If you’ve read my blog before, then you already know I am a big proponent of the USMNT becoming a good possession team. The goal of US soccer, in my mind, is stop being underdogs against top teams and start competing with the best. You can be an inferior team and win games with the press or with a counter attacking strategy. You can win games you are not supposed to and have great caveats next to your big wins. “Yeah, you beat the best team in the world but it was a 1 in 10 fluke.” Win with possession; dominate the game and you leave no doubt who is the better team. That is what I want to see for US soccer and I think that is part of the vision of US Soccer’s future.

One of the biggest debates in twitter and on forums is Berhalter’s insistence on having a deep lying playmaker in the midfield- otherwise known as a Regista. What is it and why is important for the US to find and develop them?

What is the Regista?

Soccer is all about the playmaker. It’s what players and kids dream of being and it what fans want to see. When most people think of the playmaker in soccer, they first think of the #10. Messi, Maradona, Zidane- players who create magic in the attacking third. Analogies to other sports- the #10 is the star scorer. Michael Jordan or Kobe of Soccer. He is dynamic. He uses magic to create assists and goals. Much of US soccer has wondered when and where we would get our #10.

But there is another playmaker role that could be more important to US soccer’s future. It’s the role of the deep lying playmaker. The use of a regista stems from teams’ desire to control possession and dictate the tempo of games. A regista is the linchpin of the team. If the #10 is the SG in basketball, the Regista is the PG- though a better analogy is probably a QB. This player organizes the team together. The Regista becomes the focal point as well as the mastermind of a team.

The regista must have an unparalleled ability to read, see and control a game. Their biggest asset, which can be hard to see on the field, is their understanding of the game. For this very reason, deep-lying playmakers are often misunderstood and often heavily criticized. Typically they are given a moderate amount of defensive responsibilities. Their game sense and intelligence is central to the role.

They must be good at finding the free man, hitting line splitting balls, hitting long diagonal passes. Their role is to control and keep possession until they see an opportunity to attack. So they are often criticized for “useless passes.” Jorghino’s impact when he replaced Kante in the center of Chelsea’s midfield was often slammed for his defensive deficiencies and his “useless” short passing. Xavi was often criticized for always playing the ball horizontally. Bradley and Trapp, in the role, are criticized for only passing backwards. Keeping possession and ball circulation are key. Knowing when to switch the point of play, when to hit the killer ball, when to transition to the attack quickly vs deciding to build up slowly are all things the Regista must be good at.

If you want to know if midfielder is being asked to play this role for their team- look at their passing volume and passing percentages. You will generally see a high volume of passes and passing completion percentages in the high 80’s to 90’s. This is part of why they get so heavily criticized by fans. They are tasked with keeping possession and making good decisions. They are the outlet pass for the rest of the team in the different parts of the field. This results in many of their passes looking “easy” or “useless.”

Another reason that many fans criticize the role is that most fans expect a destroyer in the #6 position. The #6 is typically called the “defensive midfielder,” but the regista is not a primarily defensive role. Often times this means the player in this will defend differently than their destroyer counter parts. They will rely on positional discipline, interceptions, and directing players into teammates. This does not mean they are not important defensively. Often this role is as much the defensive orchestrator as they are the offensive orchestrator. They are the coach on the field that keeps the team together and organized.

What formations and tactics considerations exist when playing one?

Several different systems use the Regista. The most common and obvious is the 433 with a single holder midfielder. But you’ll see it in the 4231 with a defensive ball winner next to them. A variety of systems can house a Regista. The Regista often needs at least one defensive minded partner, so you will rarely see them in a midfield system that allows them to be isolated in man to man defense.

Who uses the Regista today?: Who are current examples? (No categorical definitions)

I think one problem people have with these specialized roles is that different people have different assumptions and preconceived ideas of what a Regista is. The above description of what a Regista does can be done in different ways. How a regista fulfills his role often depends on that particular player’s strengths, the make-up of the team they’re on, the system they play, the coach’s philosophy, level of dependence their team has on them, and the opponents they play.

Though it’s not true for everyone, if I want to identify a Regista on the team- I look at the midfielders passing stats.

