CHESTER — There have been times this year when Indiana Vassilev has not been the right man for the job. Saturday, in the key moment that unlatched the New England Revolution and dispelled 70 minutes/seven days of frustration, Vassilev was the perfect man for the moment.
Vassilev’s fingerprints were all over the only goal in the Union’s 1-0 win, tapped home by Bruno Damiani to keep the Union in first place in the Supporters’ Shield race with three games to play.
Vassilev was the one who recovered possession to set up a 12-pass sequence leading to Damiani’s seventh goal of the season. He played the progressive ball to Damiani to start the move in earnest. And his tactical flexibility, to shift to a dual-6 role and allow the introduction of Milan Iloski, whose assist found Damiani, helped turn a game in which the Union simply couldn’t drop points.
On a day where the Union again started slowly and needed a spark, Vassilev’s straight-ahead style was a catalyst.
“It feels good that I had that license,” Vassilev said. “I think everybody has that license on the field. And we won 1-0. … It’s kind of getting to that nitty gritty at the end of the season where you’ve just got to win games. You had to find a way to win games. And we won today.”
It hasn’t always been the case for the first-year Union player. His three goals and four assists in 1,782 minutes isn’t what you’d regard as the desired return for a No. 10. But in the Union’s 4-2-2-2 formation, the twin 10s aren’t expected to produce the numbers of a solo, string-pulling creator in a possession-oriented side. In the Union’s system, 10s have more defensive responsibilities. They create offense in ways that don’t always hit the stat sheet, from where on the field they regain possession and how quickly they push the ball forward.
By and large, when the Union are stretching teams out and pressing against the ball, Vassilev fits the job. When they have the ball and must break down bunkered-in defenses, he’s less of a line-breaker in tight than the more technical Iloski or Quinn Sullivan (or even Cavan Sullivan, though he’s been used sparingly).
But in circumstances where the Union need a jolt, Vassilev’s ability to get on the ball and force the issue can be enlivening. Per Football Reference, he ranks in the 81st percentile in shot-creating actions among MLS midfielders at 3.17 per 90 minutes. He’s in the 92nd percentile in progressive carries (2.08 per 90). He ranks low on progressive passing, though that’s a product of his advanced starting position. When he drops deeper, as Saturday, he can do that, too.
The goal showed his package of skills. Damiani scored right on 70 minutes; 48 seconds prior, Jakob Glesnes had a shot blocked. Carles Gil, the Revolution’s most (read: only) dangerous player had a run at the loose ball, but Vassilev and center back Nate Harriel bracketed him, Vassilev recovering possession at 69:22.
The key to the goal is Vassilev’s direct pass, hit 20 yards forward to Damiani, past the Revs’ midfield line. The forward held it up, fed right back Frankie Westfield, and Westfield played in Iloski on the underlap to cutback a cross to Damiani.
It all starts with Vassilev making the kind of direct play that Bradley Carnell needed to see. He related the Union’s halftime team talk to an instance from his playing days at Stuttgart when the team was booed at home for not playing aggressively enough. In bringing on Iloski for Danley Jean Jacques in the 60th minute, Carnell introduced an attacking player for a defensive-minded player and maintained Vassilev’s directness from a deeper-lying position.
“Six times in the first half, we played backwards. This is not how I envision the game to be,” Carnell said. “I want us to be brave, vertical, relentless and fearless, especially, sometimes you have to will your way and force your way to success, and this is what I wanted. So in the first half, that was one of the critical things that we spoke about, and it had nothing to do with the position of the holding midfielder.
“But I know Indy does bring a little bit more verticality, a little bit more dribbling and driving with the ball and opening up and creating space for others. And that’s exactly how we scored the goal. We were brave vertical, and that’s exactly what I was trying to initiate with that substitution.”
Vassilev is a midfield tweener. He’s not the ideal goal threat or technician as a No. 10, not the tackler to be a No. 6, but he has useful attributes at both positions in certain situations. Using him in the deeper role gets more attacking players on the field and could be a useful tool to brandish in the playoffs.
“It’s pretty much the same thing. It’s the same principles,” Vassilev said. “It’s just a little bit that I’ve got to shift my mindset a little bit more defensively, but it’s the same aggressiveness that we want from the 10s, pressing forward.”
Saturday’s situation magnified Vassilev’s influence. The Union were recovering from last week’s 7-0 loss in Vancouver. They had started slowly against Nashville in Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal loss, not registering a shot on target for 60 minutes. They didn’t have a shot attempt through 32 minutes against a clearly inferior New England team.
And yet, with a result against the Revs, a lot of short-term woes were cured.
“I think everybody knows, we’ve had a tough, tough two-game stretch away to Vancouver and away to Nashville,” Vassilev said. “It hasn’t been easy. It’s probably been our lowest valley of the season, or trough, or whatever you want to call it. It’s been pretty low. And just to be at home, in front of the fans, it does mean a lot.”
Source: Berkshire mont