In their first starts together in the center of Atlanta United's formation, new signing Eric Remedi and MLS veteran Jeff Larentowicz combined for a Jessie Tuggle-esque 14 tackles in Saturday's 2-1 win against Montreal.
The two forced the Impact to put in cross after cross from the wide areas in the second half because the center of the pitch was like I-285 at 5 p.m. on a Friday. No one was going anywhere.
Their effectiveness was a bit of a surprise because Remedi, recently acquired from Banfield in Argentina, made his first start for Atlanta United. He said he hadn’t played that many minutes in about two months when he was going through the preseason in Argentina.
He threw himself into seven tackles -- and missed some more -- but didn’t concede a foul against Montreal. He said he is still getting used to the rhythm and speed of Atlanta United’s games. Remedi said he understands enough English and Larentowicz speaks enough Spanish that the two were able to communicate well enough.
With Larentowicz, Remedi is the only other true defensive midfielder Atlanta United can use. Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino has used Darlington Nagbe and Julian Gressel as two-way midfielders this season.
But Remedi showed an ability to not only break up plays, but he was tidy with his passing and goalkeeper Brad Guzan pointed out that Remedi was able to dribble out of trouble and break Montreal’s pressure near the end of the game.
“I hope that I did well, I hope that I’m comfortable and met the expectations the coaches had of me,” Remedi said.
Larentowicz made his 23rd start this season and 361st in MLS.
“Still working some things out but I think that he’s going to fit in nicely,” Larentowicz said of Remedi. “He’s a very good player, a player that when you play in games like this, you want him on your side. And I think he did well today.”
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