FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For the first time since returning from sports hernia surgery, New England Revolution Designated Player Jermaine Jones put in a full 90 minutes at central midfield in Saturday's 1-1 tie against D.C. United, and he instantly felt back at home.
After playing five of his last six matches at center back, and only going 63 minutes in the midfield on May 16 against Toronto, going the distance – even while playing down two men for more than 30 minutes – put Jones back in his proper comfort zone.
“It’s nice,” said Jones. “I always said before that I like to play midfield, and I played defense for the team. I was happy when the coach came and said he wants to put me back in my normal position. It was a good feeling. With the two red cards, it got really tough to the end.”
Last season, Jones made 10 regular-season and five postseason appearances in the midfield for the Revolution, primarily as a defensive midfielder. US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, however, has been looking for fresh options in his midfield and tried Jones at center back in his last few call-ups.
“After the World Cup, he wanted to try younger players,” Jones said of Klinsmann’s decision to try him at center back. “He told me always that this was like a Plan B, so if somebody got injured, I could play in the back. He tried it, and I don’t know if we keep going with that or we switch back. He’s the coach, so he will make his decision.”
When the Revolution found themselves lacking in depth at center back and dealing with injuries, Jones was placed in the same role for his club, going 90 minutes in all five starts there. The team went 3-1-2 but yielded nine goals during that stretch.
With Andrew Farrell and Jose Goncalves both more comfortable as center backs, both the Revolution and Jones would prefer that they stay healthy, allowing Jones to play his best spot.
“I have no problem with both positions,” Jones said. “I know that I’m better in midfield, and I can help the team maybe more in midfield than in defense.”
