Weston McKennie vs Borussia Dortmund by Connor O’Keefe

The long-awaited return of elite soccer kicked off with the Revierderby between Schalke and Dortmund on Bundesliga Matchday 26. USMNT fans expected to have a rooting interest in both teams after lineups were announced, but unfortunately, Dortmund’s 17-year-old Gio Reyna was injured in pregame warmups. Ending his day before he could make his first professional start (Get well soon, Gio!).  Still, we were treated to 90 minutes from Weston McKennie as a center mid in a 3-4-3 shape for Schalke.

McKennie was noticeably rusty, especially in the first half. As this derby match was essentially a glorified preseason friendly, it makes it difficult to judge McKennie and his development. Similarly, Dortmund simply overran Schalke, which meant no one on Schalke looked amazing. Although I did think McKennie was one of the Royal Blues’ best players on the day. In Schalke’s 3-4-3, McKennie was often the single pivot in possession, but pushed further forward in structured defending. On the offensive side of the ball, McKennie had a few line-breaking passes, but also overhit a few long diagonals. On the defensive side of the ball, McKennie did well stepping into passing lanes and winning tackles, but was a step behind tracking runners at times.

McKennie has been deployed in several different positions for Schalke this season, but McKennie’s future with the USMNT is as a center mid. What positives can we take away from his performance against Dortmund as a center mid?

Stepping into Passing Lanes

As a central defensive midfielder, McKennie’s first defensive responsibility in Schalke’s mid-block defensive shape is to block any entry passes behind him. Attackers will float into the space between McKennie and the center backs to pick up line-breaking passes from their center backs; McKennie must be aware of these movements behind him and prevent passes into those spaces.

Schalke was playing with 2 CDM’s which means the opposing 10 will be looking to split McKennie and the other CDM. In the clip below, we see just this type of movement. The Dortmund 10 checks into the space between McKennie and Serdar, looking to receive the ball from the Dortmund center back. McKennie reads the play well and steps into the passing lane to intercept the ball. One of the reasons McKennie is able to react so well is because he is “connected” to the other CDM, which means he is close enough that the passing lane to split them is narrow. This was my favorite play of McKennie’s from the first half. He displayed positional awareness, made the play, and quickly transitioned to offense.

Transition Passes

Quickly transitioning from defense to offense is a critical skill for all positions, but especially for CDM’s. After getting the ball they can release attackers into space before the defense can get set. There is a common drill that emphasizes this skill where the focus is on completing a forward, one-touch pass after a turnover. Completing forward passes immediately after a turnover requires recognition of space and vision.

In the clip below, McKennie’s teammate wins a tackle and the ball pops out to McKennie. He immediately picks his head up and with one touch, completes a pass to a teammate in a pocket of space that breaks Dortmund’s midfield line. This is basically the opposite of the defensive responsibilities I highlighted above. McKennie splits Dortmund’s CDMs to find his 10. The only reason McKennie was able to complete this pass was because he released the ball quickly, with one touch. If he takes another touch, Dortmund’s CDMs would have gotten set in a connected low-block shape and the passing lane would have closed down. 

Single Pivot

When Schalke was in possession, McKennie was often the single pivot in the middle of the field. While I see him as an 8 for the USMNT (Tyler Adams should be the 6), McKennie’s ability to drop and play as the sole 6 raises his value through versatility.

His responsibilities in this role are distribution and game management. Everything flows through McKennie, both side-to-side and moving forward. The short clip below highlights two things. First, we notice McKennie taking quick glances over both shoulders before receiving the ball. This allows him to make the best decision: if there is not a defender on his back, he can adjust his body position and turn. Second, McKennie distributes a diagonal into space for his wingback. McKennie over-hit a few diagonals earlier in the game, and while this diagonal was a little under-hit, it was the right decision and reached its intended target. I thought McKennie played well as the single pivot, but I would like to see him connecting a few more forward passes.

While McKennie certainly struggled at times against Dortmund, I think it is more important to focus on the positives, especially after an unprecedented break. He went the full 90 minutes and contributed offensively and defensively while displaying his versatility. I am excited to watch McKennie feature for a Schalke team that is fighting for Europa League qualification in the last few weeks of the season. But most importantly, I am just glad that soccer is back!

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