An American Trilogy In The Middle Of New York City FC

As Richy Ledezma made his first Major League Soccer start for New York City against Nashville last weekend, he completed a trio of American midfielders that could have a big part to play in the club’s future success.

All three players are in the sights of the United States men’s national team selectors, but still somewhat blurred in the background as others continued to be chosen ahead of them.

As Ledezma, James Sands, and Keaton Parks step into this new-look midfield in New York, they have a chance to steer their club to success but also to force their way into national team selection in what is a hugely important four-year cycle for American soccer.

Sands is the player closest to the national team and has been called up for the upcoming friendly against Mexico this month, but inconsistent form in Scotland with Rangers saw him drop out of the picture ahead of last year’s World Cup.

His last national team appearance came in qualifying for that World Cup, against Honduras in September 2021.

A Rye, New York native, Sands came through the New York City academy before performances with the first team in MLS attracted interest from European teams.

He eventually made the move to Rangers on loan, and though it didn’t quite work out in Scotland he returns to New York an improved player for the experience.

Sands has settled right back into life at New York City, slotting into the deep area of midfield where ha can contribute to the defense and to attacking build-up.

Having played at center-back on occasion, Sands can use his experience in that position to support the backline from midfield, but at MLS level he’s too good a player to sit back for the whole game.

His ability to pass under pressure and progress the ball upfield makes him ideal for the deep-lying midfield position on the smaller fields of New York where technical ability is paramount.

Alongside Sands is another player who has spent time in Europe before returning to the United States to play a role with New York City.

Parks was born in Plano, Texas but spent much of his time as a youth player in Portugal.

He progressed through the ranks at Varzim before joining Benfica. There he made a handful of appearances for the senior side, but mostly appeared for their the Lisbon club’s B-team.

New York City signed him as part of its project in 2019, initially on loan, before making it permanent the following year. He has progressed to the point where he is now one of the team’s most important players.

Ledezma’s story isn’t too dissimilar to those of his American midfield teammates. Having grown up in Phoenix, Arizona, he was on the books at Real Salt Lake, but only ever made appearances for their reserve team, Real Monarchs.

He caught the eye on the international stage at youth level and was part of an impressive United States squad at the 2019 U20 World Cup in Poland.

This was enough to convince PSV Eindhoven to sign him, and though he continued to show fleeting promise in the Netherlands he never quite established himself in the first team.

New York City saw another opportunity to bring a talented American player back across the Atlantic, and the early signs have been promising.

Perhaps even more encouraging than the individual talent of these players is their potential to form a midfield trio that could be one of the best in the league.

The club and its head coach Nick Cushing got a first look at this combination against Nashville, and rather than looking like a recently formed midfield unit that might not be fully in sync, they looked like they had already been playing together for some time.

Even when the three weren’t combining directly, the balance their individual strengths brought to this team were obvious.

Sands, the deep, holding player with progressive passing and defensive awareness; Parks the 6-foot-3 box-to-box presence who powered home a header to open the scoring versus Nashville; and Ledezma, the playmaker further upfield behind the forwards, looking to unlock the opposition defence.

Ledezma is the least experienced of the trio at first-team level, but has already shown improvement as he becomes accustomed to the midfield battle that MLS can often present, even for the creative players.

Meanwhile, Parks and Sands just need to remain fit and available. If they play to their potential, they will become two of the best midfielders in the league.

Parks has had this potential for some time, but this feels like the first season in which he will really get a chance to show it on a regular basis.

He has already put in some impressive displays, and the goal against Nashville will help. He can count himself unlucky not to be joining Sands with the national team this month.

This could give Cushing a selection headache, especially when it comes to fitting in the recently re-signed Designated Player Santi Rodriquez alongside the trio, but this is a more than welcome problem for the head coach.

Using the Argentine further forward might be an option, and he could also choose between Rodriguez and Ledezma depending on the opponent, but both will want regular game time as the season progresses.

In this area of the field at least, it’s an exciting time for New York City, and USMNT fans should now be keeping an eye on this team, too.