NYCFC: Swirling rumors impacted NYCFC in loss to Philadelphia

Things are getting crazy for NYCFC. Over the past few days, rumors of David Villa retiring and Jesus Medina being sold have been swirling opening up doubt about the near future.

The retirement rumor is not the biggest of surprises. Villa’s had an injury plagued year and at age 36, the wheels just don’t spin like they used to. The first ever NYCFC player ever, Villa, will likely join the front office of the team upon his retirement.

Jesus Medina on the other hand, may be heading to the French club OGC Nice. This is home to former manager, Patrick Viera. NYCFC would receive about $7.5 million for the Paraguayan.

Circling back to Villa’s retirement, when that day happens, it will be as bittersweet as it gets. Here’s the face of soccer in New York City since the inception of the team.

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Seeing him walk off the Yankee Stadium field, supporter’s section singing his praise will truly be the end of an era. If and when that all comes to fruition.

However, with all these bittersweet moments and rumors swirling, there is still soccer left to be played and all this news coming at once has seemed to hurt NYC as they dropped an integral match vs the rival Union.

Here is why they truly lost:

The Boy’s in Blue gear up for one of the biggest matches of the season on Wednesday when the Hudson River Derby comes to Yankee Stadium as they try to take down the Red Bulls there again.

However, on Saturday night,  NYCFC went down to Philadelphia, to play against the Union. And boy, did New York put up a stinker.

This is a game that NYCFC had to capitalize on. Philadelphia is a solid squad, but with the top of the Eastern Conference as close as it is, NYCFC needed to come out of there with at least one point to keep pace in their quest for their first ever shield.

NYCFC’s best chance came in the first two minutes, when an impressively laid dummy ball, slipped through to Villa. Villa carried the ball up 18, laid it off for Maxi Morales, who volleyed a beautiful strike. Keeper Andre Blake steered away the shot, a truly remarkable save.

Blake somewhat redeemed himself for Villa’s 50 yard chip shot, a season ago.

NYCFC didn’t seem all that lively throughout the game, and it showed. A slow first half followed by great play from Philadelphia in the final period, especially that second goal by Brazilian Ilsinho Jr.

This goal is certainly in the running for the goal of the day across the league this week. The finish buried the hatchet in New York’s hopes.

However, the day hit the low point for NYCFC, when Ronald Matarrita received a red card for a violent tackle, during stoppage time of a game that was all but over. The foul was unacceptable, and showed a malicious side of Matarrita.

Medina’s hamstring injury put the cherry on top of a miserable afternoon in Philadelphia. Domenec Torrent, his squad, and City faithful must rebound for Wednesday’s match-up vs. the Red Bulls.

NYCFC really could have used a win in this match to show everyone that the rumors and pending exits are not going to be a problem. However, it seems like they are going to be.

Even a few days after the match, the vibe around NYCFC feels different. For the short-term, NYCFC needs to focus on beating the Red Bulls and staying alive in the Shield race.

Because if all these departures do indeed happen, the boys in blue are going to have to replace these players next season. That is no easy task.