The Art of the Midfield
Marcos Senna went from the streets of Brazil to one of the world’s best midfielders and changed Spain forever in the process
Marcos Senna kicks his feet into the turf, touching his toes through a pair of black Adidas cleats into the long strands of plastic grass at Hofstra University’s James M. Shuart Stadium in Hampstead, New York. It’s October 4, 2015 and the sun is setting behind New York City as Senna and his New York Cosmos teammates warm-up. The players around Senna sport flashy cleats — bright pink, fluorescent orange and electric green — that have come into vogue. Senna’s shoes show their age: worn toes and softened leather. He’s not one to show off or stand out.
If Senna does his job, protecting his defense and carrying the water for his creative teammates, it sometimes seems like he hasn’t played. It’s as if he disappears in the same way the person who plays the triangle in the orchestra. But to the trained ear and eye, they’re vital to the bigger picture.
Senna is one of the two of the Cosmos’ legendary imports from Spain — the other is the former Real Madrid striker Raul — that have given the second iteration of the club a hint of the club’s past glory. The Cosmos resurfaced in 2013 and have tried to establish itself in the growing and revamped American…
