With a little less than a week to go before the MLS Season kicks off on March 6th, most teams are wrapping up their preseason slate this weekend. The San Jose Earthquakes will do so this Saturday at Avaya Stadium versus the New York Cosmos. In their final pre-season tuneup, you can expect the Earthquakes to put out something that resembles what their lineup will look like come March 6th. So what will that lineup look like?
The Formation: Dom Kinnear’s tactical approach comes on a game by game basis. Depending on the way the opponent wants to play, Kinnear may deviate from the standard formation. Kinnear usually uses a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield. There are two other formations though that he’s sprinkled in over the last couple years that could easily be used a little more often this year and even combined. A 4-2-3-1/3-5-2 combo could be the most prominent one. They have the personnel to pull it off and Kinnear is the perfect kind of ballsy tactician to attempt it more often.
The 4-4-2 Lineup:
This lineup is pretty simple. The key is Matias Perez Garcia. Like Juan Mata, Garcia is a small, left footed player whose creativity and craftiness in small, tight spaces is very useful in the attacking third. In the spitting image of Mata, MPG does have a severe lack of defensive awareness. This can be counteracted by Chris Wondolowski dropping deeper, which is something he just does naturally. Keeping Innocent Emeghara as a striker and not letting him drift out wide is important to this. Innocent doesn’t have the crossing ability that Simon Dawkins, Shea Salinas, or even newly signed Alberto Quintero have. Having Innocent in a more central position and having him chase through balls in behind would be a better use of his skill set. If Kinnear is willing to sacrifice that then, Innocent would be on the left and he would shift Dawkins to the right wing. In this lineup, Anibal Godoy is the ‘Quakes most important player. Godoy is the prototype Box to Box mid. He’s a strong tackler, takes great angles to his man , and is effective in pushing forward into the attacking third to help sustain the attacking pressure. His ability to go box to box is another reason why he gets the start over last years Rookie Of the Year runner up, Fatai Prince Alashe. Fatai is a natural holding midfielder and he is more comfortable staying deep and providing cover for the back line, than pushing up into the attack. This lineup is going to be the most common lineup you see for San Jose this season. The next one though may be used even a little more than you might think.
The 4-2-3-1/3-5-2 Hybrid:
Some of you may get freaked out by the look of the 3-5-2 formation on the left. Kinnear would never announce that as the formation though. Anytime you see this lineup, it will be shown and announced as the 4-2-3-1 on the right. That formation will primarily be their formation when they absorb pressure from their opponents. It works well against opponents like Sporting KC, Seattle Sounders, and LA Galaxy who like to pressure their opponents deep into their defensive third. The key to switching to the 3-5-2 is when they counter back and add some pressure of their own. If you want a good picture of this, take a look at highlights from their games against Seattle, LA, and Sporting KC from last year. While using that formation they went 6-1-1 scoring 18 goals against those three opponents last season. Imperiale is the key to this whole thing on the back line. His ability to to come inside and play center back effectively, makes this work. Since he can do that it gives Wynne a lot more freedom to push into attack. That transition is key to moving up into attack.
As the Quakes pressure their opponents deep into their defensive third, Wynne usually pushes way up into a traditional winger role as the defense slides over into a back three. As Wondolowski pushes up more into a striker than an attacking mid, Perez Garcia will shift inside to allow for Wynne’s overlaps. This gives them a winger, two strikers, and an attacking mid on the right side of the attacking third. Godoy will be in more of a box to box midfield role and given a lot more freedom with Alashe holding deeper into the midfield. This gives the Quakes yet another attacking body to put within 25 yards of the goal. Imperiale’s ability to push up wide can also allow for Wynne to stay back and act as a third CB to, which turns this shift down the left side. Essentially both outside backs can become defensive wingers and add to the attack. While this may not be the most common lineup, you could see it becoming the most effective against teams in the upper tier of the league.
Tune in on March 6th as the San Jose Earthquakes open the season against the Colorado Rapids!
Main Photo: Shaun Clark, Getty Images
