CARSON, Calif. – In 2014, Baggio Husidic was one of the mainstays of the LA Galaxy’s lineups as he appeared in all 34 MLS regular season contests, but now as he heads into his second season with the club, the midfielder may be on course for an even more significant role with the defending MLS Cup champions.
Throughout the Galaxy’s MLS Cup winning campaign, Husidic was primarily used as defensive option along the flanks and in the center of the park, spelling either Juninho or Marcelo Sarvas when needed.
This strategy paid off for the 27-year-old midfielder who set personal bests with five goals and four assists in the finest season of his six-year professional career.
However with Sarvas now plying his trade for the Colorado Rapids, Husidic suddenly finds himself at the top of the list to slot into the spot vacated by the influential Brazilian.
When the Galaxy played their first match of 2015 on Wednesday–a 2-0 victory over Ventura County Fusion—Husidic was absent, but the midfielder believes that he’ll have every opportunity to lock down a starting spot once the season opener rolls around.
“I think that Marcelo leaving opens up a central midfield position. My gut feeling is that they’ll slide me in that position,” Husidic told LAGalaxy.com. “I played there quite a few games and it’s my natural position so I feel comfortable sliding in there.”
While Husidic moving into Sarvas’ spot may seem like the safest bet more than a month away from the season opener against the Chicago Fire, head coach Bruce Arena warns that much could change before then.
“We’re not drawing any conclusions. We’ll move along slowly and get all those things sorted out as we move closer to March," Arena said. “[Husidic] is a good solid player, good passer, good teammate, and [he] can play on both sides of the ball.”
Even if Husidic ends up replacing Sarvas in the midfield once the season gets underway on March 6, it will not be a like for like switch. Far more defensive oriented than the attack-minded Sarvas, Husidic’s ability to serve as a conduit between the defensive line and the midfield could allow Juninho, the attacking freedom that he has not experienced since the David Beckham era.
“I think that losing Marcelo is a huge loss because he’s been a great player for us, but the difference between us is that I’m more of a connector in the midfield. I tend to drop in a little bit deeper than Marcelo did,” Husidic said. “I think that this year, it might be a little bit different with Juni and I where we’d have more of a balance instead of Marcelo going forward most of the time. I think that could be beneficial or it could not so we’ll have to see how it works out.”
As Arena noted, no such talks between the coaching staff and Husidic about a potential position on the field have taken place, and according to the veteran midfielder that may be a positive.
After all, he simply wants to be on the field, no matter where he’s lined up.
“You come in [to preseason] with an open mind and you don’t want to put all your thoughts into one position,” said Husidic. “You never know what could happen in soccer and what guys could still come in [to the team]. In the end of the day, you just want to be on the field and you don’t care about where you are playing.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
