What Jurgen Got Right: Picking Jefferson Montero to Pieces

Jurgen Klinsmann long ago lost the support of the American soccer intelligencia for a litany of reasons, some legitimate, some not and some hilariously petty. By the simplest possible measure — his own stated goals — his reign atop the US Soccer hierarchy has been a failure. The fact that he takes as much of a public beating as he does is actually a sign that the game continues to grow in this country. But if he gets hammered when he’s wrong, he should be lauded when he’s right, and his work in last night’s 2–1 defeat of Ecuador in the Copa America quarterfinals was masterful (other than hanging Ale Bedoya out to dry in the second half, but I digress)

Klinsmann is frequently criticized for his tactical naivety, but it was an astute bit of strategy that pinned Ecuador back in the first half and allowed the US to go into the break with a 1–0 lead. Jefferson Montero is a terror with the ball at his feet, but he’s not much of a defender. He lost his place in the Swansea team in midwinter largely because of his defensive failings and his reticence to, well, run.

Ecuador surprised by coming out with a pair of strikers in a 4–4–2, meaning that Montero was playing as a wide midfielder with more defensive responsibility than that of an out-and-out winger. I don’t know if Klinsmann was surprised and shifted on the fly or if this was the plan all along, but he (or someone on his staff), realized Montero’s offensive threat could be mitigated by picking on him when the US had the ball.

And did they ever pick.

Jermaine Jones played totally differently than he has in other games in the tournament, consistently drifting wide right rather than rampaging through the middle. He combined effectively with Fabian Johnson behind him, and pushed Gyasi Zardes, nominally a wide midfielder, further up the field when the US had the ball. Ecuador’s right flank was manned by Antonio Valencia, a much more tactically astute player who regularly plays at the back for Manchester United, and the US just pummeled Ecuador down the right in the first half.

In the ongoing NBA Finals, Golden State has made Kevin Love largely unplayable by relentlessly attacking him on the pick-and-roll. No matter who Love guards, the Warriors use his man as the screener. Similarly, Klinsmann punished Gustavo Quinteros for putting a defensively limited player in a role that required him to defend, and the US won largely as a result.

Take a look at the first US goal, a beautifully worked bit of play down the right side. Here’s where it starts. Notice Jones withdrawn with Montero trailing him by a few yards. Also, notice Montero is strolling.

Dempsey releases Wood, who shows great patience to not force the issue. Jones advances into the picture, and hits a peach of a curling ball to Dempsey. Here’s now things looked when Jones played the ball. Montero is off the screen.

It was a beautiful bit of planning by Klinsmann or someone on his staff and it may have been the difference in the game. I haven’t written about sports once since I changed careers eight years ago, but I was honestly so impressed by the plan, that I had to point it out.

Give the man his due, guys.