Dillon Powers

2016 MLS Playoffs Match-Up: Sebastian Lletget vs. Dillon Powers

by

Important MLS Playoffs Match-Up: Sebastian Lletget vs. Dillon Powers

When the Los Angeles Galaxy play the Colorado Rapids tomorrow on Sunday, Dillon Powers and Sebastian Lletget are set to face off in the semifinals of the Western Conference of the 2016 MLS Playoffs, and this is an exciting duel for American soccer fans.

World Soccer Source has been high on Lletget and Powers for a few years now, and of the two, Lletget is the more exciting talent. Nevertheless, Powers is the type of complete midfielder that the United States didn’t have on the national team a decade ago.

It’s hard to see why these two don’t play for Jürgen Klinsmann on the national team yet, but the MLS Playoffs offer a chance for fans to see these two play in important games, and the two should motivate each other to raise their games.

Both Powers and Lletget have been played in basically every midfield position by their coaches, but one would have to say that Lletget is an attacking midfielder and Powers is a box-to-box midfielder. Lletget has more trickery and creativity than Powers, but Powers is a technical and creative player in his own right. Powers will shake people off the dribble, play skillful assists, and score. Using both feet to dribble, pass, and shoot is an often overlooked skill, but both of these midfielders use both feet well.

When the LA Galaxy face the Colorado Rapids, the Powers-Lletget matchup won’t be the main storyline or talking point, but this is what soccer fans and U.S. national team fans should focus on. This matchup will be a battle of two fairly young American midfielders who offer a glimpse of a more talented breed of American attacking midfielders. Although Powers was described as a box-to-box midfielder, he is also an attacking midfielder who hasn’t been mentioned when the media and fans discuss possible playmakers for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

If you want to look at the improvement and growth of American soccer, looking at these two midfielders is a great place to start. For a few decades now, Americans and non-Americans have been wondering when American soccer would really improve, and the fact that two complete midfielders like these are playing in MLS really showcases how the ability and soccer-mind of American players has noticeably improved.

It will be interesting to see if Lletget will look to turn on the creativity and individual trickery against Powers, and it will be interesting to see if Powers can wear Lletget out in the midfield. Based on this season’s play, we should see Powers displaying more skill than he gets credit for, and we should see Lletget show that he can run hard for the entire game.

Sacha Kljestan once tweeted to Klinsmann, “Are you even watching?” Obviously, he is watching, but maybe there are more American skill players out there than he will acknowledge.

A Better USMNT Midfield

by

A New United States Midfield Three

The American midfields under national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann have been ever changing, and the United States Men’s National Team would benefit from order and consistency.

A three-man midfield is as good as any, and one of the hallmarks of a three-man midfield is the inclusion of a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box midfielder, and an attacking midfielder.

Frequently, three-man midfields have one defensive midfielder and two box-to-box midfielders with the attacking midfielder or playmaker up with the Front Three.

Who should be in the American Midfield Three?

World Soccer Source backs the use of Michael Bradley as the defensive midfielder with Darlington Nagbe and Dillon Powers as box-to-box midfielders.

One bonus of using Nagbe and Powers is that both of these players have the endurance of Number 8 midfielders with the creativity and technical ability of attacking midfielders.

Nagbe has often been praised for his ability to roam all over the field and transport the ball from deep in the midfield into the attack, and this Number 8 role allows him to do that with the national team just like he does with his club team, the Portland Timbers.

Dillon Powers has to be high on the list of underrated American soccer players. After winning MLS Rookie of the Year several years back, Powers has continued to show why he is a much more talented and complete midfielder than the types of midfielders that the United States used to produce. Too many of these midfielders were simply hustle players that were hard tacklers, but they lacked the actual skill to be able to perform at the international level against better competition.

After years as coach of the United States, it’s unclear why Klinsmann has never once used Powers. There’s no justification or explanation for it. His competition was never Bradley and Jermaine Jones, as both of those players could mesh well with Powers.

With the Copa America Centenario coming up this summer, the United States needs to greatly improve the overall skill and tactical formation of its midfield or risk getting embarrassed by superior South American competition. A Midfield Three of Powers, Bradley, and Nagbe makes so much sense, and given how little thought it took to propose it, it’s a wonder that Klinsmann has never bothered to try it.

