Warren Creavalle came to the Union in August 2015 from Toronto FC in exchange for a second round draft pick. In 2016 Warren has proven his value to the team through versatility, hard work and great performances. This year he has been an anchor for the Philadelphia midfield. He does the dirty work that most midfielders would not, and cannot do. You might see Warren winning the ball back in defensive area, and 10 seconds later be upfield starting a counter attack. While he has an important defensive role on the team, he also invaluable offensively.

Warren started his career off in Houston, after being picked by the Dynamo in the 2012 MLS Superdraft. Since then he has moved to Toronto in 2014, and eventually in 2015 to Philadelphia. “Moving around has been an adjustment,” Creavalle said, “but I have taken positive things from each place and I am happy to be in Philadelphia.” From his time at different clubs Warren has molded himself into an impact player, “I’ve grown technically since graduating,” he said, “that and speed of play are where I have improved the most. As a professional you can always improve technically and in the speed of play.” Warren has quickly made himself an asset to the Union. ” A lot of that has to do with the preseason,” he said,” spending time with the guys has been great, the team as a whole has come together and the depth and chemistry are starting to show.”

In the MLS, Warren has played center-mid and right back. He mentions, “I grew up playing centrally and I’m used to covering a lot of ground, however my versatility has moved me in different positions on a need basis.” In the preseason Warren played right back, switching in with Keegan Rosenberry and Ray Gaddis. However during the regular season Warren has proven his worth in the center of the park. “I have gotten a lot of reps in the 6 (holding midfield) and 8 (box-to-box) roles, so thats where I’ll be as far as I’ve seen.” Some might have pegged him as a defensive midfielder, playing in the role that a healthy Maurice Edu would occupy, but Warren is a vastly different player. “Defense is my natural instinct, but I love to transition as well, and to get the ball forward.” So what exactly is his role, defensive midfield, box-to-box, deep-lying playmaker, or pivot? “My role really depends on the given day,” he responded, “the coaching staff will give me different directions depending on who I play with and the team we play against.” So far we have seen him matched alongside Brian Carroll and Vincent Nogueira in the midfield. “When I play with Brian I have a bit more freedom since he plays a bit deeper, and when I play with Vince I end up playing deeper and letting him roam. But it isn’t set in stone, we flip-flop depending on the situation.” Warren’s versatility allows him to play anywhere in the midfield, and his positioning means he can complement any midfield partner. “It’s about balance,” he mentioned when asked about his positioning, “often you don’t want to be on the same exact line as your partner, and depending on who I am playing with and the situation I will create depth off of the ball.”

He has shown he isn’t in just to win the ball back, (which he does extremely well), but to get the ball into attacking areas. “It’s just the style the team wants to play, ” he responded modestly, “everyone is asked to play penetrating balls and find seams in the defense, if we have all 10 guys playing like that we will be hard to stop.” The Union have proven to difficult to stop indeed. Philadelphia has scored 11 goals in 8 games and currently sit in 3rd place, 2 points behind leaders Montreal with 2 games in hand.

In the Union’s last outing, they drew 1-1 at home against the San Jose Earthquakes. “Overall we had a good performance,” Warren said, “we had enough chances for a second goal, and were unfortunate to not get that goal. We felt like we ended up leaving points on the table.” On Wednesday the Union host the red-hot LA Galaxy with a chance to close the gap, or leapfrog the Eastern Conference leaders Montreal. Warren has been important for the midfield, and hopefully can continue his good form in the tough games ahead.