Mix Diskerud represents a rarity in the American soccer landscape.
That rarity is personality, charisma- a certain visibility out of which celebrity can arise. Outside of guys like Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, the American soccer world hasn’t had a great many figures who command the limelight in quite the same way that Diskerud does. What makes him so special (aside from his hair, of course) is his status as an enigmatic figure. There’s a shadowy mist that surrounds Mix even as his celebrity grows. Whether it’s his twitter profile throwing followers for a loop just often enough for it to be one of his trademarks or the mystery that comes from playing in a reputable but practically invisible European league, fans and pundits alike have found it incredibly hard to nail down a description for the man known as Mix Diskerud.
That je ne sais quoi lead to roaring excitement when it was announced that Mix was headed to New York City FC to help the MLS expansion team break into the fold. Introduced alongside names like David Villa and Frank Lampard, it was Mix that many fans were most eager to see.
Outside of fleeting yet tantalizing-but now increasingly regular-appearances with the US National Team, Mix had been invisible on the field of play. He was now entering an environment where those who cared the most about his performances would be able to scrutinize him week in and week out.
It started with a bang. 62,000 people filled the Citrus Bowl in Orlando to watch Kaka, Brek Shea, David Villa, and Mix Diskerud start the fires of their respective expansion teams, with no one quite sure how the evening would go. In that match, Diskerud completed 76 passes with a 94.7% accuracy rate, and scored the first goal in NYCFC history- a curling effort set up by a pass from David Villa.
The following week, Mix completed another 77 passes at an 88% clip as NYCFC dispatched the New England Revolution by a 2-0 scoreline in the franchise’s first ever home match. David Villa was the star of the show this time, but it was beginning to look like Mix and the NYCFC attack were shaping up to be a capable group, impressive at the very least for an expansion club.
Then the wheels fell off of NYCFC, and they lost six of their next seven. Their attack looked anemic and their defense was a sieve. It culminated in the inaugural edition of what has been dubbed the “Hudson River Derby” when, despite being handed an early red card, the New York Red Bulls absolutely trounced NYCFC, who were flattered by a 2-1 scoreline signaling their defeat.
During this poor run of form, the club was mostly without David Villa due to injuries, and their walking-wounded back line was changing every week. Chemistry is slow to build in a new team, but rotating lineups and injuries to key players completely threw NYCFC off the rails.
Many of the regulars on the attacking half of the team were present throughout this poor run however, and Mix was one of them. He drew criticism for being too conservative, playing too simply, and not providing the necessary spark to a team that desperately needed one.
Right in the middle of this, Mix was called up to the US National Team squad to face Mexico. He got the start and played extremely well, putting in work on both sides of the ball and showing the venomous tackling ability that Jürgen Klinsmann has been working so hard to bring out of him. Mix also combined well up and down the right side of midfield with DeAndre Yedlin and Stanford’s Jordan Morris.
Naturally, the contrast between this performance and those of his in a light blue shirt left everyone scratching their heads. Where was that initiative on both sides of the ball? Where was that something extra?
Mix found himself on the wrong side of the double-edged sword of the limelight. Suddenly, Mix wasn’t good enough. He didn’t have what it takes to be the leader of an entire attacking corps. That shadowy, mysterious nature he had about him wasn’t cool, it was just covering up the fact that he wasn’t talented enough!
You know, reactionary stuff.
But that’s what comes along with high expectations and a small sample size. If you want an apt comparison, just look at how we regard youth prospects in this country. How many dizzying cycles of hills and valleys has our perception of Julian Green been over?
The fact is, not only is Mix adjusting to a new league, he’s doing so on an expansion team that has left heads shaking on and off the field almost constantly since it was formed. Mix, nor David Villa, nor head coach Jason Kreis are exempt from the growing pains of an MLS franchise starting from the ground up. They shouldn’t be expected to be unaffected, either.
Diskerud’s small sample size in the eyes of the American fan means that each individual performance carries extra weight. Each one is easy to scrutinize and compare to others because there are relatively few. Though it’s tempting to form lasting opinions of a player such as Mix right away, it’s more important to chart his evolution in the context of his club situation over this MLS season.
Key to assessing a player, especially one who is expected to be a leader and a key piece of a team, is watching how he responds to adversity. One such example comes last weekend against the Chicago Fire, where NYCFC fought back from a two-goal defecit to earn a draw with ten players. A 27th minute red card could have either destroyed or galvanized a team on the brink of seeing their season fall apart, and it did the latter. The second half of that match belonged entirely to NYCFC, and Diskerud was an integral part. He was everywhere, leading the charge in attack and breaking up play after play on the defensive side of midfield, including breaking up a shot from David Accam inside the first ten minutes of the match. He adapted to the state of the match and put in a lot of the “dirty work” that it takes for an expansion franchise to be successful.
As a player, Mix is still a mystery. He’s tough to figure out because he’s been asked to play as so many different styles of midfielder, and has performed admirably in most. The enigmatic Mix Diskerud has all of the tools to be the guy that NYCFC needs going forward, and his evolution as a player will coincide almost directly with that of his club’s.
Until then, Mix is a mystery. You might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.
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