Watch for Passing
While most teams in MLS play hybrid zone- and man-marking schemes with varying degrees of tightness on defense, San Jose Head Coach Matias Almeyda is a firm believer in an aggressive man-marking scheme. It can lead to exciting soccer since virtually every pass that finds its man is followed in short order by a one-on-one battle. As Minnesota showed last year in a 3-0 win away and a 3-1 win at home, one of the ways to beat man-marking is with quick, aggressive and accurate passing. The ball moves quicker than a player and as soon as the ball is moving, the attacking players need to move into new spaces up the field to keep the attack from bogging down and getting turned over.
Storylines | #SJvsMIN
