[ad_1]
Replacing Riqui Puig isn’t an easy job.
“He’s unique in what he does,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney.
The Galaxy kicked off preparation for its MLS Cup pursuit Tuesday and the big question facing Vanney and his staff is how will they replace Puig in Saturday’s final.
Puig, who was selected Tuesday to the MLS Best XI, suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Saturday’s Western Conference final win against the Seattle Sounders.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” Vanney said of Puig. “He wants to win, he wants to compete, he wants to play, he wants to impact the game and he wants responsibility out on the field. He drives the team in many ways.
“When you look at the stat sheet at the end of any given day, he’s probably touched the ball 120 times, 140 times and he leads the team in touches by a wide margin. We’ll miss that on the attacking side for sure. Somebody who can change the tempo of a game, any play in any given moment, can be the one that changes the game when you have a guy like Riqui because of his capacity to pull plays off. We’re going to miss him.”
The Galaxy have a little experience playing without Puig during the regular season, posting a 3-1-1 record. During the playoff run, Puig had recorded four goals and three assists in four victories.
“In a season that is 34 games long plus, we had to go through three, four games without him during the course of the season and we were able to be successful to find the right formula with this group in those moments … it was never something that we wanted, but at least we have something to look back on and say we were successful in this stretch when we didn’t have him,” Vanney said. “We have to redefine who we’re going to be and how we are going to win this game without him.”
The Galaxy is also uncertain as to the availability of midfielder Marco Reus. Reus was subbed off in each of the past two games, with what Vanney said was a groin issue.
“We’ll see how his health is as the week progresses,” Vanney said of Reus. “Have some optimism that he can get himself turned around and be ready for us.
“Diego (Fagundez) gives us a little bit of the option that we saw (during the regular season filling in for Puig), so we want to see who’s ready, who’s going. And I also look at the Red Bulls and see them as a little bit of a unique competitor because of their pressing and they want to get man-to-man and they want to be disruptors as much as they want to be creators in many ways. How we want to manage that situation, both early and late, are things we’re working through and talking through to figure out the right personnel.”
Mark Delgado replaced Reus at halftime Saturday. Fagundez is another option at starting midfielder, leaving Gaston Brugman as a potential second-half sub and Reus, if he’s available.
No matter the connections, Puig will be on the Galaxy’s hearts and minds Saturday.
“Our heart is with Riqui and it definitely gives us just another reason to go out there and give it our all,” Delgado said.
MLS Cup final
Who: New York Red Bulls at Galaxy
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
TV: FOX (Ch. 11), Apple TV+ (free)
Originally Published:
0 Comments