EDITORIAL- There was perhaps no greater watershed moment for Columbus Crew SC over the past two seasons than August 16th, 2014. That night, the club put together a comprehensive 4-1 victory over eventual MLS Cup Champions Los Angeles Galaxy. From that point forward, they were among the hottest teams in MLS to close out the year and finished third in the Eastern Conference before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
Looking back on it, what stood out for me was the fact that the final goal of the game was scored by center back Giancarlo Gonzalez. It turned out to be his first and last during his one-year stint with the Black and Gold. After being linked with a move to Europe following his stellar play for club and country over the summer, particularly with Costa Rica during the 2014 World Cup, his transfer to Palermo of the Italian Serie A was finalized no more than a week later.
What followed between then and the start of the 2015 season was a move by Crew SC head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter to further mold the club within the vision he has for it.
The Importance of Having the Right Players in a Given System
Soccer, like many team sports, is a game based on system. It’s up to the coach to formulate one and plug in the right players to implement it in the most ideal way possible. Having already accomplished the former, task one leading up to the current season was to take care of the player aspect of the overall puzzle.
And so, in the wake of the Gonzalez departure, the foundation was laid for an endeavor that was referred to by the baseball writers of the early 20th century as “ivory hunting.” The Crew SC scouting network was dispatched for an undertaking in that regard on a global scale.
Between September 9th, 2014 and January 30th, 2015, the club would sign eight new players from places as diverse as the Swedish First Division (Allsvenskan), the Colorado Rapids, the Argentine Primera Division, all the way back to the Crew SC Academy. Depth was a key consideration for many of these moves, but even more important was how certain acquired players fit into Berhalter’s overall tactical mindset going into this season.
In his first year at the helm, Berhalter started the season in a modified 4-4-2 (perhaps even a 4-4-1-1). Argentine playmaker Federico Higuaín was put into sort of a withdrawn attacking role behind the lone center forward which interchanged between Jairo Arrieta and Dominic Oduro.
Crew SC found a great deal of success, starting off the season getting maximum points from their first three matches. Higuaín had three goals and an assist during that span while Arrieta also netted one.
Initial Adversity
It was in the club’s fourth match of the season against Toronto FC when Berhalter decided to tinker the formation a bit and shift into the 4-2-3-1. Instead of having the midfielders on the flank pull even with the two centrally oriented holding midfielders, they move up with Higuaín and in effect become attacking wingers. The experiment was borderline disastrous at first.
Between the 2-0 loss to TFC in the first game of the year playing the 4-2-3-1 and that seminal moment against the Galaxy, Crew SC would play 20 games, 16 of which would be in that formation. They would go 2-7-7 in those games and manage to score a paltry 14 goals. Meanwhile, in the six games where they played the 4-4-1-1, including three in which Berhalter reverted to it mid-season, they went 4-1-1 and scored 13 goals.
Higuaín appeared to be much more effective as a pure finisher when he was isolated behind the target forward. In games where the wingers became more attack-oriented, his goal-scoring numbers tapered off a bit yet his abilities as a versatile, playmaking number ten became somewhat more pronounced. In those six games in the 4-4-1-1, the Argentine tallied seven goals and two assists while in those 20 games where results were hard to come by he only managed two goals yet assisted on four.
The Black and Gold would continue to roll out the 4-4-1-1 which they utilized in the season-defining win over Los Angeles as well as a few other games late in the year. Given how long he stuck with the 4-2-3-1 during that mid-season dry spell, however, Berhalter appeared to be pretty committed long term. It’s what was used in last year’s playoff series against New England and has been a part of all seven of the club’s games in 2015.
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Ultimately, though, it comes back to what I mentioned earlier. A given system is only as effective as the players brought in to execute it. It’s been that way throughout the history of the game. The infamous “catenaccio” formation that took Italian soccer by storm in the 1960s and which was reviled throughout other parts of Europe for its notoriously defensive play was only perceived as such because many teams that utilized it lacked the personnel to unleash its attacking potential. At least that’s what famed Inter Milan head coach Helenio Herrera wanted you to believe.
It’s no different in today’s game.
