Fabian Johnson was a breakout star at right back for the US national team during the World Cup, but at the moment he's not playing every game at the position for his club team, Borussia Monchengladbach.
That's a mistake, says Berti Vogts, who served as a US national team advisor during the 2014 World Cup.
The veteran coach and all-time Monchengladbach icon has sounded off on his former club's handling of the USMNT standout this week, urging Foals coach Lucien Favre to consistently field Johnson on the right side of defense despite the versatility that allows the 26-year-old to fill multiple roles in midfield and defense.
The US international joined Monchengladbach on a free transfer from their Bundesliga counterparts Hoffenheim earlier this year, and has started at right back just once in four games thus far.
“Left midfield is not Johnson's position, he might have three touches of the ball in 90 minutes there,” Vogts told Bild. “He is a right back.”
Vogts has fresh memories of Johnson's abilities; he coaches the Azerbaijan national team, but took a brief leave of absence to assist USMNT boss Jurgen Klinsmann with scouting and preparation for the World Cup this summer.
“[Johnson] has to play on the right to show his strengths,” Vogts added. “He was one of the best players at the World Cup in this position and he ranks among the best right backs in the Bundesliga.
“You have to get used to him first. And he needs to learn to give it his all in training. But on the pitch he has world-class speed and a fantastic finish.”
USMNT fans can take heart from Vogts' outspoken advocacy for Johnson. Yet it's easy to sympathize with Favre, because he's fallen prey to that same temptation that Klinsmann did until just recently.
With “FabJo” having proven himself capable of high-quality contributions on either wing and in both midfield and defense, it's all easy to simply plug him into a team's area of greatest need, rather than custom-crafting a role for him in the fashion that Klinsmann finally did with the right back spot just a few weeks ahead of the World Cup.
Even after Johnson's excellence in Brazil, after which he was linked with Spanish giants Barcelona, the USA's enduring struggles with the left back position have prompted some to wonder if Johnson is the best solution at that spot, especially after Timmy Chandler produced another middling display on the left flank against the Czech Republic last week.
These are the sorts of problems that coaches enjoy having. But if Favre can't find a lasting answer that puts Johnson in the best place to prosper, Monchengladbach will be missing out on their new acquisition's full potential.
And sooner or later, that could affect the USMNT, too.
