My article on Claudio Reyna (Dave Sarachan isn't alone in his dislike for turf), prompted this response from a reader.
"Claudio seems worried about injuries playing on synthetic surfaces, but he has a long history of injuries on turf in Here he has the best of conditions except playing surfaces (a big but), fewer games, no need to compete for slot, and close to home, and he has already missed a third of the games. I'm sure Arena is aware of this and anything over 50% will be gravy. Should a roster spot be taken up by a very good part time player?"
I leave the answer up to you, readers - NYRB are undefeated with Reyna on the pitch, but if he's not there regularly, is he still worth his million a year?
4 comments:
I don't think so, especially when they've built the team around him.
I agree with Reyna regarding the turf. Every field should be grass, IMO. Is Toronto's field new, and that is turf if I'm not mistaken? I don't consider the rubber/sand artifical surfaces to be acceptable either.
I probably don't think Reyna is as good or valuable as most. He doesn't score goals or even get assists, and he's not a physical ball winner either.
He stands out to a lot of people, IMO, because not many American players can do the things he can do at center midfield. He's a very nifty possession player that reads the game very well and can link up with players.
You have to say that right now the position that the US is weakest at right now is center midfield. Just look at who started against Guatemala, Feilhaber and Bradley. Two players who can't get off the bench in Europe. The MLS doesn't have much in the way of good American center midfielders either.
So I think Reyna kind of stands out to most people. As for what his value is? Maybe to Arena, who has structured his entire team around Reyna, he is worth a million (plus?).
Toronto's field is new. They are the first organization to build a new stadium and commit to an artificial surface for it. The others who play on artificial turf now have said it's a temporary measure.
Next year, the turf teams are scheduled to go down by one, since New York will open their stadium with grass. The year after, Real Salt Lake is scheduled to do the same. Maybe a plan will be in place for the New England Revolution to build their own stadium by then. They'll likely have grass as well.
I would say yes. The NYRB I saw last night had a very difficult time creating scoring opportunities. They looked vastly different from the team I saw defeat Houston despite a 1-man disadvantage. So, it seems like they really need Reyna, even part-time, until they find someone else who can play the same position adequately.
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