In watching Federico Higuain, I am struggling to think of an American MLS player that moves like this guy. There is something about the angles he takes and the speed that gets him there that is unmatched, including his recognition of the situation. He also seems to know how to change pace on his runs- which I think Americans particularly struggle at....we do things at monotone pace. If you look at his goal scoring totals, he is not that great of a scorer. He does not look to have a strong shot. His skill doesn't look extra ordinary to me, but his movement does. Who in MLS reminds you on Higuain, and what is it about American soccer that we can not develop guys like this (with superior movement off the ball)? What can we do to produce guys with attributes like him?
I haven't seen Higauin's brother play in NE yet, but I can tell you that Wondo's best trait is his movement. Oh, and he can finish.
First, we are talking about a typical Argentinian player here. You know the type, at birth probably the first shirt ever put on his baby body was a tiny soccer jersey of his father's favorite team, ball at his feet when he learned his first steps, etc. Higuain's life revolves around the sport, has probably always revolved around it, and he is only now taking liberties to expand on his career outside of Argentina and enjoying himself. It is a massive change of pace from Argentina and their fast paced league to Columbus and MLS. We can all say MLS is physical, but so is Argentina's primera, we can say MLS has speedy players, but so does Argentina's primera, we can say there is some skill in MLS, but I bet from top to bottom Argentina's skill per team outmatches our league. His off the ball movement is ingrained into him after many years of trying to out think defenders that would stop at nothing short of knocking out his teeth to keep him from scoring. I have watched many Boca Jrs. and Riverplate games and one thing is apparent, they play at break neck speed on their attacks. Counter attacks happen a dime a dozen and they often include some really spectacular passing in between. MLS is far more laid back in comparison, the passing reflects the heat and some of the laziness that comes with it, there is no comparison. I am certain Higuain is used to a much faster pace of attack than MLS teams are used to so his vision and off the ball runs seem at times a few steps ahead of our average MLSer. I am not ragging on MLS, I think the league has improved every year, there is no doubt. You look at how far along this league has come in such a short period of time and you know the gap between MLS being behind the top leagues of the world is closing fast. Unfortunately our local American talent is still lagging behind on the soccer brain aspect because they were not born playing ONLY soccer since birth. American kids play a variety of sports and overall it adds to their balance but it does not add to their specific game that relies on our feet controlling the ball. When you look at Landon Donovan for at least a decade being called our best, our absolute elite, and only lately has he been showing his age you are now starting to see other players creeping into the picture that may one day replace him. Donovan without a doubt is still one of our top 3 players from the USA but it can be argued if he is number 1 still. We need 10 Donovan type players with the ball control and skill that he has in every position on every team. It is getting there, slowly, but it is obvious when an Higuain arrives to MLS and plays no more than 2 games that we still are a little behind the curve. The good news is it no longer is by much this gap everyone notices!
Well, his exploits in England need to unfold first. As of right now though, he's clearly in "small plaque" category and probably moving up to "medium sized plaque with gold plasticy trim" territory.
great post on Hinguain. I think Landon has the best movement in the league and is closest to the Argentine type style. Even at 19, he moved on the field very different from other American players.
We have several younger Americans in MLS who could play like Higuain if they were taught to. Guys like Shea, Pontius, Nguyen, Avila, Nagbe, Salinas and others. It's just that they're not taught to play like that. A big part of that is encouraging skilled players to express themselves without the pressure of failing. Sometimes in MLS and European soccer there is too much emphasis on tactics and it can weigh down a player's ability to be creative. To really be creative you have to put your mind into that zone where you're almost in a trance ... locked into the matrix of the game. That's when you exploit whatever weakness or space the defender concedes as the situation arises.
The man is on a mission. Good find for the Crew. On the flip side the league is paying Rafa Marquez close to 5 mil.
I also saw Higuain's movement as being very impressive when he debuted at BBVA Compass. It reminded me of Valencia's appearance earlier in the year. The difference between how Valencia moved off the ball and how all MLS teams moved was startling. It was just totally different. Some of it is technique. The precision and timing of passing. With MLS teams the ball constantly goes up in the air. With Valencia it was rarely in the air and then only when necessary because of length of pass or over a defender. The play was quick and precise. Much more precise to a specific foot. Since that night I have struggled to put my finger on how to describe or characterize that movement by Valencia. I've wanted to understand it better. I've struggled to do so, but I can still close my eyes and see it and sense the quality of it by I can't say I understand it. I got that same sense watching Higuain.
