1. Players rising to the moment … but not the usual suspects
Versatile FC Dallas attacker Tesho Akindele made his mark on MLS in 2014 as Rookie of the Year. Reduced production this year (5 goals in 2015 after scoring 7 as a rookie) had some voices speaking of the clichéd “sophomore slump,” and fair enough if that’s your stance.
But peer past the raw data and you’ll see that Akindele is making a significant mark this year, albeit in a different way.
More and more, his strikes tend to be highly meaningful, ticking the box that we generally label “big goals.”
It started in last year’s playoffs as Akindele (still a rookie) manufactured a massive moment, the opener of an eventual 2-1 knockout-round win over Vancouver.
That
was a big goal, directing his team to its first post-season win since 2010.
Early this year in Philadelphia the Canadian international struck just after halftime, the breakthrough goal (and game-winner) as FC Dallas won its first road game. That useful strike helped generate early confidence for a young team that was merely OK on the road in 2014, but had the league’s 5th best road record in 2015.
Not long after he supplied another game-winner, this one a dramatic 86th-minute strike that capped a comeback win over (then) defending MLS Cup champs L.A. Galaxy. Still later he roofed a solid right-footer (it was Goal of the Week nominee) in a high-profile 2-1 win over NYCFC in late summer.
But could anyone argue his biggest yet was in Sunday’s unforgettable win over the Seattle Sounders? Dallas was mere minutes from elimination when Akindele’s bold run and brave header at the near post, on his first touch no less (and from Je-Vaughn Watson’s great work on the right side) set the stage for the high-wire theater to come.
Aside from the obvious, here’s why Akindele’s goal (along with other big performances that night, like the heroics of Walker Zimmerman and Jesse Gonzalez) were so critical:
Dallas had some edges over Seattle in the Western Conference second leg semifinal: youth, the best playmaker in the series (Mauro Diaz), home field, etc. But Seattle had one herculean edge: big game experience in figures such as Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Chad Marshall. Dallas had no such animal, so it was critical that a figure or two emerge, someone who could rise to the moment the way Dempsey, Martins and Marshall have already demonstrated they can.
Akindele played like a man possessed after entering in the 84th minute. Knowing how to rise to the occasion, how to elevate your game and double down on gritty determination as the situation demands is an aptitude that some players can conjure and some simply cannot. Looks like Akindele sure can.
2. Restricting headers for youngest players: a sensible response
The new U.S. Soccer guidelines on heading in youth soccer are a sensible response to a legitimate, growing concern, and a response with very little downside. The new guidelines recommend eliminating heading for children 10 and under and limiting heading practice for 11- to 13-year olds.
Clearly, not everyone agrees. Just look at some of the hostile blow back – puzzling, in my opinion – directed toward TV analyst and concussion crusader Taylor Twellman.
First, anybody who has seen games involving our youngest players knows there is very little heading (or opportunity for it). So is it really that big of a deal to eliminate it as a standard? Besides, what little heading there is, it’s usually done improperly. So eliminating something that doesn’t happen much or occurs with poor form seems wise, or perhaps what we like to call “no big deal.”
Second (but related), kids at that age are far, far better served working with the ball on the ground. There is so much to learn, and so many enjoyable ways to attach the teaching of those skills to instruction. Heading practice for the youngest players just isn’t a practical necessity. It’s something they can learn a bit later; I can (and have) taught 11- and 12-year olds how to head the ball properly. Nobody will miss out on future soccer opportunities because they didn’t start winning balls in the air before the age of 12.
Third, 99 percent of all youth soccer players will never get close to the professional and international soccer. So all youth soccer choices should be made with the greater good in mind; what will help the greatest number of children develop life skills in enjoyable ways through the game we love? Development at higher levels, in all honesty, must be a secondary concern. (Again, we won’t lose a World Cup match or Women’s World Cup contest because someone didn’t begin heading more balls until age 12 or 13.)
Lastly, of all the issues that need addressing in youth soccer, to spend two breaths of oxygen on this one seems, well, misplaced.
3. Bob Bradley likes a challenge. And how
No one can accuse former U.S. manager Bob Bradley of shrinking from a challenge. He just accepted a position in France, yet another instance where the man confidently places himself in challenging situations.
Bradley, now 57, led an expansion team in Chicago (in 1998) to an MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles. Yes, it was a very different MLS then. But expansion teams are difficult to get right (only one of eight since has made the MLS playoffs) and there were 11 other teams targeting a championship that year.
From there he took over the MetroStars, an organization mired in a period of such head-spinning incompetence that a parade of otherwise very good managers came and went with limited success, despite a relatively stacked deck on the player budget.
When Bradley took over Chivas USA in 2006, the club was already an ideological and practical mess. Bradley came and established a foundation (in addition to a winning record, which followed a season of just four measly wins). But by 2010 all that was gone and the club settled into a grim place, with approximately one win for every two losses for the ill-fated duration.
