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What’s it like playing alongside Marquez every day? I’m glad you asked!

I’m sure many of you are wondering, or have wondered, the same thing since the beginning of our partnership at center back. I haven’t really put much thought into answering the question outside of the standard answer: Oh it’s great, I’m learning a lot and the partnership is working well. But that’s boring!!!

Playing next to Rafa everyday is first and foremost an unbelievable learning experience. Learning from Mike Petke and Carlos Mendes last year was great because they are experienced M.L.S. guys. But learning from a player who has played at the highest level for so long is a different animal. I feel more confident this year in my positioning than I did all of last year. Maybe you can attribute that to having a year under my belt, but a lot of that has to do with playing next to Rafa.

Every week I learn a little more on how to position myself and how to be a better defender. It truly amazes me how much I learn week in and week out.

The tough part is that the things I need to learn aren’t major changes I need to make, rather subtle changes in the way I position my body when I’m in the right position on the field. I hope that makes sense! Another thing that I’ve learned is that he holds himself to a high standard. That is something I’m learning to apply to myself. We are constantly talking during training on how we can be better as a unit and what we can change to be as close to perfect as possible. For those of you wondering, no I don’t speak Spanish. All our communication is in English.

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The second thing that I’ve really taken notice of is his ability to read the game two or three steps ahead of the play. He always knows where the ball is going to go. It astonishes me how many times he can cut out a pass without having to go into a 50-50 tackle. I’d like to think I read the game pretty well, but compared to Rafa I’m a tadpole in his big pond so to speak. If I end up being able to read the game nearly as well as he does, I’ll be a happy defender.

And finally there is the possession and passing aspect of his game. I’ve been asked many times who I think I emulate when I play. I’ve never really had an answer until now. My answer is Rafa Marquez. The way he passes the ball out of the back is eye popping. Sometimes I catch myself in awe watching him make a pass and then realize I need to be in a better position to help. The precision with which he makes every pass is something that I’m trying to emulate during training so that I can bring that to the games.

Watching him pass gives me the confidence to make passes out of the back. Don’t get me wrong, I was confident in my abilities before playing alongside Rafa. Now that I get the privilege to play next to him and watch him do these things, it motivates me to be better and do the same things.

I can’t wait to get to training and learn a little more.