Patrick Vieira believes in discipline and his beliefs have created a team with a disciplined style of play and a special structure off the pitch. No one player is precious and the team mentality has translated to success.
When the line ups were announced for New York City Football Club’s game against Minnesota United on Thursday night many people were scratching their heads at why RJ Allen was left off the backline after playing so well against Red Bulls. The answer came down to a matter of discipline. He was late for the team meeting and therefore lost his starting place. Ethan White who was slated to be on the bench was also late and was left off the roster entirely.
The team needed both players very early on when Ronald Matarrita broke his toe and had to be subbed off. Instead of going to Allen, Vieira used Mikey Lopez at right back. Lopez performed admirably and the team went on to win 3-1 in a dominant performance. It was a bold move, but it was a focus on the system and a trust that Lopez could function within that. Allen and White, who have both shone well at right back this season, will have to work harder to get into Vieira’s good graces again.
This is not the first time we have seen Vieira make a choice like this. Last year Khiry Shelton and Mikey Lopez were left off the squad for several games for inappropriate social media posts.
Thursday was a beautiful game for NYCFC. They were poised and well organized and made Minnesota look like the league freshmen they are. After an early gaff by Eirik Johansen which allowed Christian Ramirez to pounce on the ball and score less than a minute after Matarrita was taken off, the team quickly righted itself with a beautiful goal by Alexander Callens. Another beautiful build up play created a header for Jack Harrison and David Villa again showed why he is in the running for his second MVP award with the third goal. It could have easily been a much more lopsided contest when you look at shots on goal and time of possession, but NYCFC entertained their fans throughout. The discipline on the pitch was evident.
“Rules are rules.” Vieira said after the game Thursday. “I enjoyed this game more than any other. the way we fight back, the way we keep our focus and concentration high–The character we showed–you look at the teams who have won titles–what they have in common is the character and personality. This will make us better. ”
On Thursday night it worked out and they team is better for it. Vieira was often called out as a player for his lack of discipline and hot headed play, but he has taken the lessons learned and applied them to NYCFC. The results are hard to argue with. NYCFC currently sit in third place in the east and in third place in the league for the supporter’s shield. The only two teams with more points in the league are Chicago and Toronto and those two teams make up 3 of the team’s four games in July. With disciple and character NYCFC could come out of the month sitting top in the league.
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