Anytime a player joins a new team, he wants the chance to make an immediate impact.
Kansas City Wizards midfielder Santiago Hirsig, who just fully joined the team early last week after receiving his P-1 visa, got the call much sooner than anyone expected, and he delivered.
His team down 3-1 and looking for offense in the second half against Toronto FC last Saturday, Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo substituted the newest Wizard into the game for rookie defender Graham Zusi in the 62nd minute.
The move paid dividends soon after as Hirsig set up Davy Arnaud for the second of his two goals to pull the Wizards to within the 3-2 final.
"He had an assist, and I thought under the circumstances, he did well," Onalfo said. "We know that he is a very talented player that can really influence the outcome of a soccer game, so I expected him to have a positive influence."
Hirsig's assist was impressive, but the better part might be that the Argentinean was productive even though he was pressed into action sooner than his coach initially had planned for.
"It was probably a little bit earlier than I wanted to do it, based on the scoreline," Onalfo said. "But, having said that, he was anxious and wanted to prove himself. I think for the first day, under the circumstances, it was a good performance and a good start.
"We know he's capable of even more when he's 100 percent game fit, but that's going to take a little while.
"He hasn't played a lot of minutes since November, so it's going to take a while to get that fitness back. It's one thing if you're running, but it takes games. We understand it's going to take about four weeks for him to get to 90-minute game fit."
What Hirsig also appeared to do was restore a little order to a chaotic second half that at one stretch saw three goals scored in nine minutes between the two teams. His statistical contribution came on the offensive end of the field, but Toronto FC took fewer shots and did not score again after Hirsig entered.
It could have been TFC's lead that helped curb its offense at that point, but the part of Hirsig's game that Onalfo likes most probably had something to do with it as well.
"What I like about Santiago is he has an ability to just be composed and give the pause to the game that you need," Onalfo said of the 31-year old midfielder. "MLS is a very fast game, and as you get into the summer months you have to be able to possess the ball.
"He's a player that can help us do that."
As his minutes increase throughout the season, Onalfo said Hirsig's versatility in the middle of the field will be utilized.
"I feel like he can play a number of positions for us," Onalfo said. "He can play right in the middle of the midfield, or he can play wide on the right or wide on the left.
"It's just a matter of figuring out where we need him the most, and that will be based on injuries, or how our team is playing in the sense that we need to add to our group.
"We'll figure that out over the next couple of weeks."
Curtis Kitchen is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
