2021 MLS CUP: PORTLAND VS NEW YORK CITY

December 11, 2021

Ronny Deila

New York City FC

Postgame Press Conference

New York City FC 1, Portland 1

4-2 Penalties

THE MODERATOR: Could you give us your comments on leading the club to its MLS championship and give us your comments on the match.

RONNY DEILA: Thank you. The game was a very similar journey than the whole season's been. There's been so many ups and downs. But we have learned from our downs and we have also learned from our ups, and we are bonded more and more during the season.

Everything come together in the end, and what we have done in these playoffs and also the month before we come into the playoffs has been so impressive. I'm so proud of the boys. I'm so grateful to be the coach of this team.

And you see the honest work, how they deal with hard times during the game. They come back. How they support each other, give everything for the club and for each other. That was amazing, and they are winners now. They are winners, and that's going to be there forever.

Q. What was it like to give you the equalizer so close to the end of regular time, and how did you manage to get your players to rebound emotionally after that?

RONNY DEILA: That was, of course, really, really tough. I think we struggled the first half in extra time.

But in the second, we started to play more. That was the biggest challenge in the game that we stopped playing. We didn't get too much results when we go into the second half as well. We should keep the ball, cause them more problems. And we could do that, but we started to defend very early, and in the end, we get punished.

Just again, shows what kind of character is in the team when you come back from that and get through the two extra times, and then in the end, also win the penalty shootout in this stadium on the artificial in the weather they love to do, and the atmosphere was electric.

So belief and discipline and hard work, honest hard work is paying off, and that's great to see.

Q. There was a moment in this season where you guys had five games left and you were not in the playoff picture --

RONNY DEILA: I cannot hear what he's saying.

Q. Can you hear me at all?

RONNY DEILA: You're a little bit, come and go.

Q. How is this?

RONNY DEILA: It's better, I think.

Q. Okay. Let me try. There was a moment this season in October, you were down in Atlanta, you were down 1-0 and you were out of the playoff picture at that time with five games remaining. You scored a free kick goal at the death to tie that game up and you didn't lose a game from that point going forward. What was your mindset at the moment in time given the run of form that you were on and the struggles that you were having, and what have you made of the response throughout the rest of the season and the response today?

RONNY DEILA: I think this is more the New York City media and outside the whole situation, you feel that. And just judging the result, you understand that we had problems.

In my opinion, it was very, very clear reasons why we were not at our best. We had no consistency on the team. We had a lot of players in the center. Defenders were out at the Nashville team. We get red cards. We had a lot of tough away games, and we played a lot of games in a short period, so it's hard to turn things around.

But I knew if we just get the consistency in the defense and get everybody ready to play, that we can beat anybody. We have shown through the season. We have a difference to say something about it -- to say something what we did in the Yankee Stadium. We played away in the Red Bull Arena, a lot of those things. For me, it's like the media has to understand the big picture, but that's not easy, of course.

We knew what we can do, and then of course, the goal in Atlanta was important because you get a little bit of belief and confidence back again. And after that, we didn't look backwards, and just go and go and go.

Big, big credits to the leaders in the group. You know, Sean, Maxi, Maxime, Callens had an unbelievable season, James Alfredo stepped up unbelievable. Taty, you know, that central line has been amazing during the season, and when we get that right, we get points and we win football games. That's been consistently now. And even though we have lost Anton and Keaton on the way, players come in and perform, and that says something about the culture in the club.

Q. I think the thing that really stands out for me is what you have done on the road in these playoffs, playing some of your best football during the year where at times it was a struggle during the course of the year. Can you describe some of the things that improved and what went into it?

RONNY DEILA: We have a young team. That's very important to understand. All the players we have except for Alfredo Morales, we have added young players that has their career in front of them. And when you are struggling with consistency on the team because of different things, it puts a lot of pressure on the young players.

But having said that, there's no team in the 38, 39 years we have that has played us out. I can't remember one time, that one team was causing us a lot of trouble. We lost the games ourselves. And that gives a lot of confidence in the team of course. Even though we haven't played well, nobody has created more chances than us in the games.

So we knew that when we get things right, we are very hard to play against, and our defense has been top, top during the whole season. We have conceded little chances, and we have been very unlucky in the season as well. If you can see all the stats, easy to talk about that now. But in the end, if you keep believing and keep working hard and want to improve, you get what you deserve in the end. This team what they have done, they deserve to win the MLS this year and they did it. I am unbelievably proud and grateful to be a part of it.

Q. Towards the end of the first half, it seemed like Maxi was hurting and laboring with that calf. How close was he at halftime to being subbed out for injury and how good was it to see him contribute later on in the game in that shootout?

RONNY DEILA: I don't think that was anything he was thinking about. He will never go out. This is Maxi's game. He's been here for many years. If there one guy that has done unbelievable things for the team, it's Maxi.

Now he gets the big trophy, and he deserves it; what he has done for the league and the club has been amazing. There was not one thought in my mind that he's going to go off. When you play so many games and you come to the last point, everybody has pain somewhere. You have to deal with it. That's about character and determination and just fight. And the whole team did, Callens sub, things. Tayvon looked very tired in the end, but they stick in there, they did the job when Maxi was down. Now they have a month to prepare for a new season and the Champions League, so that's great.

Q. What's better: Stripping down to your underwear to avoid relegation, or stripping down to your underwear to win a championship?

RONNY DEILA: Of course, the last one. But at that time it was an important thing as well because we were struggling. We had a really young team and what we did was important at that time.

You have to celebrate victories and today was a big victory. I said maybe too much when I got hired here, but I don't regret that. That was a big moment. I will do that again if we keep on winning trophies.

Q. I wanted to ask you about two people in particular, Sean Johnson and James Sands. Sean has been a good goalkeeper over the years but this year he took his game to a new level. What did you see? And James plays like he's a veteran and seems like in the playoffs he took his game to a new level. What impressed you the most about James in the playoffs and especially today in the final?

RONNY DEILA: I think both of them have developed during the season. I think it was tough for Sean in the very first period to be captain. I think he thought a lot about it, how he's going to act and what's important and find out to it.

But the way he's stepped up the last months has been absolutely unbelievable. And for me, he's the big, big winner. He wins us this game in the end. And the way he speaks to the team; the way he goes in front every day, in training, and brings people together. And also when the big moments is coming, how he just stands out, time after time. He's a winner, a real winner, and is a leader.

He is a captain that the whole club should be really, really proud of.

And James, what can I say? He's been good the whole season. He can play every position on the pitch almost, from midfield and back. He has to sacrifice himself for the team, play right back in some games. He can play in the center, back, right, left. He has played midfield, he played three-back.

And also attitude, every day first into the training center, going last, do everything right all the time. Wants to achieve something, have ambitions. Unbelievably clever football player. And this is just the start of a big career for him as well.