Some of it is pure laziness, and some of it is bad coaching. For example, Taylor Twellman pointed out (and I don't know why people hate on him- he makes some good observations amongst the Taylor-speak) how poor Kenny Cooper's run was across the backline, and getting caught offsides in this last match. Taylor was absolutely right- it was pathetic. It was a lazy run, and Cooper should know better. Absolutely no arc to his runs. Cooper's been coached at the highest levels and he should know better. Eddie Johnson can make some atrocious runs at times (he's spotty-sometimes he does it right). What stuck out to me was a great curved run to stay onsides that Jozy Altidore did recently in a Dutch game. Its clear that the high level play in sinking in. Yes, Landon is one of the few that knows how to do this, and know how to recognize when this is 'on'. The other thing that drives me nuts about American players- and sh*t my German coach taught this 30 years ago- was to vary your speed on your run. Way too many American players either play full-out or some sort of jog thing....drives me nuts. Even on 1-2s...it should be quick burst off the mark, slow down to collect ball, and burst again. But you see American players doing these things all at the same speed. Someone didn't get the memo. Angles is another thing. For that, I would suggest all our soccer prodigies study cubism in addition to football. Its no wonder Spanish players do so well. They see the world simply differently (I am not kidding). Same with jugo bonito and Brazil. Many Latin players incorporate a playfulness and creativity with their game that we lack here. Its a mindmelt of culture and soccer. Us Yanks are so vanilla and it shows in our soccer. We look like a bunch of Mitt Romneys on and off the ball.
It is not everyone but it certainly holds true for the majority of American players. I am kind of tired of watching MLS teams either running full blast, causing the ball to have a pinball effect in which hardly anyone has the sense to slow down and control the ball, or not running hardly at all. Watching Toronto vs Santos Laguna in the CCL tonight was painful in fact that I knew Santos was barely going full blast at all for 80% of the match. The last 10 minutes of the game they scored 2 goals for a 3-1 victory. They were so confident in their style and skill and knew they would get their chances against Toronto. Either Toronto is THAT bad or Santos is simply that good.
For a team with a shirt sponsor that makes shaving cream, they sure have a lot of guys with scraggily facial hair on the Crew.
Duncan Oughton sort of called it on the goal. Just watch his movement on this assist Those 'magic socks' that he mentioned have become expected, each time Higuain controls that ball in the attacking half. Whether he scores goals makes an assist or neither, the fact that a team has a dynamic player like this is something special to be a part of.
I can't think of a foreign important to MLS who's made such a huge impact so quickly on the pitch. The guy is class.
I love how he gives a sh*t too. He cares. Look at him fall to his knees and celebrate on that goal like he won an Argentine Cup. Let's just make it a rule to only accept foreign players (and American players) who care like this from now on. Makes such a difference. I think the difference in the Crew is both technical and emotional. I think the unfortunate death of Urso combined with the spirit of Higuain is really spurring this club now....in addition to the technical skills brought on with these 2 strong, new players. They seem on a mission now. Look out league. That little touch into space to free himself from the defender on the first ball to him was sublime. That's real skill and a difficult touch.
Last guy was probably Christian Gomez - took D.C. from middle of the road playoff team in August '04 to MLS Cup winner in November '04, and then the team dominated MLS (apart from the playoffs) the next few years.
Good call. I was going to say Schelotto. The Crew in '06 was the worst team in the league. In '07 with 2/3 of the year with Schelotto, they were 3 points out of the playoffs and would have qualified out west. The next two years, they won the SS twice and the MLS Cup once. Not as fast or immediate as Gomez, to be sure. Still, as impressive as Higuain has been, and it has been mighty impressive, the Crew have beaten Toronto, New England, Philly, and Montreal. That's a long way from winning the SS or the MLS Cup, like Gomez and Schelotto led teams did. Let's wait until he starts helping the Crew beat other contenders, or he hoists silverware, before we start putting him in Gomez/Schelotto territory.