Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Curtin sees versatility in new midfielder Gazdag
Jim Curtin has been hinting at the possibility of personnel help for weeks. Tuesday, the move finally got across the finish line, though when Curtain and the Union can display their new acquisition remains a question.
The Union announced the signing of Hungarian midfielder Daniel Gazdag on a two-year contract with club options for third and fourth seasons. He’ll occupy the international spot acquired two weeks ago. The club didn’t disclose the transfer fee, per league policy, but it’s been reported as $1.8 million dollars.
“He’s a winner, and I’m really, really happy,” Curtin said. “This is a big signing for the club and we can’t wait to get him in as quickly as possible.”
Gazdag has spent his entire career with Honved, winning the Hungarian League and the Hungarian Cup. The 5-foot-8, 168-pound midfielder joined that club at age 14 in 2010 from his native Nyiregyhaza.
He’s made 175 appearances for the Budapest club in the Nemzeti Bajnoksag, scoring 22 goals. His last two seasons, however, have been his most productive, with five goals and five assists in 201920 and 13 goals in 30 appearances this year. He has 18 goals and eight assists in 34 matches in all competitions in 2020-21.
His time with Honved includes continental experience, playing in UEFA Champions League qualifying in 2017-18 and in Europa League qualifying the last three years. He’s played more than 200 games for the Lions in all competitions.
The 25-year-old has represented Hungary at every stage up the youth ladder. He has six senior national team caps, debuting in 2019 and scoring his first goal in March in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra. Gazdag could be part of the squad for this summer’s delayed European Championships.
That latter part offers a wrinkle as to when he could arrive in Philadelphia. Curtin is holding out “a hope and wish” that Gazdag could join the Union for the May 23 trip to D.C. United. That would put him in play for the May 30 game against Portland, too. But he’d have to leave for Hungary camp after that if selected, as the Union take an extended international break around the Gold Cup until June 20.
Among all those considerations is the load on Gazdag, who is coming off a full season.
“We have to be smart about not giving him too much, too soon,” Curtin said. “But certainly it would be a little bit stop-start. We’ll find time to recover. I do know we’re going to be a better team with him on the field, so we have to find that balance, which is a tricky thing.”
Gazdag offers versatility. He’ll likely play primarily as a No. 10 in the Union’s 4-4-2 diamond, but he can play on the sides of the midfield diamond or as a second striker. The signing allowed Curtin to think aloud about possible tactical tweaks: A 4-4-2 box with two No. 10s, deploying Jose Martinez as a No. 8 ahead of Leon Flach at the No 6, and so on.
The most important aspect of the Gazdag capture,
Curtin said, is that he’s a heady, skilled soccer player whose playing style, he believes, will mesh with Jamiro Monteiro, Alejandro Bedoya and the rest of an effective Union midfield, in whatever permutation. Curtin is just as enamored with how Gazdag was willing to change to a more advanced role for a struggling Honved to provide more goals this year, the kind of team-first mentality
Curtin prizes.
“He’s a good soccer player,” Curtin said. “He’s does things with the ball that as a coach you can’t really teach. He’s got a special knack for playing the final pass. He’s very dangerous around the goal, can finish with both feet, he’s very deceptive with his movement.
“He’s going to be a guy ... we’re going to put on the ball as much as possible.”