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For the first time in nearly three years, Louisville City FC is poised to take the pitch under new leadership. 

The Danny Cruz era officially begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when the boys in purple host Birmingham Legion FC at Lynn Family Stadium in their second USL Championship game of the new campaign.

Formerly LouCity’s top assistant coach, Cruz has been appointed interim head coach of what has been the winningest team in American professional soccer since LouCity first kicked off in 2015. A managerial transition, Cruz said, doesn’t change the club’s goal of raising a trophy “whether it’s me or somebody else in the seat.”

LouCity will enter Saturday’s game fresh, having received a weekend off following its 2-0, season-opening victory April 24 over Atlanta United 2. Birmingham, meanwhile, comes in off a 1-0 defeat to Indy Eleven.

Saturday’s game will mark first of four regular season meetings between Central Division foes that last saw one another in May of 2019. That game ended in LouCity’s favor, with Sean Totsch burying a 90th-minute penalty kick in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. 

Interim head coach Danny Cruz says…

“I’m excited. I get to work with these guys every single day. They’ve been prepared all week, trained really well. I’m excited, I’m not nervous. I’ve certainly had a lot of moments in my career — both as a player and a coach — and for me it’s we have to go out and we have to win the game in front of our fans.”

Follow along…

• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter and Louisville City FC on Facebook. Also find us at louisvillecityfc on Instagram. Live stats can be found at www.loucity.com/match-center.

• On the WBKI-TV (The CW)/ESPN+ streaming call: Josh Eastern (play by play) and Devon Kerr (color).

• And for ESPN 680/105.7 on the radio: Jeff Greer and Casey Whitfield.

Notes to know

Shorthanded visitors: Birmingham has trended up in recent years with back-to-back postseason appearances. One key offseason addition, the reigning Golden Boot winner Junior Flemmings, will miss Saturday’s game while carrying over a suspension from 2020. Additionally, forward J.J. Williams will be out having received a red card in the Indy Elven game. But Birmingham should feature prolific scorer Nico Brett, who has tallied 41 goals over the last three seasons.

Fresh faces: Despite returning nine of 11 starters that led LouCity into last year’s playoffs, culminating with a sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Final appearance, the club rolled out a lineup with five fresh faces against Atlanta United 2. Midfielders Napo Matsoso and Niall McCabe, defenders Jonathan Gomez and Akil Watts along with goalkeeper Chris Hubbard all earned starts as the boys in purple opened the season on a winning note.

New in purple: Fans also got their first look at two more recent additions to the LouCity roster in the Atlanta game as forward Jimmy McLaughlin and midfielder Tyler Gibson played their first official minutes in purple. Subbing in the second half, when the club scored both its goals, they added a spark to the attack with Gibson completing 16 passes to McLaughlin’s 13.

PdP approved: In the past, midfielder and team captain Paolo DelPiccolo was known for a central role. He has moved up in the attack this season and immediately saw benefits, registering a brace in the Atlanta win having been on the right end of services in the 69th and 87th minutes. The performance earned the former University of Louisville standout USL Championship Player of the Week honors.

The perfect assist: Sixth-year LouCity veteran George Davis IV is excelling in his dual role as midfielder and team administrator. Davis IV showed he hasn’t missed a step on the field, playing a cross into the box shortly after subbing on in the Atlanta game that set up DelPiccolo’s second goal. Davis IV, also tasked with the squad’s day-to-day operations, leads the USL Championship all time in appearances with 234.

Gomez emerges: Outside back Jonathan Gomez is flashing the type of skill that has the 17-year-old on the radar of a number of European clubs. Making just his fourth start in purple, the defender was instrumental in maintaining LouCity’s clean sheet against Atlanta. He led LouCity in clearances with five and won seven of his duels. Gomez also played a clever ball in that led to Davis IV’s assist to DelPiccolo.

