The Silverbacks’ grand experiment seems to be working so far.
Of course, the real test will start when the team’s NASL season kicks off Sunday at the New York Cosmos.
After losing to the Cosmos in last year’s championship game, the Silverbacks fired coach Brian Haynes. Instead of doing a coach-for-coach replacement, the team’s ownership group elected to do something that, according to message boards, either reflects how technology is bringing us closer together or may be the decision that causes soccer to lose its status as the world’s most popular sport.
Eric Wynalda, formerly the team’s technical director, was made the full-time coach. But Wynalda isn’t with the team full-time. Because he lives in California and because he has another job as a TV analyst for Fox Sports, Wynalda commutes to Atlanta, spending a few days most weeks with the team and with the assistants that he trusts to run practice. When he’s not there, everything is videotaped for Wynalda to review.
“We’ve got it down to a science,” Wynalda said. “Everyone knows what works; everyone knows where they need to be. They make jokes that it’s like big brother because there are cameras everywhere watching us.”
Wynalda usually flies in Wednesday night, spends Thursday through Sunday with the team, and flies out Sunday night. He has missed one week — because Fox changed his assignment and he had to stay in Europe. Still he said he reviewed every Silverbacks practice. Sometimes, he can tell when players aren’t understanding the tactics in the drills.
“The chemistry and communication between Eric and I are good,” assistant coach Ricardo Montoya said. “We have the same understanding of the game and approach toward the game.”
Defender Beto Navarro said the players weren’t surprised by the negative reactions that came with the coaching announcement in January. So far, they have no complaints. Navarro said each player has Wynalda’s cellphone number, and he checks in with most of them at least once per week.
“We know it’s not typical, but we trust Eric,” he said. “We knew there were going to be a lot of doubters, but we hope to answer them during the season.”
Wynalda and his assistants have been installing a fluid system that they hope will allow the team to change formations and plans, depending upon the opponent or the even the situations in games. They also are trying to break in an unusually large group of new faces.
Ten players, including five starters, returned from last year’s Soccer Bowl runners-up. The team added 12 players and shed 18 from last year’s squad that went 6-3-3 to win the spring season and earn a spot in the championship game, before stumbling to 4-4-6 in the fall season.
Navarro said he thinks securing a championship spot during the spring may have caused some players to lose focus during the fall portion of the schedule. This year, he said there are no egos and everyone has the same goals.
Co-owner Boris Jerkunica said he hasn’t given any thought to what he will do should the team get off to a poor start. Jerkunica assumes he, the co-owners and general manager Andy Smith would review and try to decide if it’s something do with the players, coach or just bad luck.
“We will make a decision and pivot,” Jerkunica said. “Clearly not going into it thinking we will fail.”
