By Matt Hoffman
Portland: Are you ready to let Lucas Melano into your hearts?
It’s a silly question but the premise is real: Melano’s youth, good looks, and sticker price have made the winger a source of derision since he joined the squad less than a year ago. Besides occupying one of the team’s three Designated Player (DP) slots (and a reported one million dollars per year), Melano’s move was precipitated by hefty transfer fee as well.
Even ESPN ionto Melano. A pre-game graphic before the national television audience compared the outputs of “Timbers Designated Players” showed Fanendo Adi (nine goals, two assists) and Diego Valeri (five goals, five assists) leading the way while Melano had only a meager goal and three assists. (note: the graphic erroneously listed Adi as a DP. The Timbers used Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) to reduce Adi’s cap hold. MLS: a league you can follow while earning college credits in forensic accounting).
The output does not, yet, meet the value of a guy earning a million dollar contract in a league with only a handful of players earning such lucrative salaries. Melano often brings this controversy on himself. He moves are so swift that people often get the perception at a lack of effort. He gets frustrated as well. After being dispossessed, it’s common to see a Melano chase down the opponent and make a reckless challenge.
Melano is slowly, but steadily, adding an arsenal of log slabs. Photo by Mark Hoffman.
Interactions among fans, many people favor Dairon Asprilla on the wing. Caleb Porter also invites the comparisons remarking earlier in the season that each player brings different skill-sets to the game with Melano the better finisher but maybe not quite as good on the ball, or defensively, as Asprilla.
But Sunday showed why the Timbers believe in Melano. Facing a two goal halftime deficit, Melano continued perseverance got the Timbers on the board. In the 63rd minute, Melano made diagonal run behind the Dynamo defense catching them flatfooted. Taking the through ball from Valeri, Melano slotted home the Timbers first goal.
In the blur of the game, the deftness of Melano’s touch is lost. It’s only courtesy of video replay you can see he calm collects the ball, thinks about chipping the goalkeeper, freezing Joe Willis. Melano goes for the simple ball to the right. Melano doesn’t celebrate, choosing instead to sprint straight up the field to begin the next possession.
Melano had a hand in the other two goals: it was his cross that found David Horst’s hand and it was Melano who, deserved or not, created the instance for Portland to take the second penalty of the game. Valeri, who converted both penalties, said after the match:
“I’m very happy about Lucas [Melano], to be honest. I’m very happy about him. He was very lively in the second half, driving, creating a lot of chances and scoring for a striker that is very important. It’s good for the team, too – we need him, we need everybody. So, very happy about the team, very happy about him and excited about the next half of the season.”
In that same presser, Porter reminds the press, once again, that Melano is “still a pretty young player.”
Melano just turned 23 in March and, to date, there exists no specific metric for predicting production. Take for instance the MLS single-season scoring record of 27; A record shared by three men: Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski, and Bradley Wright-Phillips. When Lassiter was 23 there was no MLS. Meanwhile Wondo was fourth round MLS draft pick and BWP had one goal to his name in 32 appearances with Premiership sides like Southhampton and Charleston.
Portland midfielder and fellow Argentine Diego Valeri and Lucas Melano have a strong bond both on and off the field.
In many ways, Melano’s reception is similar to that of the person he effectively replaced: Rodney Wallace. Wallace, famously was traded for Dax McCarty whom the Timbers acquired from FC Dallas. McCarty was then immediately dealt to D.C. United for then-MVP Dwayne De Rosario. This was a source of derision that hounded Wallace for his first two seasons before he broke out in a big way in Porter’s first season. So much so that his absence due to injury was cited as the culprit of the Timbers slow start and missing out of the playoffs by one point.
Wallace would have the last laugh, of course, scoring the winning goal in the 2015 MLS CUP match. Who had the assist? Lucas Melano.
Melano has earned a consistent spot in the starting XI and continues to win over fans. As his both his time in Portland and his repetitions grow, so does his confidence, as noted by his coach:
I think the key is that he’s gaining confidence. Confidence is such an underrated thing. And it doesn’t matter how old you are, doesn’t matter if you’re an old pro, or young pro guys go through ups and downs with confidence. What I’m seeing is just a more confident player.
A confident winger who’s creating chances and scoring goals. What’s not to love?
