Sebastian Berhalter.
On the verge of a move to Middlesbrough?
Reports from reliable transfer news outlet #LouTy are saying Vancouver Whitecaps and US Men’s national team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter are closing in on a move to Championship side Middlesbrough - this is my time to actually have a look at the player through video analysis and see if he’s a good fit for the league he’s coming into and the team he’s joining.
Firstly, we have to look at his role at Vancouver.
He ranks second for passes attempted and first for passes attempted in the final third. Which is a roundabout way of saying he’s more or less the first receiver from the centre back and the first passer when trying to sustain pressure. As his heat map shows, whilst he’s active in deeper areas, he’s more active in the right half space receiving and passing the ball - and his energy off the ball too, which I’ll get into in the match analysis. He is their key player - takes all the set pieces, takes most of the responsibility with the ball and leads the press at times too.
vs LAFC.
Passing-wise, he favours simple bounce passes and keeps it ticking over. Nothing crazy in terms of breaking lines. He stays calm and controls the tempo in possession. What is noticeable straight away is that he almost always plays the ball in the direction he’s facing. He won’t take the ball on a half-turn; he won’t do a fancy shimmy or drop a shoulder to buy time. His instinct in this game is to retain the ball. There are multiple times when he could play a diagonal pass to a teammate in space, but he stays risk-averse. He’s not much of a scanner either before receiving a pass - he’ll have a couple of looks over his shoulder to see where his teammates are, and the next pass usually goes wide - or he’ll play it back to the defender to keep the ball moving. Positionally, he’s fluid - has a dovetail partnership with Cubas, where if one goes, the other drops in and vice versa. But for the most part stay quite close together in possession.
Physically, he’s very endurable without being athletically gifted but still athletic enough he can get through games in high intensity. Will run and run and run both ways. You’ll see him push up to lead the press at times, and you’ll also see him rush over to cover space as quickly as he can. He does have a bit of an edge to him as well- he isn’t afraid to stick one in on you or fly into a challenge, as we saw in this game. Because he’s energetic and keen to get involved, his tackling style is erratic. He’s not the strongest in duels and can be played around fairly easily when he goes steaming in.
Corners and free kicks. Jesus. This brother can take a good one of these. He can get height and whip, he can clip it in like a golf shot with spin or he can fire it like a missile to the front post. Had a look to see if the numbers back up this game - he leads the MLS for chances created from set pieces with 25 and set piece xA of 2.78.
vs Inter Miami.
Looking at his passing - again, like what happened in the match against LAFC - he’s risk-averse. He keeps the ball flowing. If players are in proximity to him, he’ll play that pass either first time or take a few touches to settle the game down and go from there. The team moves up the pitch when he does. He does make one pass, which is short but disguised through the lines and takes out four Inter Miami players in the process. He can do it but only when he has an extortionate amount of time - his first instinct when challenged and put into a dangerous area is to play backwards. Which is fine; not every player has to be Imran Louza or Matt Grimes in the Championship; sometimes prioritising the ball is better than risk in silly areas. You recycle, then go again.
I watched ten games of him, but using three as an example in this breakdown as they’re the only three I could get clips of - but his long passing leaves a lot to be desired at times. Either under-hit, over-hit or not accurate. Of course he’ll be able to hit one perfectly; he’s a professional footballer - but I’d say his weakness in his passing bag is punch passes centrally and anything over 20 yards. The more I watch him, the more I get a similar vibe to James Ward-Prowse, just not as good from dead-ball situations.
Off the ball I think this game perfectly encapsulates what he’s about. Duracell bunny who’s eager to get involved with mixed results. Busquets lures him in and shows him levels and takes him out of the game with one drag-back, but then moments later runs back to cut off Messi and get the ball back for his team. My initial thoughts as to why he doesn’t win that many duels, just over half (55%) is because he doesn’t lower his shoulders or bend his knees enough to be strong, instead he flies in with limbs everywhere. It’s a details thing that can be fixed through simple coaching and video analysis for him. Bove at Watford a good example of how to do this.
His free kicks, again, were very good deliveries bar one. As I said earlier, it’s like a golf shot where you chip it with spin out of a bunker. Give him an aerial threat, and you’re good for 5/6 goals.
vs Saudi Arabia.
I wanted to see if he behaved differently for the US men’s national team with better players surrounded by him and up against inferior opposition and that’s what Boro will be up against most weeks. And he didn’t really - albeit he was used in multiple different roles in this game. First as the deepest midfielder, then the most advanced and then back to being the holder. Truth is he didn’t really do anything differently - although did increase tempo and look for 1/2s a bit more. But again faced the way he played and was simple in his 5/10 yard passes and completed them. Again, he just wanted to keep the ball most of the time.
His long passing again.. yeah, it’s not his best but it’s not the end of the world. He’ll keep trying em though.
Of course he gets an assist from a dead ball. James Ward-Berhalter. If you haven’t seen it, go and look at his free kick assist against Mexico. It’s a peach.
Boro fit and English football fit.
Both ticks in the box here. I’m a big believer in synergy in football and natural instincts being the most unguardable thing of all. Relationships on the pitch where only those two brains can see what’s happening or about to happen are what create unpredictability in your teams. Perception + instinct = undefendable. The fact Morris and Berhalter are best friends might seem nothing, but it’s a massive advantage in a midfield two. There’s no bedding-in period needed as they already understand each other. Look at Mo Toure and Irankunda for Australia, for example - best friends, and they don’t play together at their club side but naturally against Turkey they knew what one another were going to do. Berhalter is naturally intense off the ball and has physical traits, especially upper body, where he’ll fit in fine. He’s a fine, not spectacular, passer, good energy off the ball and will run backwards just as much as he does forwards. He’s a very good complementary midfielder for Morris. My challenge to him now is to be able to use his set piece ability in open play. You have an unbelievable delivery from your right foot - get into those right half spaces and deliver a KDB-esque cross into the box, because you can. And who scored a header from a cross like that multiple times last season? Will Lankshear. Boro didn’t struggle to break down low blocks; they struggled to convert chances, and they’ve added a 9 to help that, and now they’ve added a different dimension from dead-ball situations. Berhalter won’t replace what Hackney can do as he was carry first - but what he can do is make the team more stable and more controlled. He’s not a better player, but without sounding too big-brained, I think this has the potential to be a better partnership. Morris will, I think, go into the Hackney role, and Berhalter will push up and be more involved in the final third. Adding leadership, responsibility, intensity, and someone who can do pretty much everything to a 6/10 level is a no-brainer for £1.5m.
