Ready for Kick-off

It’s soccer city in Memphis as 901 FC takes to the field.

by

When the first week of practice kicked off in early February, the Memphis 901 FC players at AutoZone Park may as well have been greeted by a giant, neon-lit “Welcome to Memphis” sign. Temperatures fluctuated between bright, summeresque mornings and overcast days sinking down to the low 30s. But no one said being an expansion team would be easy, and the entire 901 FC organization has tackled every challenge in its path in preparation for the season opener on March 9th.

It’s no exaggeration to say that soccer culture is booming in America. ESPN, NBCSports, Bleacher Report, and many other services have been vying for coverage rights for international leagues from places like England, Spain, and Italy. While football has been the traditional juggernaut of the South, cities like Atlanta, which quickly embraced its own professional soccer team, show that there’s a huge appetite for the sport. Memphis is no exception; last December, NBC tweeted viewership statistics for a match between Chelsea and Manchester City, two of the top teams in England’s highest level of soccer, the Barclays Premier League. Out of all U.S. cities, Memphis had the second highest market share among viewers.

Add prominent soccer bars like The Brass Door and Celtic Crossing, the Memphis branch of the U.S. soccer Men’s National Team fan group, the American Outlaws, and numerous grassroots pick-up efforts, and it’s easy to see that Memphis has been clamoring for a soccer outlet. Two members of the Redbirds ownership group were happy to oblige.

Peter Freund and Craig Unger are part of Trinity Sports Holdings, whose portfolio includes interests in the New York Yankees, Memphis Redbirds, 901 FC, and recently Dagenham & Redbridge FC, a soccer club in East London. Since the Redbirds season ended last year, the two have been working hard to ensure that all the necessary infrastructure is in place for a soccer team. Unger, the president of 901 FC, started by hiring sporting director Andrew Bell, a veteran of the United Soccer League (USL). “I think he’s been around the league for 20 years,” says Unger. “He knows all the ins and outs and the players.” Bell’s resume includes a long tenure at Charleston Battery, who under his stewardship won the USL Championship in 2012. 

Even though 901 FC is a fledgling team, Unger didn’t bring soccer to Memphis just to make up the numbers. “We want to win the USL Championship,” says Unger. “Crazier things can happen, even in year one. But our immediate goal is to reach the playoffs.” In addition to a regular league season, USL teams are also entered in the U.S. Open Cup, which will occasionally see clashes with Major League Soccer (MLS) franchises, the highest level of the sport in America. A long-term aim of 901 FC is to be able to compete toe-to-toe with MLS sides. 

While 901 FC is aiming high from a sporting perspective, leadership wants the team to be accessible and ingrained in Memphis. In soccer, players tend to stick around longer than other conventional American sports. Unger thinks that’s an advantage when it comes to building ties with the community. “They’ll all be Downtown, they’re going to be out places, out at restaurants,” says Unger. “We’ll be traveling for games, but the players will be in Memphis maybe five or six days out of the week. And I think creating that connection with the community and really making this the city’s team is going to be paramount to our success.” Luckily for 901 FC, a ready-made Memphis connection was eager to be a part of the franchise.

Colloquially known as “Superman” or “Captain America” after his heroics for the United States at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Tim Howard has called Memphis home since the early 2000s. The goalkeeper, who plans to retire at the end of his upcoming MLS season with the Colorado Rapids, heard about talks for a Memphis team early on and approached Freund about becoming a part-owner. Howard’s name alone brings instant credibility to the organization, not to mention his extensive experience at the highest level of international soccer with the U.S. national team and English powerhouses Manchester United and Everton.

Howard agrees that Memphis is ready to embrace its own professional soccer organization. “It’s special to me, but more than anything, it’s special to the city of Memphis,” says Howard. “I’ve been here for 15 years now, and it’s a city that’s hungry for it. From the feedback I got, from Midtown, Downtown, East Memphis, people who aren’t even necessarily soccer fans are excited for the show we’re going to put on.”

