Upon entry, Dockal expected to make difference

CHESTER » Rather sheepishly Wednesday, Jim Curtin shared a conversation he’d had with midfielder Borek Dockal about the pressure that could come with his new job — the weight of expectation in occupying a role that the Union have so rarely filled with any shred of competence yet is so instrumental to its team concept.

Dockal’s response, Curtin relayed, embraced the pressure, even if he might not have envisioned the coach being the one to share that message publicly.

Friday, at Dockal’s official introduction, the Czech midfielder backed his manager in a tone that would render any skepticism moot. Would talking about pressure somehow add more onto Dockal’s shoulders? That’s not something the 29-year-old is fretting about.

“From my point of view, if you want to win the games, if you want to succeed, if you want to achieve your targets, you have to be ready for pressure,” Dockal said at Talen Energy Stadium. “There is always pressure, in the games, in the season, in trainings; there’s always competition and pressure. There’s always difficult moments, and you need to have players in the team who can handle that pressure. I always felt a responsibility for the team results and for my performances. And I always felt like if I do my best and gave the right performance and the performance that is expected from me, then I can influence the performance of the whole team.”

It’s easy to see the attraction that Curtin and sporting director Earnie Stewart felt in their first encounters with Dockal, a designated player arriving on year-long loan from Chinese club Henan Jianye after nearly a decade in Europe. He’s a veteran of over 50 matches in the Champions League and Europa League and he’s represented New Union midfielder Borek Dockal says he’s ready to deliver in the role Jim Curtin plans for him. his country 35 times, wearing the captain’s armband.

Curtin Wednesday invoked the names of other successful signings, like Tranquillo Barnetta and Haris Medunjanin, for their similarities to Dockal, in both their European experience and general sensibilities. It was clear Friday, in Dockal’s soft-spoken yet assertive delivery, that he is cut from the same cloth, in how he views the game and his responsibility to a team like the Union, where he’ll be among the top-paid players.

“One thing I kept stressing to Borek is our guys are going to be programmed to get you the ball,” Curtin said. “This whole system is based on entry balls into our No. 10 in tight areas, and he has the quality to find those areas, first of all, and then to turn and has good feet and can play a good through ball. We’ve seen that in training already.”

Dockal’s research on MLS included a rendezvous with technical director Chris Albright to sell him on the Union and reaching out to Mix Diskerud, the American and MLS veteran who was a teammate at Rosenborg. Dockal’s two seasons in Norway augmented a loan stint at Turkish club Konyaspor before his sale from Sparta Prague to Henan for the bloated sum of 7.65 million last February. The rest of his career has been spent in his home country, where he’s twice won the First League.

The voyage to China was a departure from his soccer comfort zone, but one that Dockal thinks will ease his acclimation to MLS.

“I think for me it was actually good to have this experience to leave Europe and see something completely different before I’m coming here,” Dockal said. “It’s going to help me, in my opinion, to adapt here because I could see it differently. You play many games in Europe and you know what works in the game, how you need to play to help your team and do a good performance, and then you come to another continent and it doesn’t work. You need to adapt and do different things.

“If I can, I used only one or two touches during the game. For me, it’s not necessary to use more. If you have a chance to pass the ball, just pass the ball quickly. And then I came to China and if you want to use only one or two touches, there’s no one you can pass the ball to. So you have to adapt and find ways to succeed in the league because all of the leagues have their own specifics and you have to read it as soon as possible for how to change your game, how to change your attitude and how to succeed.”

Dockal passed off a question on his status for this weekend’s opener with New England to Curtin, who said it was “to be determined.” Dockal is nursing a mild ankle injury, and while Curtin said he looked sharp in training Friday, the Union are unlikely to risk anything without another game until March 17.

That particular layer of pressure likely won’t be foisted on Dockal. But once he gets on the pitch, the understanding is clear as to what the Union want. “It’s how I’m trying to play,” Dockal said. “I like to be involved a lot in the game. I like to try to find a way to go at the opponent, to find a weakness of the opponent and then just find the easiest possible solution to score a goal or make an assist or create a chance.

“You call it a ‘volume player?’ That’s how it should be.”

The league has six new head coaches this year. LAFC’s Bradley has coached in the league before, leading Chicago to an MLS Cup title in the team’s first season. Following the sudden departure of Caleb Porter, the Portland Timbers brought in Giovanni Savarese, formerly head coach of the lowertier New York Cosmos. Anthony Hudson will lead the Colorado Rapids this season after a stint as New Zealand’s coach. Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Friedel has taken over as coach of the New England Revolution. Former Lyon coach Remi Garde is new for Montreal, and Swedish coach Mikael Stahre now leads the San Jose Earthquakes. STADIUM UPGRADES In addition to LAFC’s new downtown stadium, D.C. United is moving this season to Audi Field. United is making the move after 22 years at historic RFK Stadium. But the team’s new soccer-specific venue won’t be ready until July 14 so the team will play the bulk of its games on the road with matches at the Maryland Soccerplex and the Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The Portland Timbers open the season with five games on the road because of an expansion at the team’s downtown stadium, Providence Park. And Minnesota United plans to open Allianz Field next spring. FRESH FACES MLS is no longer a league known for old European players in the twilight of their careers. This year’s crop of MLS newcomers is the youngest ever, averaging 24.86 years old. One of the youngsters generating buzz is 18-year-old Ezequiel Barco of Argentina, acquired by Atlanta United for an MLS-record $15 million transfer fee from Argentina’s Independiente. Fans will have to wait to see him, though, because Barco was injured in preseason training and won’t be available for the first month of the season. A QUICK LOOK AT TAM OK, not wildly exciting, but a lot has been made about the money being spent by teams heading into the season, and it has to do with Targeted Allocation Money. This year (and next) the league allowed teams to spend up to $2.8 million of “discretionary” TAM themselves — giving team owners greater flexibility to sign high-profile players. Teams also continue to receive $1.2 million apiece in TAM each season. The infusion of money has made for some unusual deals, including D.C. United’s trade of $225,000 in general allocation money (GAM) to Toronto in exchange for $337,500 in TAM in early February.