The Love Song of T. Jordan Pefok: Siebatcheu at Borussia Mönchengladbach

Started:

So spielt YB heute in Lausanne 💛🖤

Abwesend: Rieder, Amenda (gesperrt), Fassnacht, Camara, Sulejmani, Monteiro, Maceiras, Petignat (verletzt), Faivre (nicht im Aufgebot).#BSCYB #LSYB pic.twitter.com/gegwlr3LS9

— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) March 13, 2022

Scored the equalizer:

49. Ausgleich: Siebatcheu lenkt eine Flanke von Garcia ins Netz. #BSCYB #LSYB

— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) March 13, 2022

 

Just saw the goal but can't post yet - cross from the left flank to the penalty spot, a little behind Pefok. He gets inside position and guides it toward the far post with his back leg - pretty high degree of difficulty with a little good fortune.

 

Late free kick goal by Garcia for BSC and they're up 2-1.

 

Had an earlier goal waved off:

7. Der Ball liegt im Netz, der Treffer zählt aber nicht. Siebatcheu hatte Lausannes Zohouri vor dem Torschuss mit dem Ellenbogen getroffen. #BSCYB #LSYB

— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) March 13, 2022

The ball is in the net but the hit does not count. Siebatcheu hit Lausanne's Zohouri with his elbow before the shot on goal.

 

The goal:

Siebatcheu trifft zum 1:1-Ausgleich für YB in Lausanne. #Bscyb pic.twitter.com/51vS4NHGxb

— Zum Runden Leder (@zumrundenleder) March 13, 2022

 

All 21 of Jordan Pefok's Goals so far this season!
by @USMNTvideos https://t.co/QAXMRa9Awl

— Justin Moran (@kickswish) March 14, 2022

 

There is zero reason not to include him in the next camp.

 

He is a real center-forward. I like him. Let's not be too snobby about the league.

 

Starts:

So spielt YB heute gegen den FC Zürich 💛🖤

Abwesende: Camara, Petignat, Sulejmani, Fassnacht, Maceiras, Monteiro (verletzt), Maier (U21), Faivre, Zbinden (nicht im Aufgebot).#BSCYB #YBFOREVER #YBFCZ pic.twitter.com/TECyWFRnlB

— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) March 19, 2022

 

Left in the 65th with the match scoreless. Now down 1-0.

 

Duh.

 

I'm fine with him being called in and maybe starting but let's not act like every other contending forward in our pool wouldn't be banging in goals at a high rate if they were playing for Young Boys. He's on a decent team facing weaker competition than MLS.

 

The Swiss league is a much higher level than you believe it to be. Put Zurich, Basel, and Young Boys in MLS and you’d be very surprised by the results.

 

Yep, he and Haji Wright are our only forwards in Europe I expect to put up respectable numbers

 

Would we? Anyone who understands football and watches the smaller Euro leagues' better teams, would expect at least 2 of those 3 to make the MLS playoffs. And while the bottom sides are bad, the next 3 would be no pushovers in MLS either.

That's not snarking at MLS BTW. If the MLS "middle 6" entered the Swiss league, Zurich, Basel and Young Boys would have a lot more competitive games and a lot fewer glorified workouts.

It's just that the Swiss League is quite decent. Take a look at the Swiss national side for proof

 

How many play in the Swiss league? Not snark, just don't know.

 

Exactly my point.

 

No, I was unclear so it's a completely fair question. My apologies.

Of the current MNT squad, very few play in the Swiss league: there was only one in the last callup, but nearly every one of the others started there and then went directly to a Top 5 league before moving sometimes on to other parts. That, or they play for, you guessed it, RB Salzburg.

Of the ones that are playing domestically (or for Salzburg), they're either under 25s that their clubs want to get good money for, or 32+ veterans who've chosen to leave Top 5 leagues and wind up their careers as stars back home rather than fringe players at relegation strugglers abroad. True, playing Sion or Lugano 4 times a season isn't very challenging, but playing Basel, Zurich or Young Boys is. So is CL and EL group stage football.

 

In other words, just like the Brazilian league, Argentina league, Colombian league, Bulgarian league. That the Swiss MNT players started at home doesn't tell us much of anything.

 

Starts:

Die YB-Startelf in Basel 💛🖤

Nicht dabei sind: Fassnacht, Rieder, Monteiro, Sulejmani, Lefort, Petignat (verletzt), Faivre (nicht im Aufgebot).#BSCYB #FCBYB pic.twitter.com/kGJZ1dWNpq

— BSC YOUNG BOYS (@BSC_YB) April 3, 2022

 

So what's the reasoning on why he looks underwhelming when he's playing for us vs playing for club?

 

Level of competition?

Played the full 90 in a 2-2 draw today.

 

Many reasons most likely. Sample size being a big one. He gets many more games with club and there's a comfort in that. He stinks it up for club once in a while too. Humans being humans and all.

Can't speak to talent level in leagues. It's splitting hairs whenever you go below the better 7-8 leagues.

 

It's talent level of his team versus talent level of the teams he's playing.

That's really the important point the "Swiss League is better than you think" crowd seems to ignore. Young Boys would do well in MLS. The vast majority of the league is way behind them in a way you just don't get in MLS. Pefok get's more time on the ball, more chances with it, and the people defending him are nowhere near the quality of players on his own team much less the quality of players he faced in Mexico the other day.

We will never really know how good Pefok is until he moves to a better league or gets bought up by some MLS team.

 

Level of competition is one factor, which others have covered thoroughly. The other is that Berhalter is/seems to be wedded to a particular way of playing - positional play - into which a pure poacher like Pefok will find it pretty challenging to fit. With this system everyone must know and master his own task to perfection, and 2-3 other people's as well.

Pefok won't get many games in this setup, as a result of which the rest of the team isn't familiar with him and what he can do, which leads to him not getting games. Rinse and repeat.

At club level, a coach with a clear philosophy can select a squad that suits the philosophy and has the time to drill everyone to implement it. At MNT level, a coach has the pool chosen for him and has to find a philosophy to bring the best out of the players available to him. Since positional play is one of the more complicated systems to implement and demands very good players at every position, Berhalter is, shall we say, going against the MNT coaching grain.