It’s no secret that New York City FC has been tough to beat this season, after only conceding one loss in the past ten matches.
While the upturn in positive results has been widely attributed to a change in system, NYCFC Head Coach Doménec Torrent has been quick to credit his players for carrying out the instructions.
With LA Galaxy coming up next on Saturday, Torrent told reporters he's pleased with the tactical flexibility demonstrated by his players in recent road wins over D.C. United and Montreal.
“We have the right players to play in the system, I repeat many times - the most important thing in soccer is the players,” said Dome. “When you change the system and you are able to win, then you play with more confidence. Sometimes you have to change something to improve. When you find the best way to play, it’s about two things - the feeling when you play and about the results. When the results are much better, everyone has confidence in the system.”
“We have the possibility to change our system in one minute,” he continued. “We can change when we need it, right now we start to play with five in the back when we don’t have the ball. We can change in one minute if we need it and I decide to play like that because sometimes you lose the game 2-0 or 2-1 and you need to score more goals, it’s better to change.”
With the boost of confidence, Dome’s squad is prepared to take on any team anywhere.
“I don’t know what will happen in the next game, but our feeling is we are ready to play in LA, in Chicago, in every single team away because the feeling is much better. Maybe it’s because the system is better for our players. The last two results away were two clean sheets and that’s very important for our confidence,” Dome stated.
Anton Tinnerholm is not the only person who will be sharing the pitch with a familiar face on Saturday. When it comes to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dome also has history with the striker going back to their shared time in Barcelona.
“I have good memories from Barcelona of this player because I worked one year with him, it’s my opinion that Ibra is one of the best strikers in the past 20 years for me. He’s amazing, everybody knows how important he is in the world - not just in LA,” said Dome. “It’s always impossible to mark this player because he has quality - he has the quality to attack the spaces, keep the ball, score, and assist. I’m very happy to meet again with this player because I have good memories of Ibra in Barcelona.”
Although the matchup against LA Galaxy will pose as a challenge, NYCFC is prepared for anything. Equipped with a new system and three points against Montreal, the Boys in Blue are hungry for more.
Let’s get those three points boys, #ForTheCity!
