Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almiron spent a few minutes following Wednesday’s practice answering a few questions.
Almiron, a native of Paraguay, is quickly becoming one of the better players in MLS because of his creativity and endurance.He played a role in all three of the team’s goals in last week’s 3-1 win at Real Salt Lake.
The Five Stripes (3-2-2) will host D.C. United on Sunday at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.
I had to send my questions to be asked because I couldn’t attend. These questions are a mix of mine and other’s.
Q: Can you explain your role defensively in central midfield?
A: The coach wants us to help marking players when we don’t have the ball. When we are pressuring coach wants me to mark the central midfielder. In today’s football you have to be able to defend and attack and you have to run a lot because if not the other team can really make a difference.
Q: How do you decide when to press and when to hold back?
A: When the other team has the ball and they play to the right I usually stay in the middle of the field and mark the central midfielder.
Q: How have you adapted offensively without Josef Martinez?
A: Everyone knows Josef is a really important player for us. We are missing a lot in his absence but I think we have a lot of guys who are capable of filling in at this position. We have a healthy competition of guys trying to fill that spot.
Q: When you guys are dispossessed, what’s your first reaction?
A: Everyone on the team knows when we lose the ball, coach wants us to press and win the ball back as quickly as possible.
Q: How does the energy of Atlanta United’s home games compare with other stadiums you played? What was the best?
A: Our stadium has a different energy because we are with our fans and we can feel their support. It’s got a different feel to it than other stadiums. We are really appreciative of all the support we get at home. It’s something we keep repeating and I think it’s really important for the fans to know that the whole team appreciates their support when we play at home.
Q: You aren’t the biggest midfielder. How did you learn to use your weight to handle the physical position you play?
A: A player has to adapt to the style of the game. That’s something I had to get used to in Argentina, as well. Like I said before, in today’s soccer a player has to not only attack but defend so I try to do that as well.
