Ask FC Cincinnati striker Kevin Denkey what he’s like and he’ll tell you he’s nothing special.
“I’m a simple guy who loves football, who loves to win and who loves to score goals,” he told Cincy fans after joining the club last November, via mls.com’s Carter Chapley.
Fair enough. But Denkey—Major League Soccer’s record signing at the time of his arrival with three years of top European soccer league experience—is more than he lets on. He’s a chess champion who trained for years under a Grandmaster. He’s a fitness fanatic with a made-to-measure home gym and a strict vegan lifestyle. He’s multilingual, with four languages under his belt and another two in progress. And today, just 10 games into his MLS career, he’s the most talked-about striker in the United States.
Denkey capped off his opening run of MLS games against Sporting Kansas City this weekend with a bravura two-goal performance. His first strike was a well-poached rebound; his second, a heart-stopping bicycle kick into the top corner. Goal of the week. Goal of the season. Goal of the decade, even. The vision, timing, strategy, physicality and bravery Denkey displayed while scoring it simply beggar belief.
