Goal capped Medunjanin’s D.C. domination
WASHINGTON » The tone Haris Medunjanin used to describe his goal Saturday was almost apologetic.
He was pleased to strike the Philadelphia Union’s first blow in a 4-0 felling of D.C. United at RFK Stadium, but his first MLS marker didn’t make his night. And even had Medunjanin’s screamer not knuckled by the flailing arms of Bill Hamid in the 39th minute, the Bosnian would’ve compiled a spectacular night anyway.
Medunjanin drove the Union’s effort at both ends of the park. He scored. He set up goals by Oguchi Onyewu and Fafa Picault, taking his assist tally to five, tied for third-most in MLS. Also at five was his number of key passes Saturday — those that lead directly to shots. Defensively, he added two clearances in the box, two successful tackles and 13 recoveries of possession, all of which formed a statistical shield around the Union’s penalty area in its third consecutive clean sheet.
The only way Medunjanin could’ve had a larger impact is if he had physically helped referee Chris Penso retrieve the red card from his back pocket and brandish it to Luciano Acosta for a reckless foul in the 55th minute.
In short, Medunjanin’s manof-the-match performance was the kind of difference-making outing the Union (2-4-4, 10 points) sought when they splashed the cash on their marquee January signing.
“Haris was excellent,” manager Jim Curtin said. “Obviously the goal is special. … But you can talk about all of Haris’ attacking plays, but I thought on the night he was excellent defensively against Acosta, who is one of the most dangerous guys in our league. We were able to frustrate him, and that was the key to our game.”
Medunjanin’s impact in the attacking third is often as a distributor, as his pinpoint set-piece service demonstrates. Adding the goal was an instance of taking what D.C. gave him.
Less appreciated in that move was Medunjanin’s pass to set it up, a one-touched, outside-ofthe-boot volley from the center circle to CJ Sapong floating on the right wing. Sapong filtered the ball back inside, and when D.C.’s defense sunk further into its box, Medunjanin stepped into the gaping void 30 yards from goal and lashed the swerving drive that befuddled Hamid.
“I didn’t expect that I’m going to score,” Medunjanin said. “I play a more defensive role and I try to build up from there to put other guys in good positions so they can create some chances and get some goals. But when I can shoot from 20, 30 meters, I will shoot. And today the ball went in.”
If the scoring is incidental, the passing prowess is essential. It’s taken time for Medunjanin’s teammates to get on the same wavelength as his next-level vision of the game and the fieldstretching passes he uncorks. They re abilities that has propelled him to a World Cup and some of Europe’s top leagues.
Curtin likens Medunjanin to former Barcelona and Bulgarian star (and Curtin’s Chicago Fire teammate) Hristo Stoichkov.
“I say it with confidence that he’s the best passing player I’ve been around in terms of with the left foot to put the ball where he wants, where he doesn’t have to reach for it,” Curtin said. “It’s right in his stride, better than Hristo, and even Hristo’s left foot from back in the Chicago days. (Haris) is a great passing player, special in that regard and I was really proud of his complete game, the defensive side, too.”
The defensive solidity stems from the partnership with Alejandro Bedoya, who has been markedly more efficient since returning to his preferred No. 8 role. With Roland Alberg out Saturday, Curtin correctly opted for Ilsinho as the No. 10 instead of displacing Bedoya.
Medunjanin and Bedoya are arguably the two most traveled and tactically adept players on the Union, and that soccer worldliness pays dividends when allowed to dictate tempo and spacing.
“When you look at us, we’ve been adamant about keeping shutouts,” Bedoya said. “And part of that is we know that in this league, tactically it’s not the best, but for guys like me and Haris who are experienced, to hold down the middle because that’s the most important part of the field. With our movement, we’ve been able to understand each other since I dropped into the No. 8 role.”
“Alejandro is a very good player,” Medunjanin said. “It’s easy to communicate with him. He understands the game, but there are a lot of good players in the team.”
Medunjanin came in for some criticism early in the season when his defensive shortcomings were exposed. He is honest about his weaknesses, and covering acres of space isn’t his forte, exacerbating the structural fissures evident early in the season. So the Union have adjusted, remaining more compact and changing how they press opponents.
The result has been three consecutive clean sheets and a fourgame unbeaten streak, all of which has Medunjanin enjoying his MLS experience much more.
“We kept the spaces very short,” he said. “In this league, there are not a lot of teams that can break you with their football — maybe only Toronto, they have a good squad. But other teams, if we just keep the space, it’s very difficult to pass us. If we make the spaces always small and when we have the ball we have to have confidence to play, like today. We kept the ball more. … It was very nice to see.”