You know what they say about bending the rules a little: It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.
We can debate ethics, morality and slippery slopes at some other time. For now, we’ll just talk about the myriad tactical applications for the sneaky and mischievous deeds.
We hear about tactical fouling—but what does that mean? And how does it apply specifically to MLS?
Remember what you always hear about MLS, about how it’s a physical league? So here is a place where that bromide applies.
A great example: Sunday against Los Angeles, D.C. United holding midfielder Clyde Simms wrapped up the Galaxy’s Landon Donovan with both arms as he began to break out of his defensive third. Donovan is as fast with the ball as without it—that’s part of what makes him such a special player. Simms, no dummy, knows this. So the smart thing for Simms to do was to make sure Donovan didn’t go any further, i.e., commit a foul.
Mission accomplished. And without malice, as Simms didn’t aim at Donovan’s legs. It wasn’t a foul of menace—it was just tactical.
At the World Cup that we all just watched, that foul would’ve been a yellow card, no two ways about it. It represented a textbook definition of a “tactical foul.” And afterward, Simms would’ve dragged around that caution for the rest of the match (the incident was early in Sunday’s contest.)
But in many leagues, it’s just part of the game, cynical though it may be at times.
Defenders and midfielders are always instantaneously calculating the odds in a fluid, fast-paced risk-benefit analysis. And the calculations differ depending on the situation, the league, the consequences. For example, in MLS a player might commit four or even five fouls before a referee has a word about persistent infringement. At the international level, the player might get three four bites off the apple of naughtiness before he’s booked, not just given a “talking to.”
Calibrations aside, defenders sometimes know the yellow card is coming but adjudge the action is worth the booking. Columbus’ Emmanuel Ekpo got a head of steam at one point over the weekend against the New York Red Bulls. As he motored through the middle, Joel Lindpere tried to foul him but the slippery Ekpo slid past the challenge.
So Red Bulls defender Carlos Mendes figured that he needed to be even more forceful. Ekpo went down hard and referee Abbey Okulaja put Mendes in the book.
Law-bending and tactical choices meet at other intersections, too. Bruce Arena’s LA Galaxy are darn good at a lot of things. They defend as a group better than any MLS side and keep the ball moving as well as anyone—all of which helps explain a league-best 39 points.
Los Angeles are also perhaps the league’s best at knowing just how much to delay restarts without incurring the referee’s wrath. It’s one of the elements that keep Omar Gonzalez & Co. so tightly organized and so infrequently caught unawares. If they can just nudge the ball away enough before an opponent’s freekick, or hold onto the ball for just a second before a throw-in, Gonzalez and Gregg Berhalter have an extra second or two to identify possible trouble makers and adjust accordingly.
LA players don’t push the limits of aggressiveness as much as some clubs. Houston’s players, on the other hand, have long been the masters of knowing how far they can stretch the physical stuff. The Dynamo players, for instance, are quite adept at eliminating runs off the ball, which is a wonderful tactical weapon if you know how to use it. Midfielder Brian Mullan and defenders Bobby Boswell, Eddie Robinson and Andrew Hainault in particular are clever at it. Brad Davis sometimes, too.
Why chase a player working the give-and-go when you can just get in his way? It works regularly.
And inside the Dynamo penalty area, things happen on every surge near goal that would get someone arrested if done outside the Robertson Stadium grounds. The Dynamo players recognize that playing the man as much as the ball is almost always excused (or perhaps even unseen) by the man in the middle. But the trick is in the timing. Lean in too late and allow the ball to get too close and a referee might deem that a goal-scoring opportunity was denied.
This isn’t intended to impugn the Dynamo defenders. They are professionals. They are paid to do a job, and the bottom line is winning games. A sense of duty says they should do everything possible for the cause. And “everything possible” covers a lot of ground in what is perennially described as a “physical league.”
True or not—many Euro imports express their surprise at the technical ability of MLS’ players—the physicality of the league, or any league, always falls to the judgment of the referee. We can debate sneakiness, professionalness, and pushing the legal limits in the name of success. But until someone says “enough”—and really means it—the tactical rough stuff will remain part of the game.
Steve Davis' "Talking Tactics" column appears exclusively on MLSsoccer.com every Tuesday. Check out Steve's blog at DailySoccerFix.com.
