Good stuff! Thanks for posting. I too think that Gio is best centrally-focused. To begin with, I think that he starts on the wing and tucks in until he gets some experience with the Nats. Another place we could see him play (unexpectedly, and at a low probability) is as the withdrawn forward in a 4-4-2. Its all about what works on the field with the key players. Key players: Dest, Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Reyna, Brooks, Steffen...the rest of the roster should be built to maximize the strengths of those players and to cover for their weaknesses. That is a mix of rising talent like we have never seen before...it's also a dearth of leadership and experience like we have never seen before. There are two to three high-caliber young leadership personalities in this mix (Adams, McKennie, Weah), but I think that they need some guys who have been in the wars. Altidore and Bradley are still in the mix for me. They both need to work on fitness like never before. Guys I expect to work their way into the mix before Qatar: Weah, Ledesma, Llanez, and maybe Vassilev. Weah can either play behind Pulisic and provide defensive support on the wing, or he can play center forward and open up space. Ledesma is your offensive spark super sub when you need a central chance creator. Llanez is the guy you sub up top on the left either exploit a team while you're ahead and need to sub Pulisic, or you play him opposite Pulisic and tell him to exploit the space that the tilted field will open up...he could be lethal in that role.
I think that Gio is probably best as a winger that has free reign to roll around the field at all and comes centrally quite a bit. That's what he does at Dortmund and he seems sneaky good at losing marking and find the play. I think if we had two really effective offensive fullbacks (and we don't, but maybe we will at some point), that the bombing fullbacks with Pulisic and Reyna being 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 wings that slide in on attack is a very good option. The three mids could then be something like Adams-McKennie-Pomykal, all of whom can attack when needed, but also become a very strong defensive core. Not having Reyna or Pulisic in the central midfield defensively takes away an inherent weakness. The downsides of that are pretty clear: while I hope Robinson could be that left back, he's not clearly there and the backup situation is pretty dire; while Pulisic and Reyna are ideal for this, players like Morris, Boyd, Arriola are not necessarily; if Dest is not at RB, Cannon has been good but unspectacular and Yedlin frankly awful with the ball. Every formation comes with downsides, though, so I think this should be one of the core options. The other obvious one is Reyna in the middle and Pulisic on the wing. Both in the middle is tough for me as I think the CM defense is pretty terrible -- maybe at home versus minnows but I think we'd get ripped to shreds by the better teams or on the road.
I think that your overall outlook is sensible, though I'm afraid that including Brooks amongst the core is a bit optimistic.
Giovanni “Gio” Reyna at Borussia Dortmund (moved from YA thread) Let's get you started on a constructive Saturday: It seems to me that in Gio we can see, through the mist of youth, a 10 who can transmit a ball from various positions on the pitch with a variety of vectors. For me this goes in the direction of a 4231 of the type Berhalter liked at Columbus where the game went thru Higuaín. The question arises, who would Gio play best with? What type of cf? Zardes: Typical berhalter cf. Tall, rangy, runs onto long crosses from wings after wings have been fed by the 10. At one point it was Kei Kamara whose last great outing was under Berhalter, playing with Ethan Finlay and Higuaín. Jozy: He wants the ball at this feet. Likes to set up at the 18. Doesn't dribble thru midfield. Aerial game has improved a lot and is more likely to head in a cross than using his feet. Morris: Is most effective making his move in midfield getting behind the cb's. Plays most like Haaland of our three choices but is less likely to finish and more likely to use his move to set up for transitioning teammates. That is why RuiDiaz is the 9 in Seattle and Morris is the wing. Sargent: Jury still out on his role while he develops at club. However he seems a combo type 442 forward more than somebody fitting in a 4231 of Berhalter type. I'd pick Morris but I'd expect to see him run a lot and come off late for Jozy or Zardes. Alternatively, I could see Morris and Zardes starting under Berhalter and Jozy, whose conditioning and age and form have to taken into account, coming on late. What I like about Gio is that he has an excellent airball from deep (has to refuse to do Berhalter's diagonal baloney to wings and go straight to Morris like he does for Haaland).
He looks like a 10 to me. I could see him on the wing and afraid Berhalter will make him the DLP. 1293580814907838464 is not a valid tweet id
It’s a preseason friendly against nobody’s. Not saying you’re making a big deal. Just want temper expectations before several people run away with it. I’m glad he played well it’s a good step for his development overall but not putting too much stock into as him at 10. He’s still likely to occupy the wing. However, if this is a sustained change for him and he continues his development that would be huge. It would also force Gregg to change his entire approach. He could keep most things the same just switch the DLP for CAM and play a more traditional 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.
Just to be fair................preseason friendly against an Austria Bundesliga team. A team in Austria that finished 1 point behind Erik Palmer-Brown's Austria Vienna last season. But let's just assume they're the quality of the Chattanooga Red Wolves for the purposes of our own self-loathing.
Not making a big deal. This is just a continuation from the end of the season. The post was less about the quality of the performance/opponent and more about how good of a feel he has for the game. The kids development path is very steep right now. Really looking forward to see him play once the season starts.
I thought he was a bit casual on the finish. I get its preseason but I'd like to see him hit that one first time with his left.
Unlike Pulisic, he did not play strictly wing in 2019/20 with Dortmund. He played some wing but played many games in central midfield. Many times, he played on the wing and in CM in the same game. I agree, the emergence of Gio will let Gregg change his approach.
Funny, I thought the opposite. He doesn't get buck fever, he just waits for the GK to make the first move. Super cool and slots in between the goalie's legs.
Yeah...he megged the keeper. Some players are more comfortable with that than they are going at the corners.
Not sure it would be easier with his left foot. He was facing Haaland and it was played right to him. For him to get a first time shot with his left the ball would have needed to be played in front of him. He had plenty of time so trapping the ball cleanly and then slotting the ball home was the simplest and smartest thing to do on the play. Let's look at what the supposed most in form US player did on a similar play. The ball in was tougher as in the air from further distance and potential defender might have gotten a had on the, but trap and shoot the best option. The big difference was the Zardes like first touch and the unnecessary second touch. Play starts around 1:05.
I think it is hard to say Gio is a wing specifically, even though he takes up wide positions at times. I remember watching Pulisic at BVB and he was obviously a winger there. He was attacking with slashing runs, dribbling through crowds, going both wide and coming central after picking up the ball on the wing. There was debate over where he should play for the US, but there was no debate where he was playing for BVB. Now, with Gio, he's not playing the way Pulisic did. He's getting the ball much more often centrally and much more often deeper. And, he's looking to combine with his teammates more than go on solo runs. They are obviously not playing the same position at BVB or doing many of the same things. If Gio plays for the US as a wing, he'll be playing a different position than he has with BVB. Outside their ages being close and they are both attackers, they have had very different impacts at BVB as to how they actually play on the field, so I think we are way off if we just consider Gio the next Pulisic coming out of Dortmund and stick him on the opposite wing. Also, a good finish is one that end sup in the back of the net. That goal was a good finish.
In their last friendly, he started as the 10 with Brandt as the 9; Haaland was out. It seemed like instead of switching with the wings, he and Brandt would switch. So, Reyna found himself as the 9 at times. Favre has called him a 9.5 recently. I don't think BVB are developing him as a winger at all. It is nuts that he hasn't played with the USMNT, all virus related. But if Adams and McKennie are dual-8s, there is no where central for Gio. It is getting comical how the player pool is pushing Gregg to change but Gregg is always a step or two behind.
Well, there is an obvious place for him in front of them, but Berhalter still wants Yueill/Bredley/Trapp in there. So, we'll throw Gio out of position on the wing and/or send Morris to the bench all so we can play one of those three in midfield. The more additional players emerge, the more ridiculous keeping one of those guys in midfield becomes.
Gio can play any of the front four positions and don't see why he couldn't even play deeper. He is such a well rounded player and has the athleticism to go with it. I would hope the goal is to find a way to get the most out of our best players and have roles the supporting players can fill. I think what BVB is doing with Gio is exactly what we need. A central player that can control possession and distribute the ball while being a dangerous attacker. In the recent games, BVB has played a different formation than last season and has looked like a pure center mid as opposed to being out wide with the flexibility to drift in. Pulisic, like Reyna, can play wide or centrally. I have argued for a while he should play centrally because we didnt have the players to get him the ball. Reyna changes that and CP can now be played as an inverted winger with primary role of running at defenders. These two flexibility should give them the ability to rotate and overload areas on the field. We just need two more players with the same flexibility for the other side. I think Weah has some of the capabilities if can stay healthy, but think his best spot may be up top. The two younger guys I like and are probably the closest are Ledezma and Llanez. Ledezma is more of a pure ten but has been effective out wide. Llanez has always played wide, but has been used centrally at Wolfburg.