Jeff Larentowicz is looking forward to Atlanta United’s game at Chicago on Saturday because it will be a chance to see friends. It may also be a chance to see what manager Gerardo Martino is going to do with the lineup should Josef Martinez return.
Larentowicz played for Chicago from 2013-15, serving as the team’s captain in his final season.
Though in 2015 Chicago had a disappointing record of 8-6-20, the team went 14-13-7 in 2013 with Mike Magee winning MVP. The team 6-10-18 in 2014.
Magee winning an MVP stuck with Larentowicz. It was one of two times Larentowicz played with an MVP. Taylor Twellman winning in 2005 with New England was the other.
“Whenever you are on a team with an MVP season it’s exciting,” Larentowicz said.
Twellman winning happened during Larentowicz’s rookie season. He spent five seasons with the Revs and three with Colorado, where he helped the Rapids when the MLS Cup in 2010. He was on the New England teams that were beaten in three consecutive finals.
After Colorado, Larentowciz joined Chicago, then Los Angeles for one season and then he signed as a free agent with Atlanta United.
He has 12 appearances, including 10 starts, for Martino’s team.
It will be interesting to see if Larentowicz will start against Chicago on Saturday. It’s not that he wouldn’t because of poor performances.
Instead, it would be because of the return of Martinez from injury.
Martinez and Larentowicz don’t play the same position, but if the Venezuelan returns it would likely necessitate a domino of decisions. Martino’s weekly press conference is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Martinez has been out since March after suffering a thigh injury while playing with his national team. Each week, he has gotten closer to returning. He travelled with the team to Vancouver last week, but didn’t make the 18.
If Martinez makes the 18 this week, and if he starts, Hector Villalba will likely move from striker back into the right side of the midfield, which is his natural position and where he started the season.
That would mean Julian Gressel, who moved from the middle to the right in the past four games, either moves to the bench, or he moves back into central midfield, where he started the season, in place of either Larentowicz or Carlos Carmona. Because Gressel has played well this season, including two goals and three assists in the past four games, it seems unlikely he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup.
Carmona started the season opener as the holding midfielder, so it seems unlikely he will be pulled out of the starting lineup.
That means Larentowicz may come out….but only if Martinez, Gressel and Miguel Almiron are in the starting lineup.
There are other options.
Almiron may not be able to play on Saturday because he may play for Paraguay against Peru in a friendly on Thursday. If he doesn’t play, Gressel could slide into that position. He has played there at least once already this season. That would leave Larentowicz and Carmona as the holding midfielders.
Or, Martino could opt to keep Gressel on the right and bring Villalba off the bench as a super sub. That seems unlikely, though, because Villalba is one of the team’s three Designated Players.
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