By: COLIN REESE
Clint Dempsey is still the undisputed alpha dog of the United States Men’s National Team and the best American footballer, but Mix Diskerud now looks to be one of the very best players on the national team.
Diskerud isn’t a newfound revelation, and it’s a mystery why he saw no minutes at the 2014 World Cup.
The fact that Jürgen Klinsmann is playing Diskerud means that the USA has more creativity and link-up play between the midfield and the attack.
Klinsmann’s decision to make Diskerud a focal point of the team was also followed by another smart decision: to switch Jermaine Jones from his long-time defensive midfielder or central midfielder role to that of a center back.
Using Jones as a center back with John Brooks allows Geoff Cameron to start as a defensive midfielder which frees up Michael Bradley to play a box-to-box role with Mix Diskerud playing as something in between a regista and a Number 10.
Cameron’s talents are better maximized as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder because Cameron is a complete player whose skills go well beyond being an athletic player with good skill on the ball and good defensive instincts and fundamentals. Cameron is an inventive and industrious player that can impact the game more as a midfielder where he sees more action and more of the ball.
A technical and athletic center back pairing with Cameron providing defensive coverage in front of them in the midfield allows the United States to play out of the back with Diskerud playing the role of creator and orchestrator in the midfield.
Greg Garza’s play with Tijuana at left back along with his two strong performances at left back for the United States allow Fabian Johnson to be deployed as a right attacker or winger in Klinsmann’s newly preferred 4-3-3 formation. Johnson is a truly two-footed player that can cut inside onto either foot to score with placement, power, or both.
With Joe Corona out for a few months with a broken bone in his foot, the USMNT XI in the 4-3-3 formation may now be comprised of the following players: Brad Guzan; DeAndre Yedlin, Jermaine Jones, John Brooks, Greg Garza; Michael Bradley, Mix Diskerud, Geoff Cameron; Fabian Johnson, Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey.
While the role of the players in the Back Four is clear, the Front Six is a more fluid formation. It’s a mistake to think of Bradley, Diskerud, Cameron, Johnson, Altidore, and Dempsey as players forming two lines of three players occupying the right, left, or center of the field, but Cameron and Altidore do have slightly more defined roles as the defensive midfielder and striker.
Once Corona is back, Klinsmann will have to decide whether he wants to use two defensive midfielders or whether he wants to start a midfield three made up of Diskerud, Bradley, and Corona, which allows for two creative playmakers playing in front of Bradley.
Before Corona’s injury suffered during club play, Corona was never used correctly. He was never used in a midfield set-up with a defensive midfielder.
In the future, the USA needs to see how Diskerud, Bradley, and Corona can perform with Johnson, Altidore, and Dempsey up top, which would likely move Cameron back into the center of the defense with Jones.
The use of Diskerud in a creative role behind Altidore and Dempsey means that Klinsmann is finally beginning to field the type of proactive line-ups that he promised back in 2011.