Columbus Crew vs. Club Atletico Independiente

By: James | July 12th, 2008

I haven’t been to an international friendly since 2002 when the Crew played Newcastle United, and that was mostly for the beer. Mmmmm… Brown Ale. Back then we sat with my dad’s German friend who rolled his r each time he said “the Polish Rrrrifle.” He said it enough we turned it into a drinking game.
I joined 5000 or so of my closest friends in Crew Stadium this Wednesday to see the friendly against Argentina’s Club Atletico Independiente. The best part of a 5000-fan game: seat selection. There were probably 100 people in Argentina’s national colors and couple dozen in C.A.I. red. I noticed 1 Boca Juniors jersey.
You’ve got to wonder about the economics of international friendlies. When EPL teams play in the U.S. I’m sure everybody makes money. There’s no way C.A.I. recouped their expenses on this one. With their season a month or so away, I suppose it gives them a chance to experiment with their side in a competitive context. That’s certainly the angle the Crew coaches were putting on the game. The pace of the entire first half was very slow. The Crew started:
Gruenbaum
Zayner O’Rourke Iro Junge
Oughton
Ekpo Miglioranzi Elenio
Lenhart Garey

Ekpo went down about 15 minutes in. I didn’t see what happened to him but he was down for a pretty long time holding his side. I was happy to see that he’s not on the injury report. When Ekpo went out, Elenio switched sides and Petersen came in on the left.

You can only learn so much from watching a friendly, but it is nice to see the reserves play on a bigger stage. Gruenbaum was mostly untroubled. He had a little trouble getting over balls he kicked forward. They stayed aloft a long time and came down short of the midfield line. O’Rourke was sharp and relaxed in central defense. Iro seemed a little skittish, possibly thrown by the slow pace. Zayner played aggressively, although some of his balls were off target and he sent a risky ball back to Gruenbaum that could have been a disaster in league play. Junge had very little presence in the game.

Oughten was the only 90 minute player in the midfield, but he seemed a little rusty. Craig Merz reported that he’s been sick. He was joined in the middle by Miglioranzi, who I like, but was outperformed by Evans in the second half. Really, there was almost nothing for Oughten any of the central midfielders to do. Play stayed almost exclusively in the outside lanes the entire game. Elenio was the biggest revelation. He was scrappy, fairly fast, and had a strong sense of the game. He was fairly effective moving the ball down field and made several clever crosses or moves to the inside in the attacking third. Petersen seemed capable, but Sigi tried him as both a midfielder and as a defender. He didn’t have much of an impact, but he didn’t cause any weakness against C.A.I.’s casual play in the first half.

If Lenhart had a little more speed he’d be deadly, as it stands, he is a persistent troublemaker on the attack. He seems like the nicest guy in person, but it the box he’s imposing, pushy, almost bullying fighter. He’s really quite a challenge. His presence is like swaggering hulk Will Ferrell would be if he made a soccer movie.

In the second half they came out with a very different side:
Schoeni
Miller Zayner Hendrickson Petersen
Oughten
Elenio Evans Rogers
Pierre-Louis Garey

Independiente picked up the pace in the second half and looked pretty dangerous, even though the individual player I thought looked best, #8 Gaston Machlin, went out around the 55th minute. #22 looked good too, but I’ve lost track of his name. Their individual ball handling skills were superb. Their players had a confidence and control of the ball that you is not really matched in MLS. They trapped and brought balls to feet better and they passed to feet better than you see in some MLS play.

It was a surprise the Crew won, which they did on counter attacks. But the second half showed more clearly what the first half did: the guys getting the minutes on Saturday nights are sharper, faster, and clearer in their play than the reserves or the off-season visitors.
Elenio still looked pretty good relative to Rogers, and move the ball down field on one of the goals. Garey was opportunistic and became a more troubling presence in the box in the second half. He had Independiente’s goalie fairly unhinged by the end of it.
Ricardo Pierre-Louis seemed nervous. He was fast and aggressive but seemed error prone and inaccurate. It probably will improve his play having been in this match, but I’m not sure if he’s a diamond in the rough or just plain rough.

Hendrickson looked good in central defense. He’s always seemed a blunt instrument to me, and I’d like to see more finesse in his play. Wednesday, he seemed more accurate, confident, and in control than any other defender save Danny O’Rourke.

Brad Evans showed why he gets the start. Even though the ball stayed out of the middle of the field, he created a role for himself shutting down C.A.I. advances down the line.
This worked fairly well until the Argentine side discovered they could break down Ryan Miller and move into the box at will on his side. Their goal came from this strategy and they almost got 2 more the same way. Kevin Burns ultimately replaced him but didn’t play long enough for me to say anything about him.
Schoeni was okay, but seems small in the net. He had some trouble with goal kicks skimming low and being picked off before they reached midfield.

It was a fun night with a great opportunity to scout the reserves.