In his preview of tonight’s MLS Eastern Conference final, Yahoo Sports’ Martin Rogers says the marquee battle to watch will be in midfield between New England stalwart Shalrie Joseph and Chicago playmaker Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Joseph, a defensive midfielder, is a man of the blue-collar variety: a ball-winner with good strength and balance who distributes well from deep positions. Blanco in many ways is his foil, an attacking midfielder blessed with impeccable technique, vision and creativity.
Joseph, Rogers says, is “the glue that holds together Steve Nicol’s Revolution.” The same might be said of Blanco, though the two play different positions and have different roles within their team. On Thursday night, Joseph’s responsibility will most likely be to keep Blanco quiet, a task that has proven impossible thus far for other MLS teams. But “if anyone in the league is up to the challenge it is Joseph,” Rogers says.
In an interview, Nicol praises Joseph as a player of “quality.” “When he steps onto the field, our players are glad they are standing alongside him, and the opposition wish he was on their team,” he says, adding that Joseph’s offensive contributions are every bit as important as his ball-winning in midfield. Indeed, it was Joseph who sent the ball through to Taylor Twellman for the goal that saw the Revs into the Eastern Conference final.