A three-in-the-back formation was brand new to many players when Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter and his staff introduced it in January.

To each player, the system provides slightly different responsibilities and new positioning. Wingbacks push higher up the field, central midfielders are more free to move forward at times and wingers and forwards must adapt to the absence of a true central attacking midfielder in a 3-4-2-1.

The Crew’s recent shift to three in the back — Crew SC (10-10-1) has lined up with three center backs in two straight games and in three of its last six — hasn’t been without growing pains, but several Crew players have expressed a liking for the new style.

Rookie center back Alex Crognale, who played in the middle of the three center backs in Crew SC’s 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Saturday, played with a traditional four-man back line at Maryland but has taken to the new Crew SC alignment, which has produced back-to-back shutouts.

“It’s different. It took a lot of work. It took a lot of learning from the coaches and picking up little tendencies that separated from the four-back system, but I think as a group and individually I think we’re learning it better and better every day,” Crognale said. “It suits my strengths, for sure, because I have a center back on either side of me, I don’t have to drift wide as much so I can stay centrally and defend balls in the box and in dangerous areas, which is what I’m best at.”

Midfielder Will Trapp still has obvious defensive responsibilities, but can at times get further up the field knowing at least two center backs will be behind him at any given moment. He, too, is playing in a three in the back system for the first time this season.

“It’s a little bit more freeing going forward at times because we’re asking the midfielders to move forward and try to win second balls, try to connect to the attacking midfielders ahead of us because we have more cover behind us,” Trapp said. “From a buildup perspective, I can still come back, move guys forward and dictate things that way. But it takes a little bit just (finding) the intricacies of where to move, when to move. But we’ll figure it out.”

Center back Lalas Abubakar first saw the formation in Ghana, but back then he was the central center back. Each of the last two games, he has lined up on the outside, allowing the rookie to showcase his 1 v 1 defending.

There might be more defenders to share the workload, but there’s still defending to be done. Crew SC has come a long way in the last few months in learning how to divide responsibilities and defend with numbers in the box, Trapp said.

“I think the biggest misconception with this particular formation is the fact that we have five in the back makes you feel secure,” he said. “You still have to be communicating. You still have to be passing guys on and doing all those basic mechanics of a back four. Sometimes when you think you have cover, it’s strength in numbers but sometimes it’s not.”

Said defender Josh Williams, who first saw the formation with Toronto FC last season: “You can’t ball-watch.”

On offense, Berhalter said a big adjustment is getting used to new movements and new partnerships. Justin Meram and Kekuta Manneh, for example, appeared in the same starting lineup Saturday for the first time since a 5-0 loss to Toronto on May 26.

A compact Philadelphia defense made things tough on the Crew, but the offense appeared to grow more comfortable over time — seven of its 11 shots came after the 40th minute.

“It’s a comfort thing and it’s a personnel thing and it’s guys getting used to it. How many times have you seen Justin and Kekuta on the field together?” Berhalter said. “We work hard in training to make it even presentable. They’ve never played together and you can see the differences, you can see it’s not what it could be but they’ve been working hard to adapt no matter who it is. To me, we can get to where we want to be (on offense) with this playing system. It’s possible.”

The benefits and drawbacks to three in the back formations are out there. How much Crew SC uses the alignment — and how effective it is against better offenses — remains to be seen.

Media rights

According to a report early Monday from Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, MP & Silva offered MLS $4 billion for a 10-year global media rights deal. The proposal, which was rebuffed by MLS, included a requirement to implement a promotion/relegation system.

MLS also has several years remaining on a media rights deal with ESPN, Univision and Fox and cannot engage in media rights discussions with other distributors, according to an MLS statement to ESPN FC.

Riccardo Silva, MP & Silva Group founding partner, is the President and co-owner of North American Soccer League club Miami FC.

Team of the week

Crognale earned MLSSoccer.com Team of the Week honors Monday after anchoring the Crew’s three-man back line in a 1-0 win over Philadelphia.

The 22-year-old also managed to go a full 90 minutes without committing a foul, as did fellow center backs Jonathan Mensah and Abubakar.

Meram was named to the Team of the Week bench after scoring the game-winner in the 65th minute Saturday against Philadelphia. He has six assists and a career-high nine goals this season.

Injury report

Federico Higuain has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game with a right knee sprain, according to an injury report released Monday evening. Berhalter said the attacking midfielder practiced in a “limited” capacity Monday and remains day-to-day.

Wednesday will mark Crew SC’s third straight game without Higuain. He he sustained the knee injury shortly after a post-July 4 break for players.

Midfielder Mohammed Abu (left ankle sprain) is listed as questionable but returned to practice Monday afternoon. He was not in the 18 for the Crew’s 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Saturday. Also listed as questionable is right back Harrison Afful, who re-injured his right thigh late in the first half Saturday. He was limited to stationary bike work Monday, Berhalter said.

aerickson@dispatch.com

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