Welcome back to the Weston Weekly! This week we’ll take a look at Oscar Pareja’s tactical flexibility, an absolute barnburner in Los Angeles, and the continued struggles of our new southern neighbors. As always, I’m on Twitter at @EvanLWeston.
Pareja the Pragmatist
A lot of the world’s most famous coaches, your Pep Guardiolas and the like, have a defined tactical philosophy. They stick to those tactics regardless of the situation. Guardiola’s teams almost always play a 4-3-3. Sometimes the particulars of the formation can change–at Barcelona, his No. 6 was deep-lying playmaker Sergio Busquets, while at Manchester City it was furious destroyer Fernandinho–but the philosophy and positioning remains the same.
Oscar Pareja has earned a reputation throughout his career for pragmatism. He plays whatever tactics are required to win in a given situation. He isn’t married to any sort of formation or specific attacking philosophy, but rather towards keeping his teams balanced and organized against that week’s opposition.
We’ve seen examples of this in the first two weeks of his Orlando City tenure, where Pareja lacked several high-end attacking options and had to play the hand he was dealt. Against a similarly short-handed Real Salt Lake in the opener, Pareja played a traditional 4-2-3-1 with Robin Jansson and Antonio Carlos at center back, Sebas Méndez and Júnior Urso in central midfield, and Mauricio Pereyra as a No. 10 behind a straightforward front three of Benji Michel, Tesho Akindele, and Chris Mueller. RSL posed no real threat, and Orlando City likely would have won the game had they possessed a bit more quality in the final third.
Against Colorado this past weekend, Pareja not only couldn’t utilize Nani and Dom Dwyer, but Pereyra (with a slight knock) and right back Ruan (illness) also weren’t 90 minutes fit. So Papi completely switched gears, going to a 3-5-2 with Rodrigo Schlegel joining the back line and Ándres Perea slotting into a three-man central midfield with Méndez and Urso. This caught Colorado off guard and allowed Orlando to control large portions of the game, and also gave Pareja options off the bench. Chris Mueller, who scored just moments after entering against the Rapids last season, repeated the trick with a lovely ball in from the 19 year-old Perea:
Had it not been for a lapse of concentration on Drew Moor’s 90th minute game-winner, the Lions would have gone home with a huge road point. Of course, they didn’t do that, and despite two encouraging performances in which Orlando out-shot their opponents and allowed a combined 0.79 xG, the Lions have just one point in two matches. Pareja realizes there is still work to be done. Getting Nani back this week will help immensely, and it’ll be very interesting to see what tactical adjustments Pareja makes with the Portuguese back in the team.
Bangers on Bangers on Bangers
Speaking of tactical philosophy, LAFC head coach Bob Bradley is one of the most rigid tacticians in MLS, setting his team up similarly to a Guardiola side with Eduard Atuesta as his No. 6 and Mark-Anthony Kaye and Latif Blessing setting up the front three of Brian Rodriguez, Diego Rossi, and reigning Landon Donovan MVP Carlos Vela. Philadelphia under sporting director Ernst Tanner have leaned into a 4-4-2 diamond, where Alejandro Bedoya and Jamiro Monteiro run the midfield and Kacper Przybylko and Sergio Santos play up top.
This made for an absolutely ridiculous match on Sunday, one of the very best MLS games I have ever seen. It felt like an El Trafico game and was a real statement-maker for the Union, who have gone sort of unremarked-upon nationally throughout this offseason. Santos had the game’s first absurdity, a Goal of the Week lock most weeks that might not have been the third best goal of the match.
Vela followed with a trademark Carlitos goal, sending the home support into a frenzy.
But the game’s best goal would come shortly after halftime. For all the big additions in MLS this winter, Philly’s acquisition of Norweigian center back Jakob Glenses flew almost entirely under the radar. No one really knew much about him or if he’d even start for the Union, considering their depth at the position with Jack Elliott and Mark McKenzie. But Glenses was in there on Sunday night, and he hit what could very well be the Goal of the Year in the second week of the season.
