Answer me this: Why do some fans get their soccer kits in a twist when their team chooses to deploy two defensive midfielders?
I think they see the lack of a centrally stationed, classic attacking midfielder as a tacit submission, a concession to “playing negatively” and relying on offense by accident. But that’s not necessarily true.
The plan of two central midfielders who tend to “stay at home” has the capacity to work, and work well. But only if the strategy counts on flank midfielders to pace the attack, providing one or both the freedom to freelance a little, to supply direction and ideas.
Good example: Sacha Kljestan and his role at Chivas USA, first under Preki and now with manager Martin Vasquez. (Yes, the Goats are struggling. But that’s more about Kljestan’s form and the side’s iffy forwards and, well, let’s stay on topic here.)
Colorado is also playing this way. Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy lines up right, positioned slightly ahead of Pablo Mastroeni and Jeff Larentowicz, two classic midfield destroyers. Ballouchy isn’t a guy who hugs the touchline the way Colin Clark does across the field. Clark wants to work the wing and serve, sometimes cutting inside but always running at defenders. Ballouchy tends to drift inside early, looking to combine with strikers Omar Cummings and Conor Casey, snug in the knowledge that the bulldogs behind him can provide defensive cover. (I have a feeling we might see Claudio López in that role soon, as Ballouchy is struggling to properly influence matches.)
Two defensive midfielders worked for New England on Saturday -- kind of. They got the result, albeit against the run of play. New England’s attack is all about getting balls to the wing midfielders quickly. “Get it wide!” is a common refrain from the Revs’ coaching staff. It works because Shalrie Joseph is so good at supplying those useful, early passes out wide or into the forwards. Of course, the big Grenadian wasn’t available last weekend, which put a monkey in the wrench for a while at RFK.
On the other side, D.C. United manager Curt Onalfo used a diamond-shaped midfield, with Santino Quaranta at the top of the diamond and one defensive screener, in this case, Kurt Morsink. But here’s where the rubber meets the road: Just because you have a diamond shape and ask someone to act in the classic attacking midfield role doesn’t mean you truly have an effective attacking midfielder. Quaranta doesn’t look comfortable there. He’s probably better getting balls out wide, looking for spots to drive in behind defenders.
It’s really about finding places where guys are comfortable. It’s about arranging for success.
The U.S. team is the perfect example. Way too many Bob Bradley bashers moan and groan about the use of, essentially, two central midfielders who are more “play breaker” than “play maker.” But that’s just a representation of the available personnel.
So the attacking pep and pop comes from Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey out wide. Bradley doesn’t want either of them stuck out on the touch line. He wants them “tilted”—that’s the word he likes to use -- toward the middle, staying connected to the sidelines just enough to provide some defensive shape.
The Red Bulls also line up without a central, attacking midfielder under manager Hans Backe. They defend in two well-organized lines of four. With the ball, Joel Lindpere is enough of a two-way presence that he can push into those vulnerable areas just behind his forwards, which is why it is working for the New York.
This should be noted, however: not everyone has a Lindpere.
But to the point, the Red Bulls have two wins in two matches. They are the story of MLS 2010 so far. And I don’t hear anyone complaining about the lack of some fancy-pants, pricey, attacking-midfield specialist.
Little hits and
misses
Costa Rican striker Álvaro Saborío debuted with Real Salt Lake in that odd duck of a match down in Houston. (RSL controlled much of the contest but lost, 2-1.) Saborío may not have seemed too busy, but he was aces at checking back toward midfield and cleanly, simply maintaining possession. If you think that’s easy, watch other MLS target forwards struggle at it. Saborío has a good sense of timing, knowing just when to separate from defenders to look for balls out of midfield.
Lindpere gets forward as well or better than any holding midfielder in MLS. Joseph and Kyle Beckerman are good, too, at reaching the opposition penalty area. It will be interesting to watch Julian de Guzman get a home match for Toronto (next week), to see how much he can steer himself forward.
New Chicago Fire manager Carlos de los Cobos wants more passing and possession at Toyota Park. I like the way he’s thinking, but does he have the right personnel? Can Chicago be fully effective in this style without a passing and possession wiz in the middle? Logan Pause holds the fort dutifully, but he’s not the best at clean, efficient distribution. John Thorrington will help when he returns from injury, presumably playing in front of Pause. Still, providing that central spark is not really Thorrington’s game, either. He’s more “turn and burn” than “touch-touch.” So DLC’s ideas may have to give way to reality.
