What was considered Chivas USA's strength entering the 2007 campaign has now turned into a rather fluid part of the club's young season.
Chivas USA's midfield has gone through several changes in the past two matches but the club could find stability in the middle of the field Saturday at Columbus.
Francisco Mendoza and Jesse Marsch have played every minute of the season thus far but are the only midfielders to do so for the club. Sacha Kljestan was off to a solid start but has sat out the last two games due to suspension, while offseason acquisition Amado Guevara is all but gone.
The club traded for former Galaxy midfielder Paulo Nagamura and the quartet could form the foundation of consistency in Ohio.
"I am confident that the group of guys in the midfield will have a good understanding and will work for each other on both sides of the ball," Chivas USA coach Preki said.
Veteran Marsch is a known commodity while Mendoza and Kljestan have seemingly yet to hit their peaks. Nagamura, meanwhile, has played just 90 minutes with the club and has had limited training time since joining the team from Toronto FC last week.
But his new teammates have already picked up on his qualities.
"You can tell pretty quickly that he has a good idea how to fit into a team with the ball and without the ball," Marsch said. "He's going to help connect on both sides of the ball. He's a hard worker and a smart player. I think he's going to fit in really well."
In his third season in Major League Soccer, Nagamura has made 59 league appearances already, nearly ever-present in his first two years. He won an MLS Cup title in 2005 while with the Galaxy but was deemed expendable in last year's expansion draft.
A tough-as-nails midfielder, Nagamura adds grit and toughness to the midfield.
"Paulo is a smart player," Marsch said. "He has a good eye to make sure that things are in order in case the ball is turned over so we're balanced."
Having a strong defensive presence in the middle of the field will have implications on the rest of the unit, Kljestan said.
"He adds good depth to our team and maybe Jesse can start moving forward a little bit more and combining with me," the second-year midfielder said. "He provides cover for us in the midfield so I'm excited to play with him more and get used to him more."
For all his talents, Nagamura is not known for his offense. Though he possesses a powerful shot, Nagamura has yet to find the back of the net in MLS. He has six assists in his MLS career. By contrast, third-year man Mendoza has 10 assists while Kljestan has nine.
The latter duo is now expected to pick up the slack offensively and help get the ball to strikers Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo. It's not exactly a role that Kljestan is shying away from.
"I have a little bit more pressure now and I have to attack more. It's good. I wanted that," Kljestan said. "I wanted to have a bigger role on the team as an attacking player. Now I have that opportunity with Amado gone and it puts more pressure on me to be a creative guy. I'm excited to take that challenge on."
Marsch has mentored Kljestan on and off the field since early last year. For his part, Marsch said he has confidence in his 21-year-old protégé.
"His way of combining with the forwards and finding passing lanes and through balls and all that kind of stuff is good," Marsch said. "Given the opportunity to kind of go forward a bit more, I think it will be good for our whole team."
Kljestan will likely line up on the right side but should have the freedom to roam into the center of the field, Marsch said. And when he looks to his left, Marsch also sees another capable player.
"Same with Pancho [Mendoza]. He has a good eye for coming inside and staying out wide and use (Jonathan) Bornstein sometimes as a decoy or get the ball out wide to Jonny," Marsch added.
With Nagamura now seemingly entrenched as a valuable piece of Chivas USA's puzzle, the midfield is in position to continue evolving into a strong unit.
"I feel good about our midfield," Marsch said. "Now we just have to figure out ways to combine with our forwards and be dangerous around the goal."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
