I'm hoping that my faith in Fredy Montero will pay off sometime soon. Perhaps long streak of excellent form leading us to the MLS promised land? Unfortunately, Thursday's New England match was not the start of that streak. He played well in the first half, moving into space effectively and being dangerous. The high point of his match was the penalty he earned for doing his best impression of Daniel-san against Cobra-Kai - a straight leg kick to the chest which probably was not as painful as it looked. Then it was all downhill. He blasts the shot of the cross bar. He plays a mostly ineffective second half. And he picks up a yellow for being an idiot and heading the ball out of the keeper's hand right before his punt. That yellow card means he misses today's game at Houston. Maybe that will be a good thing.
I am a Montero fan. I think he's our best option at forward. He has great technical ability, he has great vision, and he poaches goals. Not among his qualities is a high work rate. Nor is he willing to give up possession of the ball quickly. And yes, he dives.
But here's what I tell myself when I watch him miss a penalty. Or hold a ball too long and kill an attacking opportunity. Or fall down and feign injury for two minutes. Fredy Montero is young. He's 21 years old. I don't have the natural talent or ability that Montero has. But my experience is this. I learned the benefit of working hard on the field when I first played against a D-1 team. I was 20. I learned how to shoot accurately and with power when I was 21. And I learned to dribble and play physically by the time I was 22. I played soccer my entire life. I wish I learned those things when I was younger, but for whatever reason I did not. And I still don't have Fredy's style when it comes to trendy haircuts.
So we watch Fredy Montero and everybody in the stadium is frustrated by his perceived lack of toughness and his low work rate. Compare his work rate to Le Toux, and you can understand why a stadium full of people thinks that Le Toux would be more effective than Montero (let's not revisit this...). Scoring goals is Fredy's saving grace. When he plays like he did against New England, people really turn on him. But Fredy Montero is young. He's 21 years old.
Montero is going to get better. Hopefully much better. Hopefully he gets good enough to eventually move to Europe and have a productive career. But he's not there yet. Players supposedly peak when they are 27 or 28. I hope he learns to make dangerous runs. To make the dangerous pass when it's available. To give a consistent effort over 90 minutes. To reduce his diving to an acceptable amount. And to finish at a rate that makes him attractive to European clubs. He is young and he has time. He will get better. Let's try and have some patience.
I am a Montero fan. I think he's our best option at forward. He has great technical ability, he has great vision, and he poaches goals. Not among his qualities is a high work rate. Nor is he willing to give up possession of the ball quickly. And yes, he dives.
But here's what I tell myself when I watch him miss a penalty. Or hold a ball too long and kill an attacking opportunity. Or fall down and feign injury for two minutes. Fredy Montero is young. He's 21 years old. I don't have the natural talent or ability that Montero has. But my experience is this. I learned the benefit of working hard on the field when I first played against a D-1 team. I was 20. I learned how to shoot accurately and with power when I was 21. And I learned to dribble and play physically by the time I was 22. I played soccer my entire life. I wish I learned those things when I was younger, but for whatever reason I did not. And I still don't have Fredy's style when it comes to trendy haircuts.So we watch Fredy Montero and everybody in the stadium is frustrated by his perceived lack of toughness and his low work rate. Compare his work rate to Le Toux, and you can understand why a stadium full of people thinks that Le Toux would be more effective than Montero (let's not revisit this...). Scoring goals is Fredy's saving grace. When he plays like he did against New England, people really turn on him. But Fredy Montero is young. He's 21 years old.
Montero is going to get better. Hopefully much better. Hopefully he gets good enough to eventually move to Europe and have a productive career. But he's not there yet. Players supposedly peak when they are 27 or 28. I hope he learns to make dangerous runs. To make the dangerous pass when it's available. To give a consistent effort over 90 minutes. To reduce his diving to an acceptable amount. And to finish at a rate that makes him attractive to European clubs. He is young and he has time. He will get better. Let's try and have some patience.
Montero is a professional athlete. People have been PAYING HIM to get better for years. Is it too much to ask that his development is faster than yours was?
ReplyDeleteAlso, Montero's issues have nothing to do with his ability. He has left a culture where deception (flopping) is embraced, to a place where people boo him for it.
ReplyDeleteIt should only take one conversation. Sigi or Keller should grab him by the throat and say "Quit diving, and bust your ass every minute of the game, or we will bench you! Do you think any club in Europe will be interested in an MLS reserve player?"
7 games left to save our playoff hopes. We can't wait any longer.
Nate. As a fan of the Barclays Premier League, you of all people should understand that it takes players time to adapt to a new league. Especially a new league with a vastly different style of play. I don't know from personal experience, but I'm sure that MLS is more sluggish, more compact, and more physical than the top league in Colombia. And you make an excellent point about the Central and South American style embracing deception. All the more reason that a smaller forward needs more time to adapt. Give Montero a chance to learn a new style of play. If he's playing this way next year, I'll boo him with you.
ReplyDelete