After Chivas USA's 3-0 loss at Kansas City on June 25, the club's defense appeared to get weaker.
Already the club was missing Douglas Sequeira due to national team duty. Then, following a clash between player and coach, defender Ryan Suarez was let go. Combined, the duo had started 27 matches and logged well over 2,000 minutes for Chivas USA, mostly in the heart of the defense.
Although having to make do without such key players may have seemed an insurmountable task, Chivas USA has found a way to keep the back neat and tidy. The club simply dropped defensive midfielder Francisco Gomez into the heart of the defense and let him loose.
In four matches this month, Chivas USA has allowed six goals in four games, almost a full goal less per game than the club had surrendered through the end of June. Such marked improvement seems remarkable since the club was without Suarez and Sequeira and relying on a midfielder as the point man on the defense.
"With the guys that we're missing, it's a little bit more difficult but the guys that are playing in their spots are stepping up and they're getting the job done," Chivas 'keeper Brad Guzan said.
Gomez has solidified the backline. In his first game at central defender since he was a youth, Gomez anchored a Chivas defense that allowed just one goal to Chicago in a 1-0 loss on July 2. The following week, Real Salt Lake scored one goal as well, this time in a Chivas 5-1 victory. Both goals came off set pieces.
Esteban Arias has also become a fixture in the starting lineup and along with Gomez have helped Ezra Hendrickson and Armando Begines in the back.
For Gomez, though, playing a new position just comes with the territory.
"I'll be in the back as long as coach wants me," he said. "As long as I'm on the field, I'll be happy."
With every game that Gomez plays in central defense, it seems as if he is gaining confidence and feeling more comfortable in the back and helping the defense mature.
"Paco has done a great job stepping in for having never played there," Guzan said. "He does a great job for us: he knows when to step, he knows when to pressure, when to drop off, he's winning balls in the air, winning tackles, organizing guys."
The enormity and importance of the position is not lost on Gomez.
"It's a big responsibility back there playing center back," Gomez said. "You see the whole field and basically you are a leader back there. It starts from the back: defending-wise, organization, communication. Everything starts from the back."
This week, Chivas USA will get Sequeira back after Costa Rica was ousted in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but just how that affects the three-man backline Chivas USA has been using in July remains to be seen.
Whatever happens, Gomez said he would adjust.
"It's a big challenge. I feel comfortable back there and if this is my position, I'll keep working at it to feel comfortable," he said.
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
