By Kristan Henage (@KHeneage)

Bob Bradley is precise with his words. "We knew when we picked him [Marcos Ureña] up that we had a player that, around the goal, is sharp," Bradley said in pre-season. "His qualities are valued and he feels comfortable.”

On first viewing, Bradley’s words sound like anything you’d expect from a head coach, especially one trying to motivate a forward with a career record of one goal in five games (apart from internationally where he’s at one in four).

Look closer though. He never mentions Ureña being a goal threat, merely that he is ‘sharp around the goal’. That carefully chosen phrase gives an indication that Bradley knew then, and now, exactly what kind of player Ureña is, and why LAFC may miss his influence in the final third.

Marcos Ureña is a facilitator. Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi may get the headlines, but it’s the Costa Rican that keeps things ticking over. His role with LAFC mirrors that of a defensive forward. In essence, his benefit is not validated solely by the number of goals he scores. Instead, he is expected to hassle centerbacks when the team is out of possession and run into space when they do have the ball. It’s a selfless role, but one that ultimately benefits the whole team.

You may remember Mista, formerly of Toronto FC. He was better known for his time at Valencia where he won two La Liga titles operating in a similar capacity. In the 2001-2002 season, when Valencia won La Liga, their top scorer --Ruben Baraja-- had seven league goals. Mista had four. He would later go on to score 19 league goals in the 2003-2004 season, but when stacked against his career records this seems like something of an anomaly.

A cursory glance at Ureña’s assists for this season already has him ahead of his total of 3 from last year. He currently has far and away the most key passes of any forward in the league (Ureña is on 3.28 KPs per game, with Joao Plata in second (2.96) and Daniel Salloi (1.88) in third) and sits in the top five for players with at least 270 minutes played.

That might sound high, but as early as the team’s second game of the season Ureña was showing why that’s the case. Granted, the 28-year-old only notched one assist during LAFC’s 5-1 win over RSL, but look at all of the chances he created.