Bedoya has no problem talking about playing out of position
CHESTER >> One thing has become abundantly clear in Alejandro Bedoya’s short time with the Philadelphia Union, something his 200,000-plus Twitter followers knew before he arrived in Chester: He’s not shy about telling you how he feels.
That trait allows another fact to come to light, though it’s not one Bedoya has attempted to obscure. The American midfielder is most comfortable playing with the ball in his feet, his head up, the game in front of him. He’s less accustomed to — and many times this season, has looked distinctly uncomfortable — working over a defense with his back to goal.
If you don’t believe that assessment, ask him.
“I’ve told you guys from the beginning where I feel more comfortable and that’s, if you want to say the No. 8 position, where I get the ball from the defenders and I’m able to turn and look forward and get passes in between the lines and help get forward,” Bedoya said Wednesday afternoon. “That’s where I think I’m the strongest.
“Right now I’m playing in a different position because of different circumstances and for various reasons and I’m trying my best to help the team out. But you’re not going to turn me into somebody that I’m not, or what you want me to do as a No. 10 playmaker guy. I’ve never really been that type of guy in my career.”
The Union are mired in an 11-game winless streak that started the same month that Bedoya arrived as the club’s record signing. He’s played 15 games, including the playoffs; in that time, the Union are 3-8-4. They’re mired in last place in the Eastern Conference with three straight home games that will go a long way toward determining how far this season could go or how quickly it could crash and burn.
The Union are not struggling because of Bedoya, per se. In point of fact, instead of tailoring the formation to arguably their best player, the Union are asking Bedoya to play a role that doesn’t showcase his fullest talents.
Manager Jim Curtin acknowledges that tension.
“He and I are in agreement that (the No. 10) isn’t his favorite spot, he doesn’t want to be with his back to the goal,” Curtin said. “Can he do it very well? Yes he could. … He’s a guy who we’ve asked to do a ton. He does a ton of dirty work running defensively for us, is capable of playing in the 8 spot, is capable of playing wide like he does for the national team, is just overall a really good soccer player who I believe is having a good year right now and a guy that we need to continue to put on the ball in dangerous parts of the field more than we have.”
The measureables paint a conflicting portrait. On one hand, Bedoya has just two goals and no assists in his Union tenure. On the other, he strenuously points out, he’s had an uncredited role in the last two goals, with a deflected cross against Orlando City and a saved shot against D.C. United that both turned into goals by CJ Sapong. Curtin concurs that a different statistical line or an improved team record and the positional discussion is muted significantly.
The numbers aren’t the production you’d expect from a No. 10, but then Bedoya brings gifts traditional 10s don’t. That ushers in a deeper exploration of the defects in the Union’s formation.
Curtin evaded the question of why Bedoya is being deployed out of position. The obvious answer is the lack of time for Roland Alberg, who hasn’t yet shown Curtin he’s fully fit. Alberg as the No. 10 frees Bedoya to pair Haris Medunjanin in central midfield. Derrick Jones’ stellar play as the No. 8 is a more benign obstacle.
Curtin left the door open to the possibility of a twostriker look, something he’s always resisted. Sapong’s physicality and Jay Simpson’s (or Fafa Picault’s) speed present a complementary pair that would permit Bedoya to drop deeper, and Bedoya has excelled behind a two-forward front with the national team.
The change, however, needn’t be so drastic, as Bedoya’s possession patterns can be altered within an identical lineup. A designated position is. after all, just a suggestion, and Bedoya could drop deeper more often. In the second half against D.C., Curtin inverted the midfield triangle, with Medunjanin as the lone shield to the back four and Jones and Bedoya roughly even forging forward. Pulling Bedoya to retrieve the ball puts an onus on the team shape to morph, from a winger tucking in to occupy space around the center forward to fullbacks overlapping into the vacated wide real estate.
The team aspect is why Curtin disperses blame on Bedoya’s inability to get touches in his favored areas to the entire squad.
“Ale’s a guy that if we’re going to be at our best we need to have on the ball as much as possible dictating things, and it’s best to get him on the ball in dangerous positions,” Curtin said. “We’ve come up a little bit short on doing that as a team, and that’s not on Ale, that’s on us as a team.”
For all the offseason upgrades of depth and competition, the Union are still trying to bash a square peg — their priciest peg, at that — into a round hole. While everyone’s quite frank about that process, the early returns don’t appear sustainable.
If the first step is admitting a problem, then at least the Union are on the road to resolution.
“I think me playing next to Haris, I think we could do well,” Bedoya said. “Jonesy has done great so far, but I’ve got to do whatever it takes to help the team out, and I’m trying to do that.
“You guys want me to be a playmaker? Well that’s never been my career. I’m not going to turn into Ronaldinho all of a sudden because I’m put in the No. 10 in the formation. But I’m still trying to do my best to contribute to the team.”