Pirlo – 87%

Busquets – 89.8%

Xavi – 91%

Fernandinho- 90%

Rodri- 92%

Jorginho – 87%

Fabinho- 87%

Granit Xhaha – 88%

Marco Verratti- 92%

Thiago – 90%

Toni Kroos- 89%

Bradley – 88%

Yueill – 87%

Parks- 87%

For comparison sake-

David Silva- 83%

Kevin De Bruyne- 76%

Messi- 79%

Firmino- 78%

Kante- 84%

Mount- 78%

Tyler Adams- 80% * last year

McKennie – 79% *68% last year

Pulisic- 78%

Who are the great Regista’s in history?

The mold was created by Pep Guardiola himself for Barcelona under Cruyff.

A more recent legend of the role is Pirlo.

When Pep became coach of Barcelona’s B team, he found not one but three players being developed in his image as a deep lying playmaker. Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets. Instead of playing one- he played all three together.

Xavi-

Busquets

Iniesta

In today’s game the top deep lying playmaker include

De Jong

Toni Kroos

Jorginho

Fabinho

Fernandinho

Verratti

When you look at these videos, what becomes apparent to me is that the DLP can be varied. Busquets is a defensive presence. He has the ability to hit the long diagonal, is shifty with the ball to avoid the press, but can also fall back between the CBs and play as a 3rd CB. Pirlo is a magician with the ball who loves the deep pass. He is very agile and skillful with the ball- which makes sense as he started his career as a #10 but you not likely see him fall between the CBs. Fabinho and Fernandinho can mix destroyer like abilities with fantastic passing skills. While good on the ball, they don’t have the same foot skills as Pirlo or Busquets. Jorginho can play two way but is known much more for his passing than his defensive tackling.

There isn’t one version of the deep lying playmaker. When Fabinho started with Liverpool, Klopp often paired him with Wijnaldum in a 4231 until Fabiho adjusted to the game and could handle more lone responsibilities in a 433. Pirlo was often paired with 2 different defensive minded midfielders to offset his defensive liabilities. Busquets is a tall, slower DLP and is not asked to cover the same way Fabinho or Fernandinho is.

In a perfect world, the US wants a player that can be two way. That can be a Busquets, Fabinho, or Fernandiho. Failing that, they’d be thrilled with a Pirlo. The truth is, the US currently has no one playing for their club as a DLP at any level close to that. There is no shame in that. The US only has one player at an elite level in club play in Pulisic.

I think many see the DLP like the #10 and that if we don’t have a Messi or a Maradona, then we shouldn’t have the role on the field. But that is not the thinking of Berhalter and I think I agree. Every top team in the world deploys the DLP as part of their midfield. As the US works to be a better possession team, much of that will be determined by their ability to find and develop a DLP that can play at a high level.

But just because the US doesn’t have a Pirlo or Busquets, that does not mean the role itself something that should be avoided for the US. The US defensively has been quite good under Berhalter. In the only competitive game against a good opponent (Mexico GC)- the US gave up one goal. The US against the press has been horrible because they struggle to maintain possession. A key factor in that is having a DLP on the field to absorb press and dictate play. Where the US struggles as a team is exactly what a DLP is designed to solve. It makes little sense to try to shore up non existent defensive short coming and weaken an already weak area of their game by removing the DLP from a dedicated role on the team. I would suggest the role is required for the US to progress and grow.

I would also suggest the US has not given up goals due to having a DLP on the field. The US has struggled and will struggle until they upgrade that role. In the meantime, in my opinion they need to develop or play the best DLP that they can find.

Who are the current examples for the USMNT?

There are three ways for the US to find a DLP.

One: search the current pool for who are currently playing those roles for their teams. I know of only four.

Michael Bradley

Jackson Yuiell

Keaton Parks

Will Trapp

OF those four, my suggestion is that these players need to be evaluated and the depth chart determined by who does the DLP role and not who does a defensive midfielder/ destroyer role. The order of that depth chart with the characteristics of a DLP, who are playing that role is pretty obvious. Bradley and Yuiell are neck and neck at 1. Parks is currently playing at a higher level than Trapp. I think Bradley brings more offensive ability, game intelligence, and is more of an orchestrator. Yuiell brings better coverage and defensive abilities. Which the team needs more will differ with different opponents and so who is chosen will likely be a judgement call by the coach, imo.

Two: take current players with the skill sets, experience and mindset to play that role and develop them/ use them as a DLP. Pep came into the Barcelona B team with three different DLP’s being developed. Instead of saying he could only play one, he played all three in different but similar roles. Similarly, Bale started as a left back. Messi was a classic number 10 who has excelled as a false nine and winger. Ronaldo started his career as a dynamic winger before he was converted into a very successful striker. Players’ positions are not set in stone. They can be used in different roles and sometimes that can unlock a different level of play. The importance is to find out or identify if they have the mentality and skillset for the different roles. Which US player might be able to make that switch?

