The opening game of the 2016 MLS season saw two self-styled Eastern Conference favorites battle for early leverage in the Supporters Shield standings. Though it’s foolish to place too much weight on Week 1 results, I will still look at the matchup and try to draw several conclusions about the upcoming season.
Toronto FC - For most of the match, Toronto elected sit deep and play direct balls to Sebastian Giovinco when they recovered possession. With Michael Bradley operating deeper in the midfield, the Italian forward often found himself isolated from the rest of his team. Giovinco didn’t try and hold the ball up and wait for support, either. His instinct was to turn up field immediately when the ball fell to him. Without another forward threat to deal with, New York’s centerbacks could easily key in on Giovinco and minimize his threat in transition. Though the Atomic Ant is frequently capable of brilliance, this kind of hoof-and-pray tactic was a little concerning from Toronto.
This sequence shows just how aggressive Giovinco’s thinking was in the game. The reigning MVP pulls off an audacious dribble and, despite Lovitz and Endoh making runs on either side of him, decides to shoot from the center circle.
In all likelihood, this level of directness from Toronto was a situation-specific tactic designed to combat New York’s high press. Given the talent available to Greg Vanney’s side, I’d imagine they would opt for a more possession-oriented game in the future. This will be aided by the return of Jozy Altidore. Presumably, the American striker will play up top, pushing Giovinco to an inverted winger role on the left side of the formation. This should give the side much better passing and movement in midfield as Altidore will look to play in teammates and Giovinco can focus more on playmaking duties.
Michael Bradley the no. 6 - Perhaps the most significant change in Toronto FC’s new lineup is Michael Bradley’s new role as a purely defensive midfielder. After playing most of 2014 as either an attacking midfielder or box-to-box jack-of-all-trades, Vanney has moved Bradley much further back in the formation. You can see from this chart of his tackles, interceptions and recoveries that he has a very defined role in the defense. (Chart courtesy of the Opta Chalkboard on mlssoccer.com.)
The TFC captain is now tasked with staying put in front of the back four and initiating attacks from deep. Though this pure no. 6 spot is almost certainly not Bradley’s strongest position in the midfield, it has the opportunity to provide an enormous amount of stability to Toronto’s defense. While TFC will miss Bradley crashing the box with late runs and playing final balls, the combination of Altidore, Giovinco, Osorio and the promising Endoh should provide enough firepower to get Toronto’s attack going.
Toronto’s Defense - When tasked with pressure the Red Bulls higher up the field, Toronto had several shaky moments reminiscent of last season’s struggles. Here, uncoordinated pressing from the forwards and midfield gift the Red Bulls the time and space to complete a pass into a dangerous area.
Defense starts with your forwards and in this sequence Toronto’s front three leaves the rest of the team out to dry. Daniel Lovitz decides to pressure Ronald Zubar high up the field and cuts off the passing angle to right back Sal Zizzo. Zubar finds the unmarked Felipe, though, who can easily play Zizzo into the area vacated by Lovitz. TFC’s deeper midfield and backline are left scrambling and ultimately allow Dax McCarty to slip a through ball to Bradley Wright-Philips. If Greg Vanney intends to play more proactive, possession-based soccer this season the team will need to learn to better coordinate its pressure up field. This, incidentally, is the very thing their opponents excel at.
New York Red Bulls - Though New York came away with a home loss on the opening day, they shouldn't push the panic button just yet. Returning the same forward and midfield combination that scored the most goals in MLS in 2015, they created a number of good chances on the day while limiting Toronto’s shots with their energetic high press. The new backline pairing of Ronald Zubar and Gideon Baah, Red Bulls’ biggest question heading into the season, held up well against the most dangerous dribbler in MLS. Moreover, if the Red Bulls can continue to press as successfully as they did on Sunday and most of 2015, their centerbacks shouldn’t
Midfield Dominance - As has become their M.O., the Red Bulls bossed the middle of the pitch all day. Their coordinated pressing forced Toronto to build attacks through hopeful long balls and down tight spaces on the flanks. They commanded 62.9% of the possession in the game and created a number of good chances from intricate passing. Here’s one of numerous examples of how the Red Bull forwards stifled Toronto’s passing.
Every time a TFC player received the ball, a Red Bull was already closing in while others blocked passing lanes to midfielders. Lloyd Sam pressures Drew Moor at an angle, forcing the centerback to play the ball out wide to Justin Morrow. Forcing the opponent to play the ball to a fullback on hugging the sideline is the bread and butter of high press teams. This is a prime example of using the sideline as an extra defender.
The concern for the Red Bulls is if Toronto just created the blueprint for coming out of Harrison with three points. If Jesse Marsch’s side excels at creating offense off turnovers in the opponent’s half, can they cope with opponents sitting deep and playing direct? Looking solely at the 2-0 scoreline would imply this is a strong possibility but I wouldn’t set off the alarm bells. This game looked like two talented teams sparring with one prevailing because of a small slip up from a young defender. New York was probably the better team on the day but TFC executed their plan well. If teams sitting deep and countering continue to best New York, Marsch may need add some new wrinkles to their system. Despite the opening day loss, the Red Bulls should still considered one of the favorites to win the Supporters’ Shield.
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