Changes in the Game Have MSL On the Run
Veteran players long have bemoaned the inevitable change taking place in the Major Soccer League--and this one doesn’t concern their salaries.
Something else they’re losing is the finesse with which they used to win games. They fear indoor soccer is becoming what the Mexican leagues call it, futbol rapido .
That’s Spanish for fast soccer.
A reliance on speed had been taking root for several years, but it became a weapon of choice during the 1990-91 season when three-line passes were legalized.
Suddenly there was an entire midfield to bypass.
The result was a jump in goal production as teams raced from one offensive end to the other.
Whether speed really is overtaking finesses can be debated.
As Don Popovic, coach of the St. Louis Storm pointed out, “The Sockers have lots of fast guys, but they would have a harder time winning without Brian Quinn (considered the league’s top passer) putting all the pieces together.”
What seems certain is that futbol rapido is bringing back some of the offense that indoor soccer lost before 1990.
“This is the best brand of indoor soccer I’ve ever seen,” said Earl Foreman, whose opinion is tinged with bias because he is the commissioner. But he also invented the sport in 1978 and drew up the rules, the same rules tinkered with before last season. “I think the fine-tuning they did last year did the trick.”
As Popovic alluded, the Sockers, perhaps more than any other MSL team, have realized the effect speed can have. A team that used to rely on deft passing now relies on fleet athletes.
The Sockers even have created a position designed specifically to to catch the other guys flat-footed.
Coach Ron Newman calls it the defensive runner, which is somewhat self descriptive.
Defensive runners step onto the field and “run” for forwards when the other team gets the ball. If they do their job well and win a turnover, they could be back on the bench within seconds. They rarely stay on the field for more than a minute.
All MSL teams use defensive runners, but no team uses the strategy to the extent the Sockers do.
The reason is simple. If improperly used, defensive runners can create havoc for their team.
Tacoma Coach Keith Weller said it is sometimes difficult to time the bench change. It doesn’t work if the forward can’t get off the field soon enough to allow the defensive runner to step on in front of the play.
Another drawback sometimes comes when the runner fulfills his goal and wins the ball. What does he do next? Does he pass it and immediately whisk himself off the field? Or does he go forward and counterattack?
Often, the prudent decision is to go on attack, but that can create jealousy with the forward who gave up his carpet time thinking he was going to get it right back.
“There are a couple flaws in the system,” Weller said. “But there are a couple flaws in everything. The bottom line is whatever works, use it.”
Perhaps it works for the Sockers because they have one player who has legitimized the position.
Before Wes Wade showed up, defensive runners were either rookies with more ambition than either skill or experience, or were veterans who couldn’t seem to work themselves into the regular lineup.
Wade fell into the first category when he began his career in 1989. Now three years later Wade is still a defensive runner.
“That’s a bad rap for some players,” said teammate Jacques Ladouceur, a longtime defensive runner. “But it’s not for Wes.”
Indeed, Wade has stayed put while several understudies have earned regular shifts.
Some former defensive runners include Paul Wright, now considered one of the game’s most dangerous offensive players; Ladouceur, who along with Quinn now holds the Sockers midfield together; and David Banks, now a steady defender.
There are those who say Wade has become so vital in his current role of harassing the other guys that the Sockers cannot afford to put him elsewhere in the lineup.
“We could upgrade him to a regular position,” Newman said, “but he’s so valuable at what he does, we’ve just always kept him there.”
Wade downplays his value.
“It’s more or less a position I can play,” he said. “I just don’t have as much skill as other forwards in the league.”
Is there an anabolic that pumps up self confidence? The fact is Wade has skills no one else in the league possesses.
“Wes has developed an attitude of just not quitting,” Ladouceur said. “He goes all out on every play and he does unique things only he can do. There are some things he does along the boards to get the ball out that nobody else can do.”
Added Newman, “He takes his Wild, Wild Wes approach to the ball. He comes in flying at you, kicking his legs out--it’s a nightmare for a forward to see Wes coming at him.”
While some say Wade plays out of his mind, Wade insists he only plays within himself. He knows he has skill limitations, so he has to make up for it with determination.
“I wouldn’t say anyone respects me,” Wade said. “It’s more like hate. They realize I don’t have their skill, but still I (tick) them off when I steal the ball away.”
The defensive runner system has provided the Sockers with a side benefit. It gives Newman a way to develop inexperienced players without giving them too much responsibility.
“It’s not a difficult position,” Newman said. “Your inexperience won’t hurt you too much. You just get out there, hustle the ball, knock it loose and get off. But while these young players are on the field, they can get the feel of the speed of the game.”
The system can take credit for the Sockers’ ability to win championships even when players such as Branko Segota, one of the league’s top offensive threats for the past decade who now plays in St. Louis, is injured and misses playoff games.
It is the answer to why the Sockers can win while midfielder Quinn takes care of his U.S. national team responsibilities, which was the case last weekend.
“The position has become so important,” Ladouceur said, “Because it gives the Sockers so many players with game experience. When other teams get hit with injuries it hurts them more because they have to put in players who haven’t been playing. But that doesn’t happen with us. We just move up a defensive runner.”
Who stepped forward in Quinn’s stead? First-year player John Kerr, who came to the Sockers with outdoor experience in England’s first division, Northern Ireland’s first division and France’s third division, but with no indoor experience.
After spending the first six games learning the nuances of indoor soccer at defensive runner, Kerr took regular shifts at forward the past two games and came through with three goals.
“Hopefully I’ll be playing up there from now on,” Kerr said.
He just might--he now leads the team with seven goals.
And besides, there’s someone else the Sockers need to work into games. Alex Khapsalis, a former Soviet first division midfielder, took over for Kerr at defensive runner the past two games. If he stays there, the Sockers won’t have to insert someone cold into the lineup when Quinn leaves for good in January to train with the national team.
While his teammates move up from the defensive runner position into more responsible roles, it would be inaccurate to say Wade’s skills remain static.
It is becoming a myth that Wade lacks the skill “of the so-called professional-level player,” as he puts it.
A testament to his improving offensive prowess came in the season’s fifth game, an 8-3 victory over the Cleveland Crunch in Ohio. Wade scored three of the goals.
“Wes Wade scores a hat trick,” Newman exclaimed at the time. “And he’s our defensive runner.”
Chalk it up to the system.
“The defensive runner makes us appear so much quicker,” Newman said, “because we can get players on and off the field so fast and the player coming on is always so much fresher than the one coming off.”