Tyler Adams is the obvious. I think everyone wants to see if he can do it. I do think people need to temper their expectations. He currently has no experience in that role. It is a different role than he has ever played. But he has all the tools. The other question is skill set tradeoff. He is a very good ball winner, can cover ground, and is dynamic. The DLP has to be more positional disciplined. The DLP has to not only hit the hard passes with consistency and high efficiency, he also has to have the decision making to know when to hit the long pass, diagonal, or short pass. The DLP is a high volume, short passer with a high completion percentage. Can a young player like Adams temper his youth, and play more short, easy passes than long exciting passes? Time will tell.

Darlington Nagbe- I want to see it. No US player has a higher passing percentage. No other US player is as good under pressure. He’s a lock box for possession. Short passes are his thing. Defensively, he’s a liability but so are many DLP’s. Unfortunately, he’s likely done as a USMNT member. He’s also not known to make the line breaking pass or the long diagonal. But, particularly against these high pressing teams, I would like to see it.

Hyndman- he averaged 85% passing completion with Atlanta last season. In limited time in the EPL in 2017, he averaged 88%. He’s an option. I was surprised he wasn’t called in but that could be Atlanta refused or because he wasn’t yet an Atlanta United player. I think he was officially an Atlanta player in late December and don’t know when players were requested.

Paxton Pomykal- I think he has the passing range and skills, tenacity, and technical ability to keep possession under pressure. He averaged 83% passing last year but that’s about the role he played- not his skill level. The question for him is the same as Adams- does he have the game IQ, experience, composure, and mentality? But IF players like Ledezma, Gio Reyna, LLanez develop into an attacking midfield options and if Adams and Mckennie are better as #8 options, then the DLP could be a place for Pomykal. When I watch him play, I see a #8 but with the other players on the team coming in that may not be his best role. I also know he has been pretty dynamic in the MLS but does he have the athleticism to be dynamic at the international level or at an elite club level? Could Pomykal be an elite athlete as a DLP? Again- not as a destroyer but as a De Jong style DLP.

McKennie- He has the passing ability. His passing percentage is one of the worst in the midfield pool. My thinking is that he is more of a Jermaine Jones destroyer. I think he has the skills to play the role but I question if he has the mentality. I think he is a more natural risk taker and heady player.

Other current players that are bordline #10’s. The DLP needs to be good on the ball and a playmaker. LLegett? Rowe? Aaronson? Could we take a player that most think of as an offensive playmaker and who make be limited in the #10 role and find a high level DLP? Maybe. Pirlo started as number 10. I think theoretically its worth looking into but that doesn’t mean I have any idea of who of that type would be good candidates.

Who are possible regista’s in the pipeline or in play?

The third and final way to find this role is youth development. I think this is the hardest because so much of this role flies against youth – high game IQ, ability to read the game at a high level, composure under pressure. I don’t know the youth pool as well as many. I would love to hear what others think.

A few thoughts on it- one this is where developing a style of play that goes from youth level to national level is important. The US youth set up, when the set up to win games over developing players, will select players that fit a tactical plan to win the game. This often means selecting a destroyer in the 6 role over a DLP. Finding and playing a depth chart of DLP, even if it means losing youth games is worth it. It means high level clubs looking for that next DLP, can find them with the US for them to be developed as such. It means the US can promote to big clubs, roles that they need for the future.

Here are a few possible options that I am aware of:

Alex Mendez- when I watch him play, I see a DLP instead of a number 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn2MmGoWnXc

Zelalem – his path to a top pro career may be done but he has the ball skills.

Gio Reyna- He has mostly been a winger for the US. He has been an attacking mid recently for Dortmund but he has the skills.

This is a role that I don’t think we see a lot. I think the mental aspects and composure aspects make it hard for a youth player to break into teams in this role. It also requires youth players to get on clubs where this role is one that is key. I would be very interested in other people’s suggestions of youth coming up the pipeline for this role.

Summary-

I think Berhalter is going to include this role as regularly as he does a winger. It is important to how they want to play. It is extremely important to who they want to be in the future. One way or another- the USMNT needs to find the DLP and the higher level that person is, the better for US soccer.

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