How Steven Gerrard Affects The LA Galaxy’s Central Midfield

Steven Gerrard is officially ending his Liverpool career at the conclusion of the 2014-15 season, and will replace Landon Donovan as a designated Player for the LA Galaxy as the new face of their club.

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The Galaxy came to rely on a 4-4-2 formation during the 2013-14 season, which culminated in a 2-1 MLS Cup victory over the New England Revolution. They began the season playing a 4-4-2 diamond, allowing them to play Landon Donovan, their most creative player, as their primary play-maker, with Robbie Keane — the reigning MLS MVP — and Gyasi Zardes as a strike partnership.

While this system was successful, Galaxy manager Bruce Arena was not happy with the style of play. He kept the same formation, but with a double pivot of Brazilians Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas, who provided the foundation for the Galaxy’s title run.

Defensively, both Juninho and Sarvas were dominant and created a screen in front of their center backs to offer support and protection from their oppositions’ attacks. The Galaxy maintained a 53 percent possession rate (the highest of any MLS team) and played with two fullbacks who were responsible for overlapping with their wingers.

Donovan, who moved to the wing with their formation change, and Stefan Ishizaki, the Galaxy’s other winger, were given the freedom to create and attack centrally, leaving the Galaxy open and exposed to counterattacks. This made it imperative for both Juninho and Sarvas to break up opposition counters against their open defense.

Throughout the season, Juninho averaged 3.2 tackles per 90 minutes, and both central midfielders were also in the Top-20 ball recoverers, providing the necessary defensive cover for the open Galaxy.

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Also, they were dangerous in attack, with Juninho sitting deeper looking to control the Galaxy’s possession-based attack by completing 72.5 passes per 90 minutes, with a usage rate of 15.1 percent, and an 89% completion percentage — the second highest in the MLS.

Sarvas had more freedom to attack, and with less space to create, he still finished the season with an 86 percent completion percentage (16th in MLS) while having a usage rate of 13 percent, and creating 11 assists throughout the season.

“If Arena prefers to maintain the Galaxy’s winning central midfield partnership of Juninho and Sarvas, the Galaxy will adjust from a 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Gerrard taking the central attacking midfield role that he thrived in under Rafa Benitez…”

If Arena prefers to maintain the Galaxy’s winning central midfield partnership of Juninho and Sarvas, the Galaxy will adjust from a 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Gerrard taking the central attacking midfield role that he thrived in under Rafa Benitez.

This means they would have to sacrifice a forward, most likely 23-year-old Gyasi Zardes who would move wide to replace the retired Donovan, or to the bench as an impact substitute. Gerrard, with the defensive support from his double pivot, would make runs from his attacking midfield position to link play with center forward Robbie Keane to create or finish scoring opportunities.

Juninho and Sarvas would leave the attacking responsibilities to Gerrard, while focusing more on rotating possession and providing defensive cover to their advanced center backs and fullbacks.

If Arena prefers to play a more solid central midfield he could transition from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation, with Gerrard playing in the base of the central midfield, or partnering Sarvas in central midfield with Juninho playing as their deepest central midfielder.

With the slower pace of the MLS — compared to the Premier League — Gerrard’s age and lowering fitness levels should not be as much of an issue as they are now for Liverpool. Gerrard would partner Sarvas who would look to link play in midfield, while he makes attacking runs from central positions to create and finish scoring opportunities, while Juninho will sit deep as the Galaxy’s central midfield base.

Playing Gerrard as the holding midfielder would allow him to control the Galaxy’s tempo as he did for Liverpool. His direct passing would offer a different option and lead to more immediate scoring opportunities compared to the buildup play from Juninho, who tends to play shorter passes which lead to a more methodical attacking style of play.

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Finally, if Arena is determined to play with a strike partnership of Keane and Zardes, he could again return to the 4-4-2 Diamond with Gerrard partnering Sarvas in central midfield, or taking up the holding midfield position as he did with Liverpool over the past season.

From central midfield, as with the 4-3-3 formation, Gerrard would make late attacking runs to create and finish scoring with the Galaxy’s front two, Keane and Zardes. If he is positioned deeper, he could initiate direct attacks with their front two, as he did with Sturridge and Suarez, allowing Liverpool to score 102 goals during the 2013-14 Premier League season.

Next: Who Are The Most Underrated Players In The Premier League This Season?