SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear likes to maintain an old-school persona when it comes to discussing nouveau soccer language with the media. So when a phrase like “inverted winger” came up in relation to Designated Player Matias Perez Garcia last week, it was little wonder that Kinnear quickly pounced.
“When I see ‘inverted,’ I think it’s like a bellybutton, isn’t it?” Kinnear told reporters before breaking into a laugh. “It’s either an innie or an outie.”
Come 1588599550" tabindex="0">Saturday, that question might have a more serious cast to it: Will Perez Garcia be an innie or an outie when Kinnear chooses his side to face Seattle in an absolutely critical Western Conference showdown at Avaya Stadium (10:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE)?
The Sounders match could be the first time that Kinnear has all his top current options in central midfield – Perez Garcia, Fatai Alashe, Anibal Godoy, Marc Pelosi, even deep-lying forward Chris Wondolowski – available this season.
With Godoy and Pelosi absent last week against Philadelphia, Perez Garcia returned from a stretch that saw him miss four of five matches while dealing with a left hamstring injury. The 30-year-old Argentine’s shifty dribbling helped clear some space for him early, allowing him to play several incisive passes, including a slide-rule delivery that nearly set Wondolowski free for a one-v-one in the sixth minute.
But the Quakes fell 2-1 to Philadelphia, unable to match the quality they displayed in winning their previous four matches, when their midfield – strengthened by Godoy’s presence alongside either Alashe or Pelosi – bossed top clubs Sporting Kansas City and D.C. United on the road and the LA Galaxy at home.
“At halftime [of the 5-0 win] at Kansas City, it was one of those [moments] like, ‘OK, now you’ve seen how good you can play. This should be what we should be striving for every game,’” Kinnear said. “And that’s on both sides of the ball.”
The Quakes’ August winning streak coincided with Wondolowski’s repositioning five to 10 yards up the pitch, a move that was made after Godoy was inserted as half of the double pivot in a 4-4-2 formation. But Kinnear doesn’t agree with the conventional wisdom that the addition of Perez Garcia – who has been primarily used in a 4-1-4-1 setup this season – means Wondolowski has to slide back toward his own goal.
“It’s all about starting positions and responsibility,” Kinnear said. “So it shouldn’t take away anything we’ve done, as far as how high we can pressure. It’s just making sure the gaps are filled and that we have the same aggressiveness. ... I think [Wondolowski can still play higher up the pitch with Perez Garcia playing]. He should be able to. As long as the collective effort from everybody is there, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t.”
Perez Garcia is one of three Quakes Designated Players, alongside Wondolowski and injured Swiss forward Innocent. Kinnear acknowledged that there’s more responsibility put on the players who hold that tag and the contracts that go with them.
“Yeah, sure,” Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com this week. “You’re paying guys a lot of money to make a difference, whether it be production or good play or defensive play. So yeah, usually when you have your DPs and you go out of your way to go to the ownership for money – there is pressure for these guys to produce and hold that tag next to their name.”
Of course, the worries about how to potentially fit Perez Garcia, Alashe, Godoy, Wondoloski and forward Quincy Amarikwa into four slots up the spine of San Jose’s attack could be premature. 1588599551" tabindex="0">Thursday would be the first day of training this week for Godoy and Pelosi, who are returning from international duty with Panama and the US U-23s, respectively. Given that Godoy was replaced midway through the first half of the Panamanians’ match at Venezuela on Tuesday, perhaps some caution is in order.
“It’s never a perfect world,” Kinnear said of his lineup decisions. “I’m very much the wait-and-see type. I always say, ‘Oh, I’ve got a great Plan A,’ and then all of a sudden you’re jumping to Plan D before you know it. So I rarely go with Plan A. I just sit back and wait.”
