Posted by

Michele Tossani ,

September 23, 2014 Twitter:

@MicheleTossani

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Tattica: Who's best suited to partner with Bradley?

Toronto FC’s 3-0 win over Chivas USA might not be enough to officially declare the team’s crisis over, but surely it proved TFC are momentarily on track. The return of Steven Caldwell helped as the veteran anchored what has been a struggling backline. On the afternoon though, the key to this game was the play of the midfield.



Toronto showed flashes of brilliance in the middle of the field, mostly courtesy of the central pair of Michael Bradley and Jonathan Osorio. Greg Vanney’s 4-4-2 acted like a diamond, with Osorio often pushing forward in the offensive phase, while it was a classic flat 4-4-2, with two banks of four, with the team out of possession.



Many questions have been raised during this season about who is best suited to partner Bradley in the middle. Many have expressed Osorio should be the one to get the position alongside the American international.



This game against Chivas USA proved they were right. So, the question is answered, correct? Well, let’s wait a moment.



In my opinion, Bradley and Osorio showed some chemistry, but they were playing against Chivas USA, a team who clearly has checked out on the season and offered little in terms of fight. With the options available, I still believe Greg Vanney should consider Kyle Bekker as the one deserving of the starting spot alongside Bradley.



One of TFC’s steady performers when involved in line up, Bekker didn't get a fair look under Ryan Nelsen, but he proved to be useful. The sophomore midfielder has the ability to move the ball effectively helping the team towards the opposition's end. While he hasn’t demonstrated this on many occasions with TFC, we saw in Canada’s game against Jamaica, under the right approach Bekker can become an influential component in the final third.



He has also been effective without the ball, contributing on the defensive side of the game. Furthermore, back to TFC, his presence in the middle gives Bradley freedom to push further up the pitch.



During this season, Bradley has remained a difficult player to classify. He falls somewhere in between a box-to-box midfielder and a ‘false ten’. The way you describe the USMNT player is the key to understanding who is better suited to play alongside him.



Should Vanney favour Bradley as a box-to-box-midfielder, it is clear that Osorio would remain the best partnership option. Otherwise, should Vanney employ Bradley as a more offensive footballer, in the way Ryan Nelsen did in the first part of this campaign, Bekker is, in my opinion, the head coach’s best option in the midfield.



In this case, Jonathan Osorio could still be included and lined up as a narrow winger out wide, and he showed he can play that role properly. Osorio isn’t the most creative player in the team, but he’s highly regarded for his bravery, running abilities and tidy passing.



He could provide driving runs from the outside, but in the middle, Bradley’s offensive use would require a more disciplined player. This can be Kyle Bekker.



Fielded alongside Bradley, who usually covers a lot of ground, Bekker could play a pivotal role staying deep and helping team’s compactness. In Osorio, Bradley and Bekker, Toronto have three different players offering different tactical approaches.



Most importantly, from a Canadian perspective is that if Bradley is given the ability to showcase his attacking abilities, they could all be utilized at the same time as they complement each other. Michele Tossani is a football tactician with a Ph.D. in History. Michele resides in Florence, Italy and is a tactical analyst for Futbol-Tactico.com