Now that the old Southwest Detroit Hospital has been torn down, Detroit City FC can look forward to AlumniFi Stadium rising from the ground up. Next year, the club will step into its shiny new home in front of some of the most dedicated supporters in the country. But, that is still a year away. First, the team will look to improve on the disappointing 2025 season that saw the club slip from the third spot in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference in 2024 to eighth.
After a hot start in 2025, DCFC gradually dropped in the table until making the playoffs came down to the last game of the season when they needed Indy XI to drop points, following a draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Of course, Le Rouge followed that by pulling off the biggest upset in USL playoff history when they dumped the runaway leaders Louisville City out in the first round. A loss to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Riverhounds in penalty kicks ended the season.
Danny Dichio has rebuilt his roster during the offseason. Retirements, releases, and transfers have changed the look of the team. There are plenty of returning veterans, but they bring the same strengths and weaknesses back. DCFC has always been strong defensively, with high level goalkeepers. However, the defending can only hold out for so long when the attack remains towards the bottom of the league. Injuries have also been a recurring theme. Too many key players missed too many games again in 2025. The new additions will have to provide better depth than last year’s bench did.
Goalkeeper remains a solid position. The two Carlos’ have returned. Carlos Saldana and Carlos Herrera split time last year, with Dichio playing whoever had the hot hands. That’s unlikely to change. Saldana is bigger and perhaps more intimidating in his penalty area. Herrera’s quickness gives him a chance to make a lot of saves on shots that would elude another goalkeeper.
Devon Amoo-Mensah and Michael Bryant will be even more important this year after the retirement of long time captain Stephen Carroll. Tommy Silva has played quite a bit during preseason and may be the leading candidate for the third spot on the back line. Dichio has brought in USL veterans like Aeden Stanley and Callum Montgomery to shore up the back line. The reserves may get an early game when DCFC players the Michigan Rangers in the first round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup next Tuesday at Keyworth.
When Maxi Rodriguez left for Rhode Island under a cloud after 2024, DCFC lost a significant part of its midfield. He orchestrated play and chipped in regularly with goals. The fans turned on him brutally when he came back with his new club. It was a little surprising then when the club arranged for a transfer to bring him back. If he can recapture his form from 2024, and work hard to win back the fans, DCFC’s attack will look more threatening. Rodriguez’s ability to get into the attack will hinge on the work of the defensive midfielders behind him. Abdoulaye Diop missed most of 2025 through injury. The club needs his range and physicality, especially because Ryan Williams cannot cover the amount of ground Diop can when fully fit. Rhys Williams returns from a lengthy injury to add width on either side, another element that Le Rouge missed badly.
It would be a huge bonus if forward Ben Morris could recapture his 2024 form after tearing his ACL again last year. It was his third ACL tear. If he cannot recover, there will be that much more pressure on Ates Diouf and Darren Smith. They tried to carry the attack last year but didn’t receive much service and struggled to combine and create on their own. Dichio signed some experienced forwards to back them up this year. West Bloomfield native Alex Dalou joined from Tulsa FC where he had 4 goals and 4 assists in 37 appearances. Thrity-three year old Chisom Egbuchulam has traveled the world scoring goals. He has played in China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and South Korea, as well as his home country of Nigeria. Cameroonian forward Preston Tabort Etaka joined from the Birmingham Legion and has also played for the Las Vegas Lights in the Championship. How all these attackers come together will go a long way to determining where DCFC finishes this year.
For Saturday’s home opener, DCFC will welcome Brooklyn FC. They are an expansion team this year but started life in the USL Championship with a 1-0 win over Indy XI on Sunday. While they may not have many familiar names in their team, Brooklyn FC made news by hiring former US international striker Brian McBride as their General Manager and Sporting Director. McBride had a distinguished career playing in England for Fulham and in MLS for the Columbus Crew. He was part of the US team that made the quarterfinals in the 2002 World Cup. After working for US Soccer, he has now found a club to develop in Brooklyn. If the team plays like McBride, they will be fully committed and not accept that being an expansion team means finishing near the bottom of the league. This will be a solid test for Detroit City, which is exactly what they need to start the season.
