Midfield the Key to MLS Cup

Matchup Pits Two of the League's Best

November 15, 2007

By Nick Williams

The MLS Cup will pit two of the league’s top midfielders against each other in Houston’s Dwayne De Rosario and New England’s Shalrie Joseph.

Both are All-Stars. Both are the lynchpins of their respective midfields and, perhaps, their teams. And if one thing is for certain in Sunday’s game between the Dynamo and the Revolution, it’s this: the game will be won or lost in the middle.

Shalrie Joseph and Dwayne De Rosario

The Rev's Shalrie Joseph and Houston's Dwayne De Rosario should see plenty of each other Sunday.

“The game is won and lost through the midfield, especially with us playing five in the middle,” said Joseph in reference to the Revs’ 3-5-2 formation. “We have to dictate the pace and tempo of the game and the more we get the ball out wide, the more crosses we can get in to Taylor [Twellman].”

Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz man the back line of the Revolution’s five-man midfield and much of the team’s success hinges on their ability to win balls and distribute them out wide to Khano Smith and Wells Thompson, where the two can stretch the field and serve crosses inside to Twellman and Pat Noonan.

That will be no different Sunday, especially against a Houston side that surrendered a league-low 23 goals in the regular season. But, congruent to the way he plays, Joseph isn’t thinking offense first.

“It’s important we win the ball in good spots,” Joseph said. “Once we do that and stay strong defensively, things will work off of that.”

With Steve Ralston distributing the ball and dishing assists at the top of the midfield, Joseph’s responsibility lies on the defensive side of the ball, where he’ll match up with De Rosario, Houston’s playmaking midfielder whose persistent attacking style translated to a team-high 62 shots – and six goals – in the regular season.

Assuming Joseph Ngwenya moves up to striker for the injured Brian Ching, De Rosario will be flanked in the middle by veterans Brad Davis and Richard Mulrooney and second-year man Stuart Holden.

The group’s ability to maintain possession helped Houston’s stout team defense this season, but they aren’t afraid to jump up into the attack, either. The Dynamo, with their leading scorer tallying just seven goals, rely on a balanced attack with contributions from their midfield, starting with De Rosario.

The dynamic De Rosario has shown a spectacular scoring touch throughout his career and has the ability to distribute the ball, having led MLS in assists two years ago. He plans to get a lot of face time with Joseph Sunday.

“Shalrie is a great player. I think he reads the game very well,” De Rosario said. “He has a great understanding of the game and knows how to apply himself on the field. He’s a defensive midfielder but he also likes to get forward, as we saw against Chicago.”

So how will De Rosario counteract Joseph’s runs into the attacking end, which resulted in four goals and five assists this season for the 6-foot-3 midfielder?

“Keep attacking,” De Rosario said. “The more I attack the more he has to worry about me.”

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