As a part-owner, Howard is hands-on with many aspects of the team. Even while balancing those administrative duties with a full-time playing career, he says there are “enough hours in the day” to fulfill his commitments to both Memphis and Colorado. He is always on the phone discussing player recruitment or contacting agents, is involved with the hiring process with Unger, and pays attention to other details like getting the stadium soccer-ready, which includes locker room conversion or making sure the playing surface is up to standard. It’s certainly a big switch to go from playing regularly to administering a team, but Howard is fully prepared for it. “It’s been a good ride, “ he says, “21 years or so, and that’s why I’ve made this decision. I’m ready to put on a suit, get in the director’s box, and watch as we build this team from the ground up.”

Finding the right coaching staff goes a long way to ensuring success, and the candidate chosen for the position has his own history with Howard. Tim Mulqueen showed his eye for talent when he discovered the United States goalkeeper at a clinic in New Jersey and has been a mentor ever since. Howard believes the coach has the right mentality to make the team successful in its first season. “Tim is tough, a great man-manager, and knows soccer inside and out,” Howard says. “He’s the man we entrusted to lead the charge, and I don’t think there’s anyone better to have that responsibility.” 

As coach of an expansion team, Mulqueen is essentially working with a group of strangers for the first time. As a veteran of the U.S. soccer world, the challenge is exciting rather than daunting, and the players are already buying in. “Their effort, their commitment to getting better and getting to know each other has been tremendous,” says Mulqueen. “We’re a good team, and with the effort and commitment the guys are putting in, we can’t help but get better every day.”

Out on the AutoZone Park field, the players look hungry and sharp. At an early February practice, despite having trained together for only a few days, there are already good signs of chemistry. Mulqueen calls defense the “cornerstone” of a good team, and early practices focused on finding the right defensive shape. “What we don’t want to do is give up chances,” says Mulqueen. “As long as we’re organized defensively, then we can allow our free-flowing, attacking soccer plan. We have enough talented players that we’re going to create chances [to score]. We want to capture the ball as quickly as possible, and then enjoy it. I’m an aggressive person by nature, and I want my players to be bold, be aggressive, and to have confidence and be willing to take risks.”

The playing squad that Mulqueen and 901 FC have assembled is diverse. Triston Hodge and Leston Paul played for the Trinidad & Tobago team that eliminated the U.S. National Team from World Cup qualifiers in 2017. Heviel Cordovés defected from Cuba in 2012 to play professionally in the states. And Louis Bennett II spent time playing abroad in Cyprus and the Czech Republic. To tie everyone together, Mulqueen named veteran Marc Burch as team captain. Burch, who turned down offers from MLS to play for Memphis, is ready to lead the team. “I’ve learned from a lot of great players and coaches. I think I’ve been a sponge,” says Burch. “And I’m in a place where I can share it with others. The guys are willing to learn, willing to listen and get better.” A defender, Burch played 234 games over 13 seasons in MLS, winning an MLS Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup during his career.

As captain, Burch wants to set an example on the field for the rest of his teammates. “I want the guys to see what I’m doing and build on that,” says Burch. “They’re aspiring to do what I’ve done, which is play professionally for a long time, so I think my ability to be on the field doing what I do best is a great way to lead.” Like the rest of the organization, Burch is targeting an appearance in the playoffs at the end of the season. That, he says, is the best way to honor the fans that are excited about the team.

When the Tampa Bay Rowdies come to Memphis for 901 FC’s season opener, the stadium will be ready for soccer. The AutoZone Park infield will be fully converted to a soccer pitch, and fans will be right on top of the action. In comparison, even some MLS teams don’t have dedicated soccer stadiums. “When creating the experience here, our goal was to make sure that we had the field as close as possible to the fans,” says Unger. “When you look at facilities in Europe and the experience we have here, the fans are right on top of the game. And, that’s part of the allure of it.” 

With opening day, March 9th, fast approaching, the team has been preparing through exhibition matches against the University of Memphis and Christian Brothers University. Behind the scenes, Unger has long been in contact with fan groups to drum up excitement for the opener, and everyone is anxious to get the season started. “Now, it’s on us to put a quality product on the field and create a quality experience,” says Unger. 

If you look at the recent excitement around Penny Hardaway at the University of Memphis or the way the Grizzlies have meshed with the community, it’s clear that Bluff City takes its sports seriously. 901 FC’s competitive drive both on the field and in the front office makes it well poised for success in its opening season. Under the lights at AutoZone Park, set against the backdrop of Downtown, expect 901 FC to show the soccer world that Memphis can kick it with the best of them.