This tweet from our own Matt Doyle during New York City FC’s win against the Philadelphia Union last weekend got me thinking… Where would Mix Diskerud be a good fit?
The sometime US international has been in and out of Patrick Vieira’s midfield for the past couple of months. He’s started four of NYCFC’s last six MLS contests, but wasn’t in the XI for the four before those. Now, with Frank Lampard finally on the field and Federico Bravo getting close to a return from injury, minutes will be at even more of a premium. Mix could very well end up as the odd man out.
While his time in New York probably hasn’t been quite to his liking, Diskerud has enough talent to be a solid contributor in MLS – provided he’s in the right setting. With that in mind, I took a look at a couple of teams where the Norwegian-American could fit well.
Columbus Crew SC
Gregg Berhalter and Columbus famously almost landed Mix after the 2014 World Cup, narrowly missing out on securing the midfielder on a transfer from Norwegian club Rosenborg that August.
They didn’t complete the deal, but things panned out fine for Crew SC over the next year and a half, as Columbus finished as the Eastern Conference’s third seed in 2014 before making a run all the way to MLS Cup last year.
This season, of course, has been a different story, what with the Kei Kamara saga and their current 3-5-6 record. Crew SC have been decimated by injuries recently, as well, with defender Gaston Sauro out for at least three more months due to a PCL tear and midfielder Federico Higuain shelved for another 4-6 weeks after undergoing hernia surgery.
Higuain’s absence leaves a hole in the center of Berhalter’s midfield, one that could Diskerud could potentially fill. Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram would shoulder a good deal of the creative load, while Wil Trapp and Tony Tchani/Mo Saied could cover Diskerud defensively. He wouldn’t have to be the guy for Columbus, just a player to provide some extra attacking oomph until – and after – Higuain returns from injury.
Houston Dynamo
There’s no public prior connection here, but I actually like how Diskerud fits in Houston more than I do in Columbus.
Imagine: Collen Warner sitting in as a d-mid, Rico Clark playing a box-to-box role, Andrew Wenger and Boniek Garcia on the wings and Diskerud playing as creative central hub underneath a lone striker. Mix would have to beat out Cristian Maidana at the No. 10 spot for that scenario to work, but it seems like it’d be a solid use of his talents.
Houston, of course, also have their own high-profile player that isn't exactly fitting in right now. It's not super realistic, but a Cubo Torres-for-Diskerud straight-swap would be pretty fun.
