It's no accident that New York City FC's Justin Haak logged his first Major League Soccer assist in the win against New York Red Bulls on May 16, then added another in Sunday's win over Chicago Fire.
The 23-year-old Homegrown earned a starting role this season under head coach Pascal Jansen in a center-back pairing with Thiago Martins, and the two have anchored a defense that has given up just two goals in the last five league games played. But in recent matches, Haak's role has evolved. Long regarded as the team's Swiss Army knife, the midfielder-turned-defender is now starting as a center-back who has license to venture far upfield and join the attack, sometimes positioned as the team's most advanced player.
Haak isn't a goal-scoring center-back in the mold of Alex Callens, who sometimes took a chance and carried the ball deep into the attack, or Maxime Chanot, who was always a threat on set pieces. Instead, Haak is in the build up, linking with midfielders Maxi Moralez, Hannes Wolf, and Jonny Shore to progress the ball. He isn't a big man who sometimes scores, he's an attacking center-back who helps the team create chances — then sprints back downfield to join the defense.
The mother of invention
To better understand Haak's changing role, we need to go back to May 10, when New York City found itself without two key players heading into a matchup against CF Montréal in The Bronx. Keaton Parks, arguably one of the best if least flashy box-to-box midfielders in MLS, left the previous game with a foot injury that had hobbled him since early in the season. At the same time, left-back Kevin O'Toole was sidelined with a hurt leg. New York City were at home, and facing a struggling Montréal, but they were going to be without two key starters.
Jansen decided to put out a Starting XI with two like-for-like swaps: The newly-signed Aiden O'Neill would start in place of Keaton, and MLS SuperDraft pick Nico Cavallo would play on the left in place of O'Toole. The hope was that the team's depth would allow it to follow a well-earned win against a tough Cincinnati with another win against a floundering Montréal.
It didn't work out.
New York City was disjointed in attack and disorganized in defense. Montréal managed to score early in the second half, then went on to get their first win of the season — and their first victory ever in New York City. It was clear Jansen couldn't simply slot the new players into the team's existing system and expect to get the same results as in the past.
Jansen tinkered with the Starting XI in the following game against DC United, partnering Andrés Perea with Jonny Shore in the midfield. In addition, Jansen started Birk Risa at left-back. It was a crucial decision. Usually, the left-footed Risa is regarded as a central defender, but putting him on the flank allowed him to see playing time while preserving the partnership between Haak and Thiago Martins.
It also revised that partnership. At times, Haak would function as a central defender, working in tandem with Thiago Martins while Risa was free to move along the left side as a wingback. But at times, Haak would advance centrally and then move to the touchline, while Risa would drop back to take the role of central defender.
Make no mistake, Haak was still primarily on defensive duty. But he would advance further and further with every game, eventually becoming a crucial part of the NYCFC attack. You can see Haak's positioning shift in three heatmaps: The 1-0 win over Cincinnati on May 4, the 0-0 draw with DC on May 14, and the 3-1 win over Chicago on May 25.
Against Cincinnati, Haak spent most of the game in the defensive third and the middle of the field, with essentially no movement into the attacking third. Against DC, Haak is mostly based in the defensive third, but he makes incursions into the attacking third. Against Chicago, Haak is running the length of the field, defending high against a Fire reduced to 10 players for most of the game, and also creating chances in the attacking third.
