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Tony Tchani was the center piece of the trade that sent Toronto FC captain Dwayne De Rosario to the New York Red Bulls, and as such it would be reasonable to expect a big impact from the Cameroonian midfielder. So far his performances have been solid if unspectacular with many fans acknowledging the raw talent he possesses that made him the second overall pick of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, and although he has established himself as a first team regular most would agree that Tchani still has more to offer. The question becomes, what is he truly capable of and how can he reach that potential?
Individual instructions
Of course, part of fulfilling one’s potential as a footballer includes experience and proper coaching. Tchani will improve as he plays more, recognizing the patterns that occur during a game, and he will undoubtedly improve under the tutelage of Aron Winter, especially as he gets further removed from his NCAA training.
However, a coach can have an immediate impact on the performance of a player based on the individual instructions given to him within a match. The individual instruction a player receives is a balance between team philosophy and individual abilities; a manager must get the best out of each player without sacrificing the shape and identity of the team.
When you consider what a player brings to your squad, a quick listing of his attributes may seem crude but it is a good basis to build an idea of how a player might fit. Listing off Tchani’s abilities may look something like this: tall, strong, positionally aware, good use of body to keep possession. Playing in Winter’s now favoured 4-3-3 as one of the two midfielders ahead of Julian de Guzman means that Tchani helps Toronto win and keep the ball in midfield. Against other central midfielders, the 6 foot 4 Tchani often finds himself able to shield the ball away from danger before distributing, but herein lies the rub.
Tchani’s role
No one thinks, or expects, that Tchani is the one to provide the killer final pass in the opposition half, but the problem is, who will? Tchani’s partner in midfield more often than not has been Jacob Peterson, a pleasant surprise this season but someone who is still more of a functional, and truthfully rotational, midfielder. He provides energy in the middle of the park but not incisiveness. And for all the talk of de Guzman possibly becoming a playmaker this season his best performances have been when he has been tasked with shielding the back four, arguably his showing in 2-1 win over Houston his best effort.
So what is Winter to do? He lacks a deep lying playmaker, the closest thing in the squad to that is probably Oscar Cordon, an unproven teenager who has looked serviceable in his brief time on the pitch. The Dutch manager has toyed with playing Maicon Santos as an attacking midfielder resulting in mostly underwhelming performances. Recently he has reverted to a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1, maybe because of the injury to Alan Gordon or possibly because he prefers it. The point though is that despite a number of options in central midfield, Winter is yet to find a way to activate them in the attack. At times Toronto’s midfield have dovetailed forward well, Tchani scored his first goal for the club on a nice run from his midfield position, but that hasn’t really been his trademark so far. What Tchani can do is maintain the ball up field and lay it off to a teammate in order to reset possession in a better position. The problem as mentioned is that there is no one that creative in the middle to hand the ball off to, Toronto’s best creators, such as Joao Plata and Nick Soolsma, ply their trade on the wings.
How to get the best out of Tchani?
People love player comparisons; it makes for a quick, easy, if somewhat messy scouting report of a player. They can be misleading or they can be useful. In the case of Tony Tchani, one possible comparison is to that of Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure. The Ivory Coast international has enjoyed a stellar career, and no one will ever say that Tchani is remotely in the same tier as the F.A. Cup hero, but nevertheless they share some similarities. Both are powerful midfielders who easily keep the ball, but there are of course some things Toure does better than Tchani. One of these things is something that Toure’s manager, Roberto Mancini, noticed when he brought Toure to Manchester: his passing ability. At Barcelona, Toure was employed as a defensive midfielder and sometimes as a central defender. The fact that he is employed as an attacking midfielder by Mancini speaks to his versatility, but it also speaks to the idea that such a player can be successful in a more advanced role. Traditionally, an attacking midfielder is envisaged as a small, quick, creative player. However, having a strong, tall attacking midfielder provides a whole new set of problems. Paris St-Germain’s Mathieu Bodmer has been employed in such a position at times, whilst in neighbouring Germany the champions from Dortmund have often tried striker Robert Lewandowski in a deeper role leading to a promising debut campaign for
the Pole.
With all that being said, it would still be a pretty big stretch to imagine Tchani as a game breaking number 10. But rather than move him 20 yards forward, perhaps Tchani could benefit by being moved 20 yards backward. With the recent news that Adrian Cann is out for the season due to injury, Toronto FC could be said to be in a crisis at the back. Nana Attakora has been out of the line up most of the season, Ty Harden’s form has been spotty at best, and Dicoy Williams has been decent but will be missing some matches due to the Gold Cup. The only other recognized option at centre back is youngster Doneil Henry who, understandably, probably won’t be seeing meaningful action this year. Playing Tony Tchani at centre back could be an interesting option for Winter. To come back to the earlier comparison, Yaya Toure was often found patrolling the back line for Pep Guardiola. Not only does he possess many of the already required attributes of a centre back, but as a midfielder he also added a new dimension in terms of distribution from
the back.
No side should be compared to Barcelona, but they are an ideal that a team can strive for and one thing they do so well is build up from the back. Gerard Pique is a fantastic ball playing defender and Sergio Busquets found himself beside Pique at times when Guardiola was forced to deal with injuries. Tchani may not have the world class positioning of Busquets, in fact no one may, but it is another comparison that might give us a novel approach to Tony Tchani. Many TFC fans have lamented the lack of ball playing ability from the team’s central defenders. At best it means that Toronto have to play direct or build from a deeper position, but at worst it can directly lead to goals for the opposition, see the suspended second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. If Tchani was inserted as a centre back he would already possess the base abilities of heading, tackling, strength, and positioning, while instantly becoming Toronto’s best distributor.
Final analysis
Of course, all of these ideas could be fruitless. Julian de Guzman is also leaving for the Gold Cup so Toronto will be down a midfielder and Winter may rely on Tchani to play in front of the back four. Aron Winter also seems to trust Harden more than the average fan so he may step in and fill in directly for Cann for the rest of the season. Further possibilities include a trade or signing to shore up the back line. Regardless, Tony Tchani’s full potential remains untapped. Tchani may possess some as yet unseen attacking ability a la Yaya Toure, and though that seems unlikely his unique abilities may have some use higher up the pitch. Tchani, as well as his club, may also benefit from a stint in defense. If ever Winter considered such an idea now would be the time to
test it.
Most likely though, Tchani will continue playing as a central midfielder where we will have to be patient with his progress as a young player. He still has room for improvement via learning but his performances could be highlighted with a player whose instinct is to receive the ball, turn, and deliver a decisive forward pass. To once again reference Barcelona, Sergio Busquets is not expected to make a 35 yard pass. He is expected to be positionally aware, make himself available, keep the ball, and make short, often sideways, passes to his more creative teammates. Such a system is perfected by the Spaniards but that doesn’t mean it is categorically unattainable by other sides. A TFC fan may groan every time Tchani misses a long pass but if he was able to focus on his strengths and told to simply maintain the ball then his form would likely improve. Take for example Michael Carrick or Bastian Schweinsteiger. The former has often been unceremoniously maligned, but when instructed to do the simple things he is a fantastic player. The former has reinvented himself from a dynamic attacker into a calm, deep lying midfielder for the betterment of his career. Such a game is one Tchani seems suited for and building around that can be successful for Toronto.
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