After Nagbe has shown well for the United States, he still doesn’t appear to be one of the first names on the lineup sheet for Klinsmann, and this is worrying. If deserving players can show well and impress their teammates and still not become starters, then how much hope can there be of Klinsmann using a better midfield this summer?

With both Powers and Nagbe in the Midfield Three, Sebastian Lletget is best used on the right in the Front Three as Clint Dempsey should be the first option to line up out left in that free attacking role.

The USMNT Must Improve its Midfield

by
Dillon Powers (Photo: Colorado Rapids)
Dillon Powers (Photo: Colorado Rapids)

 

After the United States’ poor play in the 2015 Gold Cup, improving the midfield should be the first thing to address.

With the exception of Michael Bradley, the U.S. Men’s National Team needs a total overhaul.

The American midfield must have some logical balance of center midfielders and attacking midfielders. There’s no possession or clinical and elegant passing in the American midfield, and there’s no collective defense being played.

The real problem with the midfield is the personnel. The right players aren’t starting, and the right combination of players are not being played together.

Under various national team coaches, the United States has not fielded a midfield with the right balance of possession and ball recovery.

In a time when the best club and national teams are mostly using a three-man midfield made up of a defensive midfielder, a center midfielder (box-to-box midfielder), and an attacking midfielder, the United States refuses to field something similar.

The American player pool has all of these types of midfielders, even if they aren’t famous, world-class players.

In the past, World Soccer Source has backed Dillon Powers, Michael Bradley, and Sebastian Lletget, and there’s no reason that these three midfielders cannot start for the United States now.

Many observers seem to want guarantees and years of experience from American players before even a single national team call-up for a friendly comes, but the United States isn’t at the level yet where qualified midfielders like Powers and Lletget can be left off the National Team, especially when they fulfill a specific need.

For a national team that needs to improve, inserting the impressive two-way play and engine of Powers with the skill, creativity, and activity off the ball of Lletget can improve the American midfield.

Bradley thrives in the center of the midfield, so he should start the deepest and in the middle of a three-man midfield. Powers provides enough running and defending to allow Bradley to go forward, but the midfield should really be a unit of three players working together with and without the ball.

Based on all of the available information, there is nothing to suggest that Powers and Lletget lack the talent, the confidence, the mentality, the work rate, or the athleticism to play for the National Team.

If the goal is to improve the National Team with quality players that can represent the team long-term in order to raise the level and respect of American soccer, then Powers and Lletget are the two players right now that can partner with Bradley for years to come.

Time will tell what other players make their case or how the careers of Powers and Lletget go, but these two midfielders are exactly what Bradley and the United States need to be more successful.

If for no other reason, Lletget and Powers can play with Bradley and produce quality and effective soccer, and this is so important for the midfield of a soccer nation on the rise.

The United States needs better coaching decisions to improve the midfield, and it shouldn’t be acceptable for various players that aren’t midfielders to be forced to play out of position in the midfield.

Powers and Bradley in slightly deeper midfield roles than Lletget is a sound formula to fielding a quality three-man midfield for the United States.

This trio gives the National Team technical skill, a high work rate, effective defending, and quality midfield passing.

 

5 MLS Players That Can Improve the USMNT

by

 

 

 

The U.S. Men’s National Team could stand for an injection of new skill, and here are five MLS players that can improve the Nationa Team in the defense, in the midfield, and in the attack. All of these players are young enough to serve the National Team for many years.

 

1. Dillon Powers – Center Midfielder/Attacking Midfielder

Wanted: Two-Way Center Midfielders. The National Team could use an injection of complete midfielders to give the squad the type of passing, defending, and work rate that higher-level midfield play requires. Dillon Powers is the most promising of the newer center midfielders in MLS, and in his mid-twenties, he’s ready for international play now. The U.S. continues to field players out of position in the midfield, but Powers can excel as a box-to-box midfielder, as a Number 10, or as an attacking midfielder out right or left. Powers is also qualified to play as a defensive midfielder or Number 6.

