Does RSL need a "destroyer" in the midfield?
Pablo Mastroeni says RSL does. Can they make the midfield work without one?
If you look back to last week’s newsletter, you’ll run smack-dab into this quote near the end from RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni’s press conference after the Austin loss.
We don’t currently have a 6 — a destroyer — but what we do, is we’ve got a lot of graft in the midfield. … It’s a position that we’ve definitely talked about. Last year, when Everton (Luiz) left, whether it was Pablo (Ruiz) and Jasper (Löffelsend), Scottie (Caldwell) and Jasper or Pablo, we felt like we could do the work and it was more ‘industry.’ But none of these players are natural-born killers in there, like a destroyer 6, but they can do the work.
I sort of shoved that in the end without comment, and though you might have heard us discuss it on Off the Crossbar, I don’t know if I’ve committed quite enough of the written word to talking through that little quote.
I think we can learn a lot from the quote, whether or not we agree with Mastroeni’s sentiments. I’d break down Mastroeni’s position this way:
Real Salt Lake does not have a player capable of playing (at least at the expected level) a classical “six” position, which he’s calling a “destroyer,” and
Real Salt Lake would be better off having a “destroyer” in the midfield, and
Without a “destroyer,” Real Salt Lake requires the efforts of two players in combination to make up for the lack, by virtue of their hard work.
I think that’s a fair reading of his implicit argument, although I’m sure some of you will certainly let me know if you think that’s not quite correct. But whatever the case, by bringing up the lack of a type of player in the immediate aftermath of a painful loss tells us about the importance of the player to Mastroeni, so I feel fairly comfortable with my assessment here.
The question then becomes this: What is a destroyer? Once we’ve answered that, we can start to answer the question I’ve posed in the subject line: Does RSL need a destroyer?
What is a destroyer?
The first problem I’ve run into is that a good, solid definition of a destroyer is a bit hard to come by. Certainly it refers to a defensive midfielder, but it’s also a defensive midfielder of a type. This from football writer Jonathan Wilson in The Guardian in 2013 is instructive (emphasis mine):
The first development was that the two holding players in a 4-2-3-1 began to fall into one of two schools: the destroyer and the creator, the classic example of which was perhaps Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso at Liverpool. As Mascherano clattered about making tackles and collecting bookings, his role almost entirely of regaining possession and distributing it simply, Xabi Alonso, although capable of making tackles, focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack like an old-style regista.
Finding a great description took me a little bit of time, but if you had to describe Pablo Mastroeni’s role as a player, I suspect that’s probably just about right.
Does RSL need a destroyer?
If you asked me (or, perhaps more accurately, if I asked myself), “Does Pablo Mastroeni need a destroyer?” I suspect the answer would be affirmative. I think it’s clear that Mastroeni’s tactical vision requires a classic destroyer-type figure who will make tough tackles, clean up play in the midfield, and occasionally make forays forward.
There’s a funny thing in that Real Salt Lake, for many years, had a classic destroyer at the helm of the team in Kyle Beckerman. He was that hard-tackling, possession-focused player, and he was at the center of RSL’s success. His combination play with the two box-to-box/shuttler midfielders and the creative attacking midfielder created a difficult midfield to play through. I remember the days of the diamond midfield at times longingly, which leaves me wondering further: Is Mastroeni right? Is the issue at hand for Real Salt Lake the lack of a destroyer — a Beckerman-like figure?
I’m of two minds here. If the way Mastroeni wants to play requires a stay-home defensive midfielder, then I suppose RSL does need one insofar as Mastroeni is the coach and is setting up the team to play in such a way. I also wonder if there’s perhaps another way to play that better fits the personnel on hand, because there are certainly ways to play that don’t involve that sort of role.
I don’t think you have to look much further than St. Louis City SC to see an opponent that doesn’t play with a pure destroyer, and I don’t think you have to look further in the past than Seattle Sounders to see another that doesn’t. This, of course, doesn’t mean that the days of a pure destroyer are done, as I think there’s a lot of room for tactical variation, especially in a financially restricted league like MLS.
To give Mastroeni the benefit of the doubt here, I will say that his system does require a ‘destroyer’ to work properly — but why does it? What could he do to account for the absence of one?
Without a destroyer, the space between the midfield and the defense has to be minimized, as you inevitably ask the center backs to help win back possession higher up the field. Even with a destroyer in place, that’s a common enough theme in world soccer that you oughtn’t be surprised when you see it.
First, I’d like to see that space minimized, and when RSL doesn’t have the ball, I don’t want to see Justen Glad and Marcelo Silva 40 yards away from whoever is currently tasked with those destroyer responsibilities.
Second, I’d like to see Jasper Löffelsend and Pablo Ruiz — presumptive starters for Saturday, given Braian Ojeda will be on international duty — not trying to share the responsibilities of a destroyer. If a destroyer is needed, task one of them with it. Have them make those tackles and win the ball back.
Third, if it’s not feasible to share the responsibilities, don’t play with a destroyer. Consider perhaps a system that gives more of those responsibilities to a defender, perhaps at the center of a three-man backline. Or consider a system that doesn’t demand someone to win the ball back — win it back by reducing the amount of available space in the midfield, squeezing out passing lanes, and putting players in positions of needing to try to risky passes to break through.
Finally, have nominally attacking players actually get into defensive positions. Too many times against Austin FC, RSL’s attacking players remained in attacking positions instead of dropping into defensive ones. That’s fine if it’s perhaps one or two players, but four? That’s a recipe for disaster.
Will RSL sign a destroyer?
I don’t think so. There is still just about a month left until the transfer window slams shut (before reopening a month after that), and we’ve expended a not-insignificant amount of cap space to this point. I suspect — and this is largely without evidence — that the club is focusing efforts on finding a quality center forward, although I could well be wrong on that front. I might argue a quality goalscorer is more important at this point, given the team has lost its leading goalscorer now in consecutive offseasons.
There’s a real trouble with finding a quality, starting midfielder in late March. Clubs following a winter schedule are late in their seasons and thus likely to be extremely reluctant to let a player leave. If they aren’t reluctant, is the player supplemental to requirements? Has the player been earning minutes? It’s difficult to get up to speed without actual minutes. That is, of course, one of the fundamental difficulties of MLS, but that’s why most important business is done in January and February. The summer window may prove a more convenient time, but if RSL needs a destroyer to function, what happens to this season if the club is forced to wait? Is it yet another wash of a season, waiting for the perfect roster to magically assemble itself?
RSL vs. St. Louis
I’m excited to see St. Louis City SC in person, in part because they’re surprisingly good, and in part because I’m fascinated by how chaotic the match will inevitably be, and not just because it is stupidly “RSL vs. SLC” — thanks for that, MLS. No, RSL will be missing two starting figures: Jefferson Savarino and Braian Ojeda. Rubio Rubin was also a likely starter, and plenty are clamoring for Diego Luna to start, too. Well, none of those players will be, given their call-ups. St. Louis is missing one player — an 18-year-old midfielder who has started one of their four wins this season.
Anyway, we’ll talk more about this on the site later this week. Thanks for reading another weekly edition of Wasatch Soccer Sentinel.