Replacing Homegrown exports major issue as MLS season begins
The questions Jim Curtin faced in the 2021 preseason were the kind most coaches would welcome.
They went a little something like this: So now that the Union has developed two of the most expensive Homegrown players in MLS history and European clubs have lavished around $6 million each on them, how do you compensate for their absence?
The pundits’ previews around the league mention Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie almost as much as if they were still up for selection by Curtin, not playing in Austria and Belgium, respectively. Removing two talents like that from any lineup requires an adjustment. But a lengthy offseason has been all about the Union trying to minimize any drop off.
The club enters the MLS season with two games of evidence of how that might go. And it offers reason for hope as the Union embark on the 2021 season Sunday afternoon in Columbus.
The end of the first weekend of the season brings a marquee game: The MLS Cup champion Crew hosting the Supporters’ Shield-winning Union in a national-TV date Sunday (5:30 p.m., FS1).
With the Union facing a busy opening month – it plays Atlanta United on April 27 and May 4 in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League – and an even busier summer of international competition awaiting, the Union will start with a furious sprint out of the gate.
“This will be a big test for us and one that our players look forward to,” Curtin said Friday. “In a lot of ways now, it’s about playing games, recovering, playing games again and it’s almost a sprint to that June break (for the Gold Cup). This league will be unique in that way.”
So much of that early period will be defined by how the Union adjust to roster losses. With limited offseason signings in a generally depressed global transfer market, Curtin believes the solutions can come from within.
The defense has had to adjust to not one but
two significant changes. McKenzie played all but one of 28 games in all competitions last year, part of the league’s stingiest defense. Also absent is Ray Gaddis, the franchise’s all-time appearances leader who retired, leaving Curtin to replace one of the league’s most reliable outside backs.
Two games against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa have shown that the learning curve is slight. Jakob Glesnes has played so well that Curtin has campaigned for the 27-year-old to get a call to the Norwegian national team. He and Jack Elliott provide a blend of physicality, deceptive speed and awareness that have kept the ball out of the net for 180 tense minutes so far. With Olivier Mbaizo, who set up the Union’s goal in Costa Rica, it’s clear that the backline will be different this year, though that doesn’t necessarily mean worse.
At the other end of the field, Anthony Fontana is seen as the heir apparent to Aaronson, the next Homegrown up at the No. 10 role. He’ll play it differently than Aaronson, and he’s a more natural goal-scorer, having scored six goals in just five starts (510 total minutes) last year, plus two in the preseason and one (plus a penalty drawn) against Saprissa.
But Fontana at the 10 is just one option. Right now, it looks like Jamiro Monteiro will play there, with new arrival Leon Flach on the left of the midfielder diamond. Monteiro demolished Saprissa Wednesday with two goals and two assists. As Curtin eloquently put it, “If he plays the 10 like that, you’ve got to be a crazy coach to move him from there.”
Partly out of necessity, Fontana wasn’t at the 10 in Champions League. Instead, with Cory Burke and Sergio Santos injured, Fontana played second striker off the shoulder of
Kacper Przybylko. He’s adapted before Curtin’s eyes, going from a tough outing in Costa Rica to an anonymous first half Wednesday to an influential final 45 minutes.
“It’s a new position for him,” Curtin said. “It’s not easy to adjust as quickly as he has, but he was not involved enough in Costa Rica. I would say he ran a lot, but he ran at one speed and he didn’t find the game and we didn’t find him with the ball to his feet. At home, we challenged him to be more decisive with his movements off the ball. … Anthony did a great job, much more involved, touched the ball more, and I thought his defensive work as well as Miro’s, the recovery sprints that they make to win balls for us and turn it into offense was awesome and something we need to see for the entirety of the year.”
While they’ve added five Homegrowns and reinforced depth at the points of departure, it’s not a one-to-one fix. Scottish center back Stuart Findlay won’t be called upon to fill McKenzie’s role. Flach won’t be expected to provide Aaronson’s level of production.
Rather than bodies, two strategies will be at the heart of how the Union replace Aaronson and McKenzie. One is embodied by Fontana, Glesnes, Mbaizo, Jose Martinez and others: Gradual improvement across the board in a hopeful effort to compensate for losing two standouts.
The second aspect lies in the team’s mentality. Regardless of personnel, the Union will play the same way. They’ll press opponents on the ball, they’ll try to turn them over and quickly go to goal.
All of that is designed to outlast the players now in the uniform and evolve with those that stay.