2.  Sebastian Lletget –Attacking Midfielder/Center Midfielder/Wing

Playmaking and creativity in the midfield is one of the biggest weaknesses of the National Team. Link-up play between the midfield and the attack also continues to be a major weakness of the National Team. In a very short time in MLS, Sebastian Lletget has already demonstrated the qualities that transfer to the international game. His technical ability and work rate are excellent, and he’s fast and quick with a nose for goal. Lletget is a skilled finisher with either foot, and he combines quickly and well with skilled attacking and midfield counterparts. Looking over the American player pool, Lletget is a must for the National Team.

3. Andrew Farrell – Center Back/Right Back

The American defense continues to be a problem against the better national teams. The problem is having center backs that have the defensive abilities, technical skills, and athleticism needed to face off against elite attackers. Andrew Farrell stands out amongst the center backs in MLS. He’s good on the ball, strong defensively in all areas, and really difficult to body off the ball or beat for pace. In short, Farrell is a beast of a center back that defends well, plays well with the ball at his feet, and chases down attackers like a monster.

4. Bradford Jamieson IV – Forward/Wing

It’s no secret that the National Team is missing creative, skilled, and fast attackers that can score goals and create goals out of nothing. Bradford Jamieson IV is an 18-year-old attacking midfielder/forward that can beat defenders with skill, speed, or both at the same time. The LA Galaxy attacker can play anywhere in the attack, and he’s ready to play at the international level. Jamieson is a skill player like Clint Dempsey, but he has a level of speed and quickness that Dempsey never had.

5. José Villarreal –Wing/Forward

Attacking wide and centrally is important for attackers, and José Villarreal is a winger or second striker by trade that can improve the National Team’s ability to have a more dynamic and spontaneous attack. He’s another LA Galaxy player that looks like an upgrade to a dull and ineffective American attack – Clint Dempsey excluded. Villarreal is a lefty that also plays well with his weaker right foot, and he can serve the National Team well on the left, on the right, or paired with a Number 9 up top. Unlike many of the other attackers that have played for the National Team, Villarreal doesn’t need to be told to attack and go for goal. Like Lletget and Jamieson, this is another creative LA Galaxy player.

 

 

Dillon Powers For USMNT

by

 

Dillon Powers, Colorado Rapids midfielder. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Dillon Powers, Colorado Rapids midfielder. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

 

Dillon Powers embodies the type of two-way midfielder that Jürgen Klinsmann has been calling for.

Klinsmann preaches proactive soccer where his midfielders recover possession and keep possession, and this is exactly what Powers does.

Powers attacks and defends with a high work rate, and he has a level of technical ability and vision that the National Team needs more of.

Amongst American footballers, only Benji Joya, who is younger and looking to improve his club situation, plays like Powers.

Powers’ facility at playing centrally or wide or in more defensive or more attacking roles makes him a player that can be useful to the National Team precisely because of this ability to play where he’s needed, in addition to the qualities that he brings to the squad.

With Michael Bradley playing best as a defensive midfielder or as a central midfielder of the box-to-box variety, Powers could partner with Bradley to play either role or Powers could play a more attacking midfielder role as he does with Colorado.

He can be deployed centrally or out wide in the line of three attacking midfielders, and he even plays as a second striker. Unlike some other MLS midfielders that Klinsmann has used, Powers has a more complete skill-set that doesn’t limit him to only hitting crosses.

The goal for American soccer is to have more players that can play with skill and speed at the international level against top national teams, and someone like Powers is simply too talented and too qualified to be routinely ignored from even consideration by Klinsmann and his coaching staff.

Given Powers skill-set and consistent performances at the club level, United States Men’s National Team coaches in the past would have used Powers one to two years ago with the national team, but Klinsmann’s reasons for selecting or not selecting players to represent the USA have never really been clear.

Anyone familiar with MLS would recognize Powers as not only a complete midfielder, but also one who has stood out in the league against players with much more experience than him.

On more elite national teams, there might be multiple players of Powers level, but given the problems the United States has had keeping possession and displaying a high level of technical skill, it’s hard to justify keeping him off the National Team.

Powers stands out for how impactful and technical he is all over the field both in the recovering of the ball and in the attack. The Rapids midfielder is all over the field positively impacting the game, and he’s scored some impressive goals that display his skill and willingness to play aggressively.

He’s too good to leave off the National Team.

Klinsmann’s snubbing of so many qualified MLS players like Powers has to be something of a running joke with American players and coaches in MLS.