KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hobbled by arthroscopic knee surgery early in the summer, Stephane Auvray could have rested on his laurels. He could have focused solely on himself and his health.
Yet, after the rest of the Wizards finished training sessions, Auvray and assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin, a former defensive midfielder himself, could be seen huddled together by the practice field, pointing to spots on the pitch and talking tactics.
A few months later, that tactical fine tuning has paid off.
“When I was injured, I had time to look at the game from outside, so I was able to analyze a couple things,” Auvray said. “I knew what the coaches were expecting from me when I came here, but being injured and [looking] at the game from the outside allowed me to understand even more what they want from me.”
More than halfway into his first season in Kansas City, it seems Auvray has a pretty good handle on what manager Peter Vermes wants. The 28-year-old will start his eighth straight game since returning from injury on Saturday against the New England Revolution, who, coincidentally, also field a dreadlocked, Caribbean holding midfielder in Shalrie Joseph.
Not so coincidentally, both holding midfielders have an enormous influence on the way their respective teams play.
“[Auvray] is our conscience,” Vermes said. “That’s what he is for me.”
As such, Auvray’s presence, and lack thereof, has had a significant effect on the Kansas City’s success on the field this year.
Case in point, the Wizards were 1-3-2 when the midfielder was injured, allowed 10 goals. With Auvray in the lineup, Kansas City are 4-6-3, giving up just 12 goals during those games.
“When he went out and was injured for that period of time, you saw how we struggled as a defensive unit,” Zavagnin said. “He brings a lot of security in front of the back line.”
With only three midfielders on the field in Kansas City’s 4-3-3 formation, that security is vital. Auvray’s passing range and ability to switch the field help drive possession from his deep-lying position, but even he admits his most important job on the field boils down to reading the game and plugging any holes that emerge in the Wizard’s formation.
“When we have the ball,” he said, “I have to think about what we are going to do when we lose the ball.”
A chess player as a boy in Guadeloupe, strategy is nothing new to him. The Guadeloupe national team captain plays cerebrally, but Auvray said he relies mostly on feeling and intuition when he is on the field, a technique honed from playing as a midfield anchor for the past 13 years.
“He’s the brain and the engine within the group for sure,” Vermes said. “Then when you bring his closing down speed and winning balls as well as he does, it’s fantastic.”
And while fantastic, Auvray's game certainly isn't flashy. It's all about results, something the midfielder hopes he can bring more of to Kansas City, starting tomorrow at home against the Revolution.
“I’m not the most spectacular player on the field," he said. "I’m not going to be the one that scores goals, but I think I have an important role to play."
