Back to the Future?
The always excellent Jonathan Wilson (a review of his latest book is coming soon!) looks at the possibility of the return of the libero given the trend towards formations featuring a single central striker. Why does this strike a particular chord with me? Perhaps because I envisage Jakovic playing a role much like this for DC United. We've already been treated to several occasions where he gains possession on the back line and takes a couple of imperious strides into the midfield, movement that a more dynamic midfield and attack would surely be able to take advantage of. Sadly, not all of MLS has joined Sigi in the single-striker experiment sweepstakes, but we can always hope...
In the Freezing Rain
MLS Cup goes primetime. Great, I'm all for the drama and atmosphere of an evening match. Now for a couple of questions...
What's the weather like in Seattle in late November? Apparently the average high temperature is 52 and the rain...
...if you’re going to the city between November and March, don’t forget your raincoat and galoshes.
Great. Now let's dial down the temperature for an evening game and stage the whole affair on turf with gridiron markings. Ugh. One can only hope that maybe the occasion will demand grass, but I'm not feeling optimistic.
Also, If I may be so bold...Why does the final have to be on a Sunday? Surely a Saturday final would have the dual benefit of (1) not going up against the NFL and prime-time Sunday programming and (2) allowing fans of the participating teams (assuming Seattle won't be there) to travel to the match without having to worry about missing work on Monday.
So here's to wet, frozen marching bands and the return of the libero...
I had the exact same thought about Jakovic when I read Wilson's article... in MLS, at least, Jakovic has the perfect skill set to be a modern libero. All we need is to stick to the 4-4-2 to liberate him to play that role. Incidentally, that's also why James, not Simms, should be Jakovic's defensive partner -- because the libero needs a compatriot who is a committed and dedicated central defender. Simms might or might not be a better defender than James (I'm not sure based on a couple matches evidence, though he's certainly the better player), but he's too similar to Jakovic to really work effectively together without imposing undue limitations on Jakovic's role (i.e. forcing Jakovic to be the more defensive of the pair).
ReplyDeleteYep, yep, and triple yep.
ReplyDeleteNow the question becomes...How long until we've got someone on the bench with the tactical sense to not only see this but to actively exploit it without needing to be bludgeoned by months worth of results before he felt a change became necessary?