closed doors on Thursday but we will bring you some updates and a brief recap across our channels from the 12pm ET kickoff.
