Brenner & FC Cincinnati savor shock return: "I feel at home" | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

It was perhaps the most shocking late twist in the MLS summer transfer window.

Seemingly out of nowhere, FC Cincinnati swung an 11th-hour deal to bring their former striker Brenner back to TQL Stadium on loan from Udinese, a potent yet puzzling reinforcement for the Knifey Lions’ trophy push.

While his $11 million-plus transfer to the Italian Serie A side ranks as Cincy’s club-record outbound fee, the Brazilian did not endear himself to the club or their fans on his way out in 2023.

Frustrated by a rough start to his MLS experience under FCC’s previous technical staff, Brenner had previously requested a return to his homeland, then pushed hard – beyond the boundaries of professionalism, to some – for a move to Europe even as the club was climbing from wooden-spoon punchline into the perennial contender they are today.

“He essentially sulked his way out of town,” wrote one Cincy supporter in an online comment at the time of his exit. General manager Chris Albright was perceived to be putting it mildly when he used the term “immature” regarding the then-22-year-old’s comportment.

Back in Orange & Blue

Two years on, the picture has changed dramatically – though Brenner, who bagged 27 goals and eight assists in 70 matches in his first stint, has picked up where he left off on the pitch, scoring three times in three starts since his return, a timely shot in the arm just when FCC’s Supporters’ Shield hopes appeared to be dimming.

The path to reconciliation was shorter and straighter than you’d expect.

“Just last summer he sent me a nice note, and I sent him a nice note back,” explained Albright to MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. “As far as I was concerned, that was over. He's a really good player, he's a really good kid – he always was a really good kid, and he’s certainly matured a lot. And we're happy to have him back. He's super talented, and we're hoping he can help us win something.”

A video chat among the main protagonists sealed the reconciliation.

“We needed to kind of bury the hatchet a final time and make sure that everybody on the call was in it for the right reasons. And it was great,” said Albright. “It was great to see him. Big smile, we exchanged some jokes about stuff that happened in the past, and we all had a laugh, and I think after that call, felt very comfortable moving forward.”

WATCH: Brenner nets first goal in Cincinnati return!

European experience

Brenner had long hungered for a run at one of the world’s elite leagues, and helping him get there was part of the pitch made by Cincy in the first place. He felt he had to chase that chance, especially after English Premier League side Nottingham Forest made a preliminary offer to FCC a few months before the Udinese deal came together.

“I wasn’t in a hurry, I just had a dream,” he told MLSsoccer.com, in Spanish, of his quest for Europe. “At first, I was very happy in Cincinnati in 2022. We played well and reached the playoffs the first year. The second year, in January, I got the offer of my dreams from the Premier League. I wanted to leave, I wanted to have new professional challenges. For me, it was important to return to the Brazilian national team.

“It was a very good experience, I enjoyed it a lot.”

Known for their scouting expertise, Udinese have elevated and sold on talents like current Inter Miami star Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Sánchez and Juan Cuadrado, with regularity over the years. Brenner’s stint in Italy’s northeast corner began encouragingly. Yet the trials and tribulations of the Serie A pressure cooker, multiplied by the death of a loved one back home, eventually prompted some introspection.

“I trained very well at first, but it got difficult because I got injured before [getting a chance] to play,” he explained. “I was out for six to seven months, then I returned midway through everything: life, training sessions, everything. The first year was difficult.

“The second year, I started well, I started playing. Life was calm, except for a problem in Brazil. At the end of the year, I lost my grandfather. Personally, it was difficult.”

Home sweet home

Brenner played regularly for Le Zebrette at the start of the 2024-25 campaign, tallying 2g/2a across league and cup action. Yet by the new year, he’d fallen out of favor with manager Kosta Runjaić and didn’t even make a first-team matchday squad across the second half of the season as Udinese finished mid-table.

It all cast his Ohio chapter in a new light.

“I needed to go back to a place where I felt at home, where I felt people’s affection,” reflected Brenner. “I get that in Cincy from the fans, the staff, the whole club.”

Defiantly proud of their slept-on city and its sports culture, the Garys faithful make TQL one of MLS’s loudest, most colorful venues, and the organization itself has earned a reputation around the league for stout investment and a focus on player care.

“I get it, as a player. But I think we do a pretty good job of taking care of these guys and taking care of their families and the infrastructure, and I think we coach really well,” said Albright. “Sometimes when you're always chasing something, it is tough to see, to kind of look around and know how good you have it, and what a winning environment looks like. And we're proud that we've built that.

“It's a great city. It's a great fan base.”

Brenner discovered that the door was open right from the very top, starting with FCC president and co-CEO Jeff Berding. And he made clear his desire to seal the move, giving up a chunk of his wages to ensure the late-breaking transaction crossed the finish line.

“With time and with age, I’ve changed. I’m more calm now,” said Brenner of his own evolution. “Psychologically, I’m more mature.

“I had many conversations with the club president, and he was very important in my return. He always made it clear that he wanted me here,” he added. “I feel at home here.”

Trophy aspirations

The on-field mix has changed a bit from the old days, albeit perhaps in a way that makes it even easier for him to hit the ground running. Brenner has an elite spearhead for a strike partner in the form of Designated Player Kévin Denkey and gilded service from a fleet of talented wingbacks and one of the best No. 10s on the continent, fellow Brazilian Evander, who’s assisted on all three of his goals so far.

“We’re heating up,” said Brenner of his rapidly developing understanding with his countryman.

It’s all reinvigorated Cincy at a crucial juncture in their stretch run, and raised hopes of hardware this fall, be it a second Shield in three years or a postseason MLS Cup breakthrough at the business end of an ebb-and-flow campaign on the riverfront.

“I don't think we thought a Shield was maybe reality, because I do think it is the toughest thing to accomplish, and just the odds of being able to do it two out of three years,” said Albright. “But now we at least have what we can control within our sights, and if we win out and then some things happen, yeah, we get one trophy, and then we concentrate on the next.

“We've stayed in this race the whole way. And maybe we're not favored right now, but we have a shot.”

FC Cincinnati: Is Brenner the missing link up front?