Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
The oxymoron isn’t posted anywhere at the LAFC Performance Center. But it’s a mantra many LAFC players are familiar with.
From Day 1, Bob Bradley and his staff placed a challenge at the squad’s feet. Each day of training would present a new problem to be solved and players would be forced to go outside their comfort zones to find solutions.
Put simply, LAFC was going to do things differently.
In that context, the role of LAFC’s backline, and more specifically its center backs, has come into greater focus in 2020.
The trade of Walker Zimmerman a week before LAFC took on a high-scoring León side in the Concacaf Champions League had fans sweating a bit. The 2-0 loss in the first leg in Mexico did little to quell fears, even if center backs Eddie Segura and Dejan Jaković were among the top performers on the night.
How could MLS’ best defense according to goals allowed last season raise its level despite moving a foundational piece?
“The overall demand of our center backs to read situations, defend situations confidently, defend the ball quickly, and give others a chance to join in, those are things that don’t always work the same way in other teams.”
Those words came from Bradley less than a week after his side became the first MLS team in CCL history to overturn a multi-goal deficit after Leg 1 against a Liga MX opponent. LAFC’s 3-0 victory that night was the first time León had been held scoreless in a match since October of 2019.
LAFC followed up victory over León with a clean sheet less than 72 hours later in a 1-0 victory over Inter Miami CF to start the 2020 MLS season. The center-back pairing of Jaković and Segura was at the helm once again in both matches.
“When we defend, we want to defend as a team,” Jaković said after LAFC training this week. “As a unit, it comes down to us. At the end of the day, you want to make those little plays that matter the most.”
A lot of what LAFC does in terms of "defending as a team" is predicated on the work Jaković and Segura do reading situations. Those little plays stay little because of the way Jaković and Segura read matches and the defensive approach Bradley and his staff have formulated.
Doing two things at once. For some teams and players, it's a deadly proposition. As a defender in LAFC's setup, it's a prerequisite. In the clip above, LAFC is well up the pitch and in possession. Just off-screen is Carlos Vela, providing width on the right side, while Tristan Blackmon has pinched in to be a central passing option and keep Inter Miami from easily doubling Vela.
The wayward pass from Pancho Ginella puts LAFC in a tough spot. Inter Miami left back Ben Sweat easily picks off the pass with plenty of green grass ahead and the Black & Gold have to quickly transition to defending. With his right back bypassed by the intercepted pass, Jaković is essentially covering two positions. He initially tracks the first run into the left channel from Rodolfo Pizarro but as Ring turns out, Jaković is quick to leave Pizarro to track the wide run of Matías Pellegrini - looks closely, you'll notice Jaković stay aware of Pellegrini with a slight look over his shoulder even while he follows Pizarro.
With Blackmon still up the pitch, the sprint out to the touchline isn't something many teams would prescribe from their center back in a transition situation. Jaković awareness of both options and the ability to react quickly to the ball played gives him the opportunity to cut out the pass. From there, it's simply about making a play to turn a potentially dangerous situation into LAFC going into an offensive transition of their own.
"Our style of play is very attack-minded, which means we have to be focused when the team goes forward. We also try to stop the opposing forwards close and early, so we don’t get caught in a counterattack," Segura said when asked about being aggressive as a center back. "When we get in good positions, things get a bit easier because they have less space."
Backstopping a team as aggressive as LAFC requires center backs that are equally as eager to make a play. Once again, LAFC is in possession and moving forward but a long touch gives Inter Miami an opportunity to break. The visitors go forward into the space vacated by Blackmon's run forward and Jaković is there again.
The center back's quick reaction to the turnover and willingness to slide out towards the touchline to meet the pass breaks up the play and LAFC turns the ensuing counter into a ball in the back of the net. The play is ruled out for an offside but it's that reading of the situation and the decision to slide out of the middle to deal with the moment early that is a hallmark of what LAFC's center backs have provided the team to start 2020.
Of course, Jaković and Segura don't do it all alone.
In moments when they can't make the play early, they've been equally adept at assessing the situation and being technical. The early out ball to Inter Miami FC striker Robbie Robinson is into an area that has Segura racing back towards his own goal. In this 1v1 moment, Segura has the recovery speed to get back in front of the ball and the striker.
Segura is 1v1 in an area of the pitch that isn't immediately of danger. He uses his footwork to delay the forward. The defender doesn't make a risky stab for the ball, which might allow Robinson a free run at goal. Segura delays instead, keeping his feet moving to stay close and occupying Robinson's attention. The decision gives Jordan Harvey an opportunity to provide help in clamping down on Robinson and eventually dispossessing the striker.
Through LAFC's three competitive matches this season, the Black & Gold have done an excellent job stemming opposition attacks in transition by judging when to make a play and when to delay attackers and trust the backtracking of teammates. LAFC has been diligent in team defending and hustling back to help snuff out opportunities in similar instances this season.
And if those three clips of the proactive approach LAFC's center backs have employed so far this season aren't your style. They still do the things you're accustomed to seeing from center backs on the pitch.
Textbook tracking of a runner into open space. Recovery speed and an excellent choice of angle to get ahead of the attacker. And finally, the strength from Jaćovic to hold off the striker and win the ball without the slightest shout of a penalty.
The way LAFC defends is dictated by how it attacks and vice versa. The approach to both really has to be viewed as parts of the same whole. Not every team enjoys that juggling act. But to start 2020, Jaković and Segura seem comfortable balancing it all.
