HARRISON, N.J. – It would be impossible to boil down New York’s uptick in form to the performance of one player, but if you’re looking for the biggest game-changer in the Red Bulls’ lineup of late, look no further than Sacha Kljestan.
In the midst of his second season with the Red Bulls, Kljestan has enjoyed some of his best soccer in recent weeks, propelling his side out of their early season slump.
Leading the league with six assists on the year, Kljestan has tallied five helpers and a goal in his last four matches, coinciding with New York’s return to form.
On the heels of a debut season in Harrison that saw him notch eight goals and 14 assists, it appears Kljestan has picked up right where he left off.
“He’s fantastic,” midfielder Mike Grella said. “In training, he’s been amazing. It can take time to get used to certain positions, the players around you, the style of play, but since he’s come here last season, he’s been fantastic. He sees the game so well and on his day, he’s unstoppable.”
Since joining the club ahead of the 2015 season, Kljestan has been tasked with as difficult a job as any on the pitch. Deployed in the hole directly underneath a lone striker, the Seton Hall product has been the metronome for the Red Bulls attack, springing forward Bradley Wright-Phillips more often than not.
“I can’t really put my finger on it; his plays are just coming off and he’s always in the right areas,” Wright-Phillips said. “For any player that’s in that hole—Kaka has a similar role—it’s their job to get goals and create goals. He’s done a good job of that lately. It’s hard to pick him up in that area and when he’s on form, he’s very difficult to deal with.”
When you think of a “trequarista” or “traditional number 10,” Kljestan may not be the first player that comes to mind. After all, American internationals are more often known for their grit than their flair.
And considering his successful stint in Belgium as a deep-lying midfielder, the decision to deploy Kljestan in an advanced role had some fans and pundits scratching their heads.
As it turned out, head coach Jesse Marsch had a pretty good idea of what he was doing.
“I know at Anderlecht he had been playing more like a number six or a number eight, but I also know that the [Belgian league] has a lot of talented attacking players,” he said. “They are a lot more tactical in their approach and they sit back a little bit more. But I knew that, based on his qualities and the way I wanted our team to play, this was a perfect spot for him. It’s why I was so anxious to get him in the first place.”
Throughout MLS, South American "enganches" like Portland’s Diego Valeri, Montreal’s Ignacio Piatti and Columbus’ Federico Higuain garner most of the headlines as the prototypical playmaker, and they aren’t without their merits. Still, head coach Jesse Marsch dubbed Kljestan the “perfect number ten” for his system, and it would be hard to say otherwise.
“You see the kind of work rate that we require on the field,” Marsch told reporters after Tuesday’s training session. “I could point to Brad and say that he’s the perfect number nine, as well. There are very few times that you’ll see a striker give that much effort and still have that much quality; I would say the same about Sacha.
“The combination of his intelligence, his ability to cover ground, his awareness defensively, along with his ease and ability to make plays in the attacking part of the field makes him a perfect fit for the way we want that position to be played.”
There can be no doubt that Kljestan has found a comfortable home in his current role, consistently at the heart of New York’s attacking success. And while he has enjoyed quite a bit of success in a Red Bulls uniform, the midfielder himself was quick to point to his teammates to explain his stellar form.
“Dax [McCarty] and Felipe do a lot of the dirty work, but once the ball gets played in to me and our guys get on the run, we’re a very good team,” he told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “A lot of credit has to go to the guys on the move because if I have the ball and nobody makes a move, I’m not going to look very good. Those guys have done a great job of being dangerous.”
Continuing to operate as the engine that drives the New York offense, Kljestan has proved time and again that the role suits him just fine. His style may not be a by-the-book interpretation of the position, but Kljestan is making it his own the only way he knows how.
“I’m pretty good at playing between the lines and playing forward passes,” he added. "I probably cover more ground than any other number 10 in the league, and that helps the way that we play. We like to press teams, pick up balls in their end and create chances. I fit Jesse’s style. He had a very good vision to bring me here and play me as the number 10; it’s worked out so far.”
