If Lloyd Sam can pick up the new concepts of how coach Jesse Marsch wants to play as quickly as he got a handle on picking NCAA basketball tournament winners, the Red Bulls might just have an all-star on their hands.
“I won the bracket last year with very little knowledge of any team,” Sam said proudly following practice Wednesday at the Red Bulls’ training facility.
With two goals in two games and an increased presence on the wing, he’s also winning the confidence of Red Bulls fans who may have only seen him as a playmaker for Bradley Wright-Phillips and Thierry Henry in years past.
“It’s only two games in and it’s still early, but I’m still trying to be me but add more goals to my game,” Sam said. “I had an awareness toward defense with the last coach. Now it’s more about my goals mainly, and a bit defensive, too, but if you’re scoring goals it’s always a good thing for me and the team. They want me to be more dangerous and go toward the goal.”
And that was evident right from the first game. The Red Bulls were struggling in the second half at Sporting Kansas City and had just gone down a goal when Sam tied the score with a beautiful goal from distance. On Sunday, in the home-opener against D.C. United, Sam took a pass from Wright-Phillips in the right side of the box and beat D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid inside the near post in the 71st minute to seal a 2-0 victory.
“I feel like it’s working, as a team and with myself,” Sam said of Marsch’s new system. “Last year I may not have been in that position (to score). That’s the difference.”
Marsch knew he had something in Sam and used the preseason to bring out his full game.
“Anyone who watches Lloyd from one-on-one situations from wide positions knows that he’s very good, but I also felt that with all his abilities and talents he could be so much more than that,” Marsch said. “That’s all we’ve tried to do, just give him a few more ideas to learn how to play the game so he can be more dangerous and more than a one-dimensional player.
“He has understood what we’re trying to do and he’s embraced it. He’s adapted incredibly well. We started talking to him about some of these concepts six, seven weeks ago and he’s looking more and more like a complete player every day. It’s been fun to work with him because he learns quickly.”
Sam wasn’t sure what to expect this season. With changes in management, a new coach and more than the usual Red Bulls offseason roster overhaul, he was a bit leery coming into camp. But that quickly changed.
“As soon as we got to preseason, the way we approached it was a clear start,” he said. “It made us feel good right away. Then there was a game plan. We knew how we were going to play and they told us what they wanted from us. It was clear and it made me feel a lot better. Jesse said we were going to play an up-tempo style, try and win the ball higher up the field and then try and generate chances from that. He wanted to field a team as a whole.”
It’s only two games, but Marsch has seen a big difference in Sam, not just in games, but in training as well.
“Actually, we added some defensive responsibilities (to his game),” Marsch said. “Again, we’ve tried to make him a more well-rounded player. I would describe him in the past as a guy who really came alive with the ball at his feet, then in other parts of the game he wasn’t engaged enough. We’ve challenged him in every way to find other ways and commit to other ways to be involved in the game, and he’s done well.
“The (goal against Sporting Kansas City) more than anything served as reinforcement and a confidence-builder, and that’s what I would say in general about the way our team played. Winning is an important lesson in our process but I’ve been more focused on playing the way we want to play. I know if we do that well the byproduct will be winning. We’ve had some validation and belief now early on, but regardless of that, we’re still trying to confirm within ourselves that this is the right way to do things.”
“In 2013, Sam’s first full year with the Red Bulls, he was considered a super-sub, a speedy winger that came on late in games to run at tired defenders and try and make something happen. He scored five goals in 22 games, but only had eight starts. Last season, Sam started all 32 games and finished with just four goals but had nine assists. This season, the way Marsch wants to play, you could see Sam have career-highs in both categories.
Oh, and if you need any help with your NCAA Tournament bracket, Sam can probably assist you with that as well.
Frank Giase has covered Major League Soccer since the league's inception in 1996. Follow him on twitter at @Frank Giase. He can also be reached at fgiase@gmail.com.