Bolstering the keepers: While Louisville native Chris Hubbard appears to have a hold on the No. 1 role between the post, LouCity has more depth going into this weekend. Parker Siegfried has returned to the club following a brief loan stint with Major League Soccer’s Sporting KC, which was in need of a second keeper amid a spate of injuries. Both Siegfried and Frenchman Simon Lefebvre signed with LouCity during the offseason to round out the corps.

In the stands: More fans will be able to experience Lynn Family Stadium this season with capacity restrictions recently increasing to 50%. A sellout crowd of 7,652 showed up for the Atlanta United 2 game despite a rainy evening. Last year, LouCity supporters served as a model while sports returned to play amid the pandemic. Safety protocols, including a mask mandate, will continue into 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium.

While many things have changed for Louisville City FC since its launch in 2015, one goal has remained constant: to compete for championships.

LouCity’s interim head coach, Danny Cruz, and team captain Paolo DelPiccolo echoed that expectation this week in their first meeting with the media since Cruz took over in his new capacity.

“Ultimately, the goal here is for us to continue the success,” Cruz said. “The goal here is to win a championship. That expectation doesn’t change here at Louisville City whether it’s me or somebody else in the seat.”

So it was no surprise when, rather than dwell on a change in leadership, the boys in purple laced up their boots and turned the focus toward their next game. A newly loaded Birmingham Legion FC squad will visit Lynn Family Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff.

“We have an unbelievable group of players in there,” said Cruz, who’s served on LouCity’s technical staff since 2018. “It’s tight-knit. They understand that at the end of the day, we have a job to do this weekend. I wouldn’t say there’s been a distraction whatsoever. At the end of the day, they come out to work to get better and implement our ideas.”

LouCity boasts a veteran-laden squad with 18 members of last year’s roster back for 2021. This also isn’t the first time many players have experienced a coaching change in season.

In 2018, DelPiccolo captained his team and served as a member of “The Triumvirate” — a trio of player-coaches that also included George Davis IV and Luke Spencer – after James O’Connor departed for MLS side Orlando City SC.

“A couple years ago, James left and a couple months after that the players left the management role and (John Hackworth) came in,” DelPiccolo said. “Now Danny’s in here, so we know what we have to do as players. We know the expectation and that’s all we can do is just do our jobs.

“We’ve been playing for Danny as well the last two years, and it’s fun to play for him. We’re excited to have him charge.”

While DelPiccolo and company officially relinquished their coaching duties years ago, the captain said that hasn’t stopped LouCity’s approach to self leadership.

“It doesn’t matter who the coach is. That’s our personality,” said DelPiccolo, who originally signed with the club in 2016. “That’s the age. That’s the experience in the locker room. They’re always going to take that leadership role.”

In Hackworth’s final game, LouCity posted a 2-0, season-opening victory over Atlanta United 2. The quest for a third star continues this weekend with 31 more fixtures to go.

“I understand the expectation here,” Cruz said. “I understand the success that was here before I got here and when we got here. And I take that to heart. I understand the responsibility. 

“Ultimately, how I got here is irrelevant. It’s how do I take this group forward? And that’s what I’m going to try to do every single day. It’s an opportunity for myself and these players every single day, for their own futures, to come out and give us the best that they can.”

The Danny Cruz era is underway at Louisville City FC, with the new interim head coach joining Thursday night’s Soccer City radio show, presented by Kentuckiana Toyota Dealers, to discuss the early days.

Cruz, LouCity’s top assistant dating back to the fall of 2018, has taken over a squad that includes most returning starters from last year and opened the season with a 2-0 victory over Atlanta United 2. The boys in purple are off Kentucky Derby weekend before hosting Birmingham Legion FC on May 8 at Lynn Family Stadium.

“I have a really good relationship with that locker room,” Cruz said. “I’ve been with them for quite a long time now here at this club. They’ve been nothing but supportive. It’s been a really good two days from an on-the-field perspective.

“And listen,  ultimately those relationships are what it’s about. I know for a fact that this group is going to get on the field this season and give me everything they have. It’s up to us collectively to continue to have success here.”

Hear Cruz’s full interview, beginning around the 16-minute mark, below: