At a time where our US National team might need to add depth to our pool of players at the defensive or holding midfield spot, Steve Davis of MLSnet.com writes of a new breed of players in that role in MLS.
Let's not get carried away and say that the day of the tough, tackle-happy enforcement presence in the holding midfield spot is dead. It's not.
But there is a little lean around MLS these days in some places toward a different type of player in that spot. A few teams have someone who looks and acts more as a deep-lying playmaker. He still screens the defense, of course. Winning the ball and covering ground remains a priority. But hard tackling isn't their specialty. Passing is. So once possession is won, these guys can do a little more than just move the ball along to the creators, slashers and crashers.
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake) and Clyde Simms (DC United) have had stints with the US team in the past, and perhaps it is time for FC Dallas and US Under-23 midfielder Dax McCarty to get a look there as well.
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090615&content_id=5339680&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
No comments:
Post a Comment