Essentially the most impactful participant in Saturday’s MLS Cup ultimate gained’t even be on the sphere at Dignity Well being Sports activities Park.
Riqui Puig, the dynamic midfielder who makes the Galaxy’s offense go, has been limping across the workforce’s coaching periods on crutches this week after tearing the ACL in his left knee within the Western Convention ultimate. And his absence from the Galaxy lineup will change the way in which each groups method the sport.
For Galaxy coach Greg Vanney, it means having to discover a substitute for the workforce’s most irreplaceable participant. For the New York Purple Bulls, Puig’s absence will affect the way in which they put together for the sport.
“He’s a very good player, a key player. But they have a lot of good players,” mentioned German-born coach Sandro Schwarz, who’s in his first yr with the Purple Bulls. “They have won a lot of games, especially at home in their stadium. So this is a challenge for us.”
“This is my job,” he added. “To find the solution for Saturday.
On paper, the matchup looks like a mismatch.
The Galaxy, who won just eight games a year ago, finishing 13th in a 14-team conference, are 23-8-7, including playoffs, this season and are conference champions for the first time since 2014. They are chasing their sixth MLS title and they’ll be playing at home, where they’re unbeaten in 19 games in all competition.
The Red Bulls, an original MLS team, are seeking their first title in their second appearance in the championship game. They went 11-9-14 during the regular season, winning only two of their final 14 games to enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as the seventh seed. But once they got there they went on a run, eliminating defending champion Columbus on penalty kicks before shutting out New York City and Orlando City to become the lowest-seeded team to reach the MLS Cup final.
Galaxy players celebrate on the podium after a win over the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference final Nov. 30 clinched their spot in the MLS Cup final.
(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)
“Maybe for a lot of people outside this club, it’s the biggest surprise,” mentioned Schwarz, whose goalkeeper Carlos Coronel has had a sizzling hand within the playoffs, making 19 saves. “I would say also that we played most of the time in regular season in a very good spot, a very good quality. When you start the playoffs and you get the results, for sure it makes something with the team to get the confidence.
“This is the final, the MLS Cup final. Now it’s crunch time and we have to show our quality.”
In the event that they win Saturday, the Purple Bulls will be part of D.C. United from 2004, the 2006 Houston Dynamo and the 2009 Actual Salt Lake workforce because the MLS champions with the fewest regular-season victories.
The Purple Bulls wish to press excessive, irritating opposing offenses and profiting from turnovers or set items to attain.
“We have to find our moments with the ball or in transition,” Schwarz mentioned.
The wide-open, possession-based Galaxy are simply the alternative. This season they turned the primary MLS workforce to have 4 gamers rating in double figures with Puig, Dejan Joveljic, Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec combining for 69 objectives and 52 assists, together with playoffs. The Galaxy have outscored opponents 16-3 within the playoffs, breaking the league report for many objectives via 4 video games in a single postseason.
However all that occurred with Puig quarterbacking the offense. With out him, Vanney is prone to get his defenders extra concerned within the passing recreation whereas taking few dangers within the midfield.
“We have to redefine who we are going to be and how we’re going to win this game without someone like Riqui on the field,” Vanney mentioned of his talisman, who had profession highs for objectives (17) and assists (18) and led the league in passes this yr.
Marco Reus, who was enjoying within the Champions League ultimate for Borussia Dortmund six months in the past, is the more than likely substitute however he’s been slowed by a groin damage. He returned to coaching Wednesday though his availability for Saturday may very well be a game-time choice.
Diego Fagundez can be an choice however he hasn’t began or performed greater than 17 minutes in a recreation since Sept. 14. That leaves Mark Delgado because the fittest substitute but he pales as a playmaker in contrast with the opposite two.
