Divide AND Conquer
It’s not often in sports that a coach, benching one player in favor of another, makes both unhappy, but Sigi Schmid appears to have done exactly that.
In the last couple of weeks, the Galaxy coach has started Daniel Hernandez in place of Steve Jolley at the center of the team’s defense.
Neither likes the idea, even though the Galaxy has won four of five games since the switch.
“I’m still standing strong on my opinion that I don’t want to play there and that I’d rather play center midfielder,” said Hernandez, 23, a second-year player from Southern Methodist. “But at the same time, as long as I’m here, if that’s the only place I’m going to be able to play, then I’m going to stay at that position.”
Jolley, 23, from William & Mary and in his third Major League Soccer season, is perplexed.
“It’s been the most frustrating week of my career, to say the least,” he said of a seven-day span in which he played only 25 minutes off the bench as the team defeated Kansas City, lost to Colorado and beat Chicago.
“I mean, when I had an injury, I knew the reason why I wasn’t playing was because I was injured and [that] when I came back I had a spot. Right now, I don’t feel like I have a spot, which is very tough.
“He’s trying out Daniel. OK, it’s no big problem. I can deal with it. But then when I have, like, 150 e-mails, people saying, ‘What’s going on? Are you hurt? What did you do to Sigi?’ It’s just tough.”
Schmid tried the change in two games against A-League teams--an exhibition victory over the Orange County Zodiac and a U.S. Open Cup game against the San Diego Flash. Then he tried it in MLS play.
“I felt that it’s his time right now, to see what he can do, to see what the options are for us in the back,” Schmid said after playing Hernandez in a central defensive role during a 2-1 victory over the Wizards at the Rose Bowl.
Hernandez started only three games in his rookie season in 1998 and appeared all at sea in a midfield role earlier this year. He was criticized strongly by the print media for his poor play and eventually benched.
“I just try to go out there and do my job,” he said, “and if y’all don’t like it, y’all put what y’all want [in the newspaper], but I just go out there and try to do my job the best I can.
“I think at the beginning of the season, I’m a young player, I didn’t get the opportunities like lots of people had last year. It was just taking time to get adjusted to that position. It’s not an easy position, midfielder, you know. So I was just trying to do the best I can.
“Playing sweeper is a little easier position, but it’s still not my position. I’m still not happy. I want to be in the midfield. In college, all I played was attacking midfielder. Right now, I’m just trying to get on the field and get some game time. So wherever [Schmid] puts me, I’ll go out there and try to do the job.”
Hernandez has actually blossomed at sweeper, soccer’s equivalent of a free safety. In three starts, he has shown that he can read the game well and is a strong tackler.
“Danny has played well for us in the middle of the back,” Schmid said after a 1-0 loss to the Rapids last week. “I think he’s done a good job there. We’re sort of playing a 3-5-2 [formation] right now and I think that position suits him the best.”
There was similar praise after the Fire was shut out, 1-0, on Saturday in Chicago.
“I think that’s the best spot for him to play and I hope he continues to grow and continues to mature,” Schmid said. “He’s played very well.”
Jolley played in 32 of the Galaxy’s 36 MLS games in 1998, starting 27. He had played in all but one of the team’s 17 league games before being dropped against Kansas City and had done well.
“I think Steve is a solid player who is not always playing up to his top level,” Schmid said. “I mean, he’s a strong physical player, he’s a good header of the ball. And so all that I’m looking for is more consistency. But he’s certainly not out of our plans.”
Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman sees both as offering something to the team.
“I think they’re two totally different players,” he said. “Steve is an athletic, one-versus-one defender and Daniel is a good, solid defender but he’s also a creator out of the back, which is something we’ve never really had. He’s able to hit the long ball and pick up things, where perhaps Jolley would just play a short ball, because he’s happy maintaining [possession] of the ball, which is good thing.”
Schmid likes Hernandez’s play-making ability.
“What he gives us in the back is, he’s a good player with the ball,” he said. “He generally makes good passes out of the back, so he helps us in that regard. I thought when he had to defend and step up, he made a couple of very good tackles. Overall, I was happy with him. He shows that we have an option when Robin [Fraser] is not here.”
It is partly the absence of team captain Robin Fraser, on duty with the U.S. national team, that has allowed Schmid to explore his defensive options. What happens when Fraser returns late this week remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Jolley doesn’t like being seen as limited in his ability to contribute offensively.
“I was in England no more than six months ago and I scored four goals in four games in center midfield,” he said of an off-season tour with the MLS Project 40 team under former Galaxy coach Lothar Osiander.
“In four games, I played center midfield, left midfield, defensive midfield and stopper. I can play the positions. With Lothar, I had a lot of confidence because he believes in me. He believes in my ability.
“One of the things that Sigi’s been very critical of is my possession and the way I’ve distributed the ball. There’s much irony in the fact I’ve always been a center-half or a striker and that’s always been my biggest strong point.”
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* COMMISSIONER ON WAY OUT
The MLS will remove Doug Logan in another management shake-up. Page 7
