Atlanta United vs. San Diego FC preview: Three questions with SanDiego.futbol

Atlanta United and San Diego FC couldn’t be more opposite right now. One team is guaranteed to miss the playoffs, while the other could win the Supporters’ Shield.

In all fairness, no one expected first-year SDFC to be in the position they’re in: atop the West, a point back in the Shield race with four matches to go, and with a bona fide MVP candidate on their roster. But here we are. To get the scoop on SDFC, I checked in with Abe Zepeda (X, BlueSky) from SanDiego.futbol.

Very few expected San Diego FC to be near the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings toward the end of the season. How has Mikey Varas been able to capture buy-in from this group and how has Tyler Heaps been able to put together such a cohesive unit?

San Diego FC is building upon a pre-established offensive philosophy called right-to-dream that involves young players from around the world and uses clubs and academies in Ghana, Egypt and Denmark. SDFC started their roster construction with a player from Denmark’s FC Nordsjælland as its captain, Jeppe Tverskov, who is emblematic of the offensive plan in the midfield. Tyler Heaps has built around that philosophy and the scouting done by the right-to-dream structure to find dependable assets around the world and MLS. Heaps put an important focus on the offensive prowess of every position to build play and press high, even at the goalkeeper position. 

Mikey Varas is relatively young for an MLS head coach and has experience with youth players from all his previous experience at professional academies and the USYNT. 

Varas and the players seemingly had no choice but to buy-in to the project. There were no previous tensions or long-standing issues that might affect an older club. Every single player had to compete for their starting spot and have kept that competitive edge throughout the season.  

We have to discuss Anders Dreyer and the great season he’s had. While Atlanta’s own MLS newcomer, Emmanuel Latte Lath, has struggled in his first year, Dreyer has immediately positioned himself as an MLS MVP contender. How has he been able to get acclimated to the league so quickly?

The team imposes its offensive style with its dominant possession on all opponents, so SDFC has not been acclimating to the league as much as the league has been acclimating to them. Anders Dreyer has been a prime example of that. It has been very difficult to find an answer for the dynamic winger who has seemingly taken the league by storm. He was bought-in to the right-to-dream project from the beginning. It also helped to bring on two Danish compatriots that he had played with or against in Europe in Marcus Ingvartsen and Jeppe Tverskov.  Dreyer’s connection with Tverskov in the midfield has proven exceptionally powerful against most opponents.

Where do you see this SDFC team ending up in the playoffs? Do they keep it going in the postseason and keep things rolling, or are there weaknesses that a team can exploit?

San Diego has struggled with the striker position since the departure of Milan Iloski in July. The threatening designated players, Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, are dangerous to any team, but are very predictable and a lot less dangerous without a proven striker in the middle to worry about. The replacement center-forwards have had plenty of opportunities to take the starting-spot for themselves, but none have solidified. 

If SDFC remain leaