In praise of the holding midfielder

Toronto FC has signed Julian de Guzman, a terrific defensive midfielder and distributor – not to mention being the rarest of beasts in that he can pull off several different, distinctive hairstyles with ample style. Well done, man!

Whether de Guzman can do enough to haul Toronto, still lacking good center backs and a potent striker, past the playoff threshold, only time will tell.

But this is a fantastic move for MLS in at least two ways.

First, he’s the first true holding midfielder to earn the league Designated Player tag. For those who may not follow MLS, DPs are high-value targets who are heavily discounted in terms of hits to a team’s salary cap. So far most of the DPs have been attackers, the well-known likes of David Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Lopez, etc. (Former New York DP Claudio Reyna was a ‘tweener who did play as a holding midfielder for the Red Bulls, although he was hardly a classic defensive screener and ball-winner.)

So de Guzman has broken ground in that way. I’ve long said that holding midfielder may be the most important position, and that it’s certainly the most underrated position. It’s just so hard from a distance to get a read on everything these guys do for a team between the white lines. They don’t score a bunch of goals. They don’t make showy saves (as a goalkeeper does.) They don’t shut down opposition strikers or serve up dandy crosses a la Becks. So it’s tough for GMs and managers to justify the big holding midfield signing.

Still, their value is undeniable. Everybody remember the Galacticos of Real Madrid back in the Beckham days? They had more firepower than an Army base cafeteria on bean burrito day, but somehow decided not to pay Claude Makelele, the fantastic work horse who represented the gold standard of holding midfielders at the time. Real Madrid officials paid a handsome price for such foolishness, as Makelele went on to toil and tackle so successfully for Chelsea. Take that, ye Bernabeu bunglers.

Closer to home, there is also ample evidence that he who lofts the MLS Cup will have a strong holding midfielder as an anchor.

Brian Carroll was one of the league’s best holding midfielders last year, and that played no small part in Columbus’ first league championship.  Here’s what then-Columbus manager Sigi Schmid told me about Carroll last year: "He’s such an important player on our team. He knows how to sit in that gap. He covers a lot of ground. He’s faster than people think. And he's a better passer than people give him credit for."

U.S. international Ricardo Clark helped guide the Dynamo to two MLS Cups (although Clark didn’t actually play in either match, due to suspensions, he surely helped contribute to the entire body of work.) Paulo Nagamura, so critical to Chivas USA’s lineup now, held down the defensive midfield role for Los Angeles during the 2005 championship. Carroll and Dema Kovalenko were dual defensive midfielders in 2004 as D.C. United won at The Home Depot Center. Richard Mulrooney stalked for San Jose in 2001 and 2003, and so it goes.

Going back further, there was Kerry Zavagnin for Kansas City, Richie Williams for D.C. United and Chris Armas for Chicago.

The other significant measure regarding today’s signing has to do with age. MLS GMs, technical directors and managers are learning more about how to use the DP resource.

The most recent pair of DP signings also represents the youngest two, as the day of high infatuation with the aging European vet seems to (mercifully) be fading. Oh, somebody will surely pay for a 34-year-old Thierry Henry or a blubbery Ronaldinho one day. But at least we’re safe for the time being, as de Guzman will surely be the final DP arrival of 2009.

Luis Angel Landin, signed last month by the Houston Dynamo, is just 24. De Guzman is just 28.  Former Brazilian international Denilson had been the youngest DP singing previously; he was 30 when he debuted for FC Dallas in 2007.