Bradley did fine with the U.S. national team; critics cited a stale approach, but the results were generally favorable.
He took the Egyptian national team position despite enormous obstacles. The country was soon embroiled in political crisis and the difficulty of qualifying for a World Cup out of Africa cannot be underestimated. Bradley came within one game of doing so.
He was the first American manager to get a job at a European first division club, accepting the position at Stabæk in Norway, never mind the difficulties of on-the-fly study of a new language, new culture and new league. It was “mission accomplished” as he led the lower budget club this year in a top-three finish and a Europa League berth.
Now onto La Harve, a club with a beautiful new stadium and big ambition. Again, new language and new culture, not to mention expectations of getting into France’s Ligue 1.
More American managers will eventually find their way to Europe; they have Bradley to thank as the real trailblazer.
4. Sending some love the Columbus Crew way
Now that some of the glamour teams (mostly talking about Seattle and Los Angeles) and a couple of the glamour guys (mostly talking about Didier Drogba) have been eliminated, the spotlight will shine brighter on some of the lesser told stories around MLS.
Quite a few of them are in Columbus, where Gregg Berhalter deserves a nice round of applause. His work last year in reconstructing a team into something more dynamic (and successful) was recognized, but the kudos came somewhat undone by an early and ugly playoff elimination.
This year the Crew not only improved slightly over 2014 in wins, points and placement among the Eastern Conference finishers, but they clearly benefitted from lessons of last year’s bleak playoff experience. Columbus lost this year’s opening leg against Montreal, but got the road goal, limited the damage and then took care of business back in Ohio.
Then there was Kei Kamara, whose high-scoring season (22 goals) was certainly MVP-worthy. He won’t get this year’s Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player Award; you can bet your favorite soccer souvenir that thing is going to Sebastian Giovinco. Nobody paying attention would think otherwise.
But now you wonder: would Giovinco trade that (presumptive) honor to be where Kamara is right now? Giovinco’s Toronto FC was brushed aside quickly in the playoffs (literally … as in the game was essentially over after half an hour). Meanwhile, Kamara scored the first and last goals – the second one a late, extra time series-winner – as his team advanced.
Then there’s Ethan Finlay and Will Trapp, two of the league’s younger, brighter up-and-comers. Finlay’s 13 assists were fifth best in the league, and the calls for the skillful, tactically astute Trapp to appear in the national team will only grow louder.
Finally, it’s a tough year to be a good coach in MLS. With Dallas’ Oscar Pareja and New York’s Jesse Marsch working little low-budget miracles, with Vancouver’s Carl Robinson having such a good year and Mauro Biello even getting some late-season love in Montreal, there probably wasn’t enough said this year about Crew manager Gregg Berhalter. So, please note that in last Sunday’s conference semifinal decider, Berhalter’s tactics were right, his substitutions were right and the club’s mentality was right – even Kamara’s ongoing mentality after missing a penalty kick.
5. The Little Five
5a. I have already beat up NYCFC for its decision to fire Jason Kreis. Enough said there. It will certainly be interesting to watch Patrick Vieira operate. He’ll either become the next Ruud Gullit, a foreign coach using American soccer as a weigh station en route to “something better,” a figure destined to fail due to the lack of true emotional attachment to the project. Or, perhaps the hire will prove inspired. Either way, it will be fascinating to watch.
5b. I see appeal in all three potential MLS Cup host sites. There is history in Columbus (or have you forgotten about all the great nights of “Dos a cero?”). No, it isn’t the most glamorous site, but history counts for a lot. Dallas presents the best chance for ideal weather; it certainly was wonderful (mostly sunny, kickoff temps in the 60s) during the two MLS Cups held at Toyota Stadium in the mid 2000s. And New York offers up the country’s largest media market. Honestly, there is not a dud in the trio of choices.
5c. I love the ongoing, mounting evidence that home field advantage is a boon to MLS playoff success. Home teams went 4-0 in the early, knockout games. And both of the second round, second leg deciders last weekend that went into a 30-minute extra time period were claimed by the home team (i.e., the club that had return leg home-field advantage by virtue of a higher league finish.)
5d. There is no question that Didier Drogba was an fabulous asset for Montreal over the final third of the MLS season; he struck 11 times in 11 matches, an amazing rate of production. But it is fair to wonder whether the legendary Ivorian international could keep that pace over a long, hot MLS season? To that point, consider: he didn’t score in Montreal’s final two games of 2015, the first time he went back-to-back without finding net. Just something to ponder, whether that was more about the great work of Crew center backs Michael Parkhurst and Gaston Suaro, or was it something more simple, that he was already wearing down?
5e. Best stat I’ve seen regards to the upcoming conference finals: The Red Bulls were 14-3-3- in the regular season when center backs Matt Miazga and Damien Perrinelle started. With any other center back combo the team was a far more pedestrian 4-7-3. That’s important because Perrinelle is now injured and out for the playoffs. Pay attention to that, because Kamara and Columbus certainly will.