NYCFC has the maximum three designated players on their roster right now. David Villa has been class as always; Furthermore, Maxi Moralez arrived in the winter and has exceeded expectations. Andrea Pirlo has been poor, however, and is bringing his fellow DPs down— given that MLS only allows three such players, Pirlo still effectively limits New York City as he rides the bench, knee injury or otherwise. That’s worth illustrating.
I decided to examine the DPs in a three part series, with each article focusing on either offense, defense, and passing. This series will juxtapose the NYCFC designated players against those of the rest of the league.