I found this last part interesting. http://www.dcunited.com/index.cfm?section=main&cont_id=169863 "Dema Kovalenko, looking for one last challenge upon finishing yesterday’s afternoon training session, found a worthy foe in Hristo Stoichkov. The two agreed to wager on who could kick a ball closer to the corner flag from midfield. Going first, Stoitchkov turned up the heat on Kovalenko by leaving his attempt a mere five feet from target. His celebration would prove premature, however, as the defensive midfielder responded by placing his ball at the base of the flag, actually touching the corner stick. A perfect kick to finish camp." Does that mean he is going to be playing there or is it a typo????? Hmmmmnnnnnnnnn???
Dema is a d-mid despite the role he might have played in chicago. He's tough SOB, who can run all day long. He's got good enough skills to help start an attack and is a fairly intelligent player.
I think the best thing coming out of camp is the role Dema is playing in setting the tone for the team. Setting up the yellow fever game and it sounds like challenging anyone at anytime to do pretty much anything. I love that we added a competitor like that to the mix. Not to mention the fact that it's pretty sick that he placed the ball at the base of the flag.
Hmid is probably more explanatory Dema is not a true Dmid at all. He's not in the running to take Nelsen's primary Dmid Spot. You could clasify Dema as an Hmid or if you prefer simply a central midfielder, but he's not a true Dmid. Hudson's original plan was to use a 3 man back line supported by Nelsen as Dmid and Dema assisting him as Hmid in the center of the park. That may still be the plan, but after allowing 9 goals in our only 2 preseason scrimmages--including letting the Wizards score 5--the coaching staff has been rethinking the 3 man back line. A 4 man back line may prove necessary, with Nelsen being the sole Dmid. That would mean Dema would need to beat out Olsen, Convey or Etch to start. Another option Hudson mentioned--but that I detest--is using the 451, so in that case Dema would need to beat out both Santino and Esky to get on the field. I think that is like playing the "prevent defense" in the NFL ... the only thing it prevents is winning. Realistically, last season when we had a full compliment of Reyes, Prideaux, Richie Williams, and either Nelsen or Pope, we were a very good defense. But losing Pope and Richie gutted our defense, and we haven't seen signs that it has become stable yet. Look at all the changes: 2002 Defense: ---------------------Richie---------------------- ---------Prideaux--Nelsen/Pope--Reyes---------- 2003 Defense: --------------------Nelsen---------------------- -------------Petke--Ivanov--Reyes-------------- Reyes is the only player playing the same position. Everyone else is either new to the club or in a new position. Furthermore, while we were all in agreement that Lazo wasn't good enough, he helped out by playing a second Dmid covering for Reyes. This year we're intending to use Dema--a very comitted offensive player--to man that spot assisting the primary Dmid. I must admit, I've been worried about all of this since the Richie-Pope/Petke trade and have been very worried since the Mapp/Dema trade. -Tron
Re: Hmid is probably more explanatory I'm not sure Nelsen would be playing D-mid anyway. Nelsen already proved he's too slow to do that. I think we'll see Nelsen in central D most of the season. Back to Dema, it will be interesting. Since Chicago has the best D-mid in the league (Armas), they probably never gave Dema a shot at that position. Maybe he can be a D-mid, maybe he can't. We'll see.
Last year during Dema's less than stellar display at FC St. Pauli, the manager (Demuth) tried Dema on the Right Wing. After a few games, St. Pauli's Right Back had some injury problems and Dema was asked to fill that role. He failed miserably. Upon his return, he complained about being played in a defensive role because he is an attacking player. He also called the coach a racist (funny that Gibbs didn't seem to have an issue) but that is another story... My vote is that Dema is an attacking midfielder who will come back on defense and play aggresively. However, as I mentioned in another thread, most of his cards come from being caught too far forward and having to run quite a distance to catch up to the ball carrier before committing an ugly tackle from behind.
I mentioned that at one time here and was told that he is not disciplined enough to play that position. I still think he is the best candidate on our roster for that spot.
Mine is that with a little coaching (heaven forbid Ray actually does this) Dema could be a fairly effective d-mid. He has all the tools physically, and technically, what he needs is a little coaching tactically. Playing with a 4-back to me means that Nelsen goes back into the center of the defense where he played very well last year. Petke moves on the left and Prideaux sits.
First, I think Dtron is basically right about this. Maybe Dema could be an effective holding mid. But as a D-mid (who is doing a lot of chasing, is a defensive organizer, covers for defenders who go forward, may take on marking assignments for an A-mid), nah--that's not Dema (any more than that is Quaranta--who has shown the same elements as Kovalenko). Second, Reyes would be terrible at D-mid I think. At a pro level, your D-mid needs to be incredibly disciplined. And, its very rare (unless you're Edgar Davids) to roam forward. While Reyes is a tough tackler, fast and quick with a nice touch (all things you'd like as a D-mid), he is probably our least disciplined player (as Eddie and Ryan repeatedly noted last year). And playing him at D-mid means we miss his offensive forays as a right back. I think the challenge is this--we're EXTREMELY DEPENDENT upon Nelsen and Ivanov. If Ivanov doesn't work out as a central defender (with good range, reading plays well) than we need to play a backline with 4 defenders (which creates the challenges in midfield spots--who do you play?). Or it means we pull Nelsen back into central defense (and he'll be fine there--but not in a 3-man backline I fear). And Nelsen needs to work out as a D-mid. Other players might work out as holding mids but if Nelsen isn't our D-mid, then we'll likely be starting our 17th or 18th best player (Namoff or Carroll) on our top 11. It would be better if our starting 11 includes players generally regarded in our top 14 guys.
JoeW makes an excellent point about discipline. Dmids need to be extremely disciplined, because one mistake can very well mean a goal. But the scheme can make a difference as well. In a 442, the Dmid must never leave deep central midfield undefended, so unless he has a player to slide in behind him when he moves forward (i.e. Olsen) who is capable of destroying a counter, the Dmid rarely ventures forward. But in a 352 with two deep midfielders, they often share those duties. So while Dema isn't a Dmid, he might slide back to cover for Nelsen when Nelsen moves forward. That's the sort of system that Hudson ran at Miami. Bishop was very good at reading the situation so he always covered when Rooney would slide forward for those game winners. As for Reyes, I was one of the first proponents of trying Reyes at Dmid. Often it is a "promotion" from the back line, because it requires exceptional game reading skills, which I think Reyes posesses. JoeW makes a good point about Reyes' forays forward, but really, he's neither a threat to score nor a threat to place a beautiful cross, so his offensive ability is limited to quickly transitioning from defense to offense. I think he can do that at Dmid also. He's a quick and clean passer and seldom loses possession, so he has the skill set. His defending is impeccable in both man marking and zonal schemes, even though he hasn't had much (any?) experience reading the game as a sweeper in front of the back line. While I agree with JoeW that he'd need to show more discipline defensively, his recovery speed allows him to venture farther forward than most Dmids. I think he'd be an excellent prospect at Dmid. But, I don't think 1 month before the season is really enough time to break him into the position. Much like the Ivanov experiment failed at Dmid, I suspect that the Reyes experiment might yield similar results. It's one of the most complex positions in the game, because it requires spatially evaluating every player and combination, which is insanely difficult. This is probably the single biggest place on the field where experience helps. I wouldn't mind grooming Reyes and/or Ivanov for Dmid, but if we're going to do it, we need to devote a lot of practice over a long period of time before we declare it a success or failure. It's not an overnight transition. But in a 352, Reyes could man-mark a midfielder with ease and cover for the other Dmid when they venture forward. -Tron
What we want, hell what every team wants, is a mid who plays like Roy Keane. As one commentator described him, "he brings a certain amount of fire and brimstone to the pitch". Nevermind his thuggish behavior at times, before his injury he could dominate the field from box to box, which is something few, if any, players do. While I realize people with his talent come along once a generation, a player with his attitude and will would be nice to have roaming our midfield.
I think Reyes could play the position. While I do agree that he has lacked discipline in the past, those instances were in different positions with different responsibilities. If Ray Hudson can convey the importance of the position and the need for discipline in playing the position, I think Reyes can handle it. Reyes does have the speed which is a very important aspect for that position. While Richie Williams lacked speed, he was very tactically aware and compensated for his lack of speed with his experience. Nelsen does not have Reyes speed nor does he have Williams' experience, so he would have a longer time getting adjusted to the position.