New York City FC Head Coach Ronny Deila believes winning MLS Cup would be one of the biggest achievements of his career.
The Norwegian tactician arrived at NYCFC after a successful coaching career in Europe with the likes of Stromsgodset and Scottish giants Celtic. He enjoyed league success with both clubs, and that afforded him the opportunity to move to New York in January 2020.
Reflecting on his journey with the Boys in Blue, Deila expressed the belief that he has become a better coach during that time, and that an MLS Cup win on Saturday against Portland Timbers would be one of his crowning achievements in the game.
“I always had a desire to be a coach in the U.S. to experience the country, experience the league,” he said. “When you get an opportunity to also come to New York City Football Club it’s a special place. In my mind, there was no doubt when that opportunity was coming. When I see it now two years later there’s been a lot of things going on with COVID and different things, but it’s been an amazing two years. I’ve learned a lot about myself, I’ve learned a lot about football, I’ve learned a lot about the U.S. and the Club and MLS. I’m a better coach than I was two years ago and that’s always my goal.
"For me personally to win this would be one of the biggest things I’ve ever achieved because it’s so tough to do it here. It’s 28 teams competing on the same economic level. You have to get the most out of what you have and that’s a big honor if we can achieve that on Saturday."
NYCFC will meet the Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday at 3:00PM EST to decide the winner of the 2021 MLS Cup. City engineered their spot in the final by overcoming Atlanta United, New England Revolution, and Philadelphia Union to win the Eastern Conference, and it was in those games that Deila felt he saw a calmness from his players that he thinks will bode well for Saturday's clash.
“We are excited of course,” he said. “We’ve traveled well, we’ve prepared, and we will do everything in our power to win and take the trophy home to New York. That’s our goal. I think it’s been not only one week but it’s been cup finals for two months so I feel it’s just another game in a long period and we’ve gone unbeaten eight games. That’s what is great with this group; I think we’ve been very calm all the time.
“I haven’t felt that we’ve played the big games I’ve felt that we get ourselves ready and we perform and we do it together. It’s about our performance and we have that confidence. We know if we perform well we’re beating anybody, and that’s something the teams playing against us know. We’ve shown that over and over again over a long time. When you have bad periods it’s important to have fun and laugh. When you’re winning you have to keep the momentum, keep enjoying being together."