The Columbus Crew SC 4-2-3-1
Each tactical system currently used in modern soccer requires certain players to have distinct skills in order for a team to produce success on the field. I believe this is especially true if you’re formation of choice is the 4-2-3-1. It’s why Berhalter and the Crew SC front office were so busy scouring the world for talent to realize their vision.
This is an extremely versatile formation and it’s not just used in Columbus. Teams such as the New York Red Bulls, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the New England Revolution, and FC Dallas among others regularly employ the 4-2-3-1. A glaring example of its versatility lies in the possession-oriented strategies different clubs employ.
On the one hand, you have clubs that favor the high press and regularly dominate possession. The Red Bulls and Crew SC could aptly be classified into this category considering they are the league’s top two teams in average possession percentage per game (57.79 and 54.21 percent respectively). They also have the current third and fourth best records in the Eastern Conference.
Consequently, you have those sides who love to play for the counter and regularly concede possession such as Vancouver and FC Dallas. Whitecaps FC averages 46.67 percent possession per game while FC Dallas is MLS’ second worst team in this stat at 45.37 percent. These two teams are currently one-two in both the Western Conference standings as well as the league as a whole.
But back to the issue of personnel. It really speaks to Berhalter’s ability to develop existing players on the roster as well as his knack for finding talent both abroad and domestically that the 4-2-3-1 has worked pretty well for Crew SC both at the tail end of last season and the front end of 2015. Let’s go through some key components on the field and the prominent players who have the potential to help turn this season into a special one for the club.
The Evolution of the Modern Wing Back
Most MLS teams run a four-man back line. You’re two central defenders tend to be tall, physical, no-nonsense and borderline brutish, epitomizing what the Brits still call the center half. What I love about the 4-2-3-1 in Berhalter’s system, though, is what is required of the defensive wingers. Not only must they defend in the traditional sense, but they also have to push downfield during scoring opportunities and in essence become a second overlap of the overlapping attacking midfielders, creating their own chances down the flanks.
Waylon Francis was masterful in this role at left back in his first season for the club in 2014 and continues to impress early on this year. Berhalter wanted a similar threat on the other side of the field. Enter Hernán Grana, whose energetic play down the right side of the field has been an immense a joy to watch, while being a crucial part to Crew SC’s overall play.
The Differing Roles Within the Midfield
I think my favorite aspect of this formation is that it compartmentalizes the midfield. The 4-4-2 diamond sort of does this but I think the 4-2-3-1 accomplishes the task even better. Although Wil Trapp has missed quite a bit of time this year due to the concussion he suffered during practice in March (and we all hope he comes back when the time is right), his skill set as a ball-winning number six is best suited when the two holding midfielders are situated behind the attacking wingers.
Mohammed Saeid has done an admirable job of starting in his place. His role is more akin to the number eight box-to-box midfielder. His defensive midfield counterpart Tony Tchani might be on the cusp of his best season as a pro and exudes similar qualities of a pure six. Being able to recover the ball and anticipate an opposing player’s passing tendencies is such an important part of having a high soccer IQ as a D-mid. Tchani’s recovery+interception usage rate (13.92%) is 10th highest in the league among players who’ve played a minimum of 70 percent of his team’s minutes.
Kei Kamara: The Culmination of It All
The biggest shortcoming last season for Crew SC was the lack of a do-it-all number nine. We’re not even halfway through the season and already the acquisition of Kei Kamara has shown the club has addressed this need. His five goals are tied for the league lead with both Vancouver’s Octavio Rivero and Houston’s Giles Barnes. Yet a good target forward not only scores goals but enables his teammates to find the back of the net. Ethan Finlay’s 32nd minute goal against Philadelphia last weekend was a perfect example.
Notice how Kamara’s flare into the box forces Union defender Steven Vitória to make an ever so slight move towards him, creating some space for Crew SC right attacking winger Ethan Finlay to take full advantage of Francis’ wonderful cross. Finlay had been held scoreless all season until then and followed this goal up 41 minutes later which was assisted by none other than Kamara.
And there you have a full circle of sorts in relation to how the 4-2-3-1 works for the Black and Gold in terms of enabling a wide variety of players on the field to create chances and facilitate goal-scoring.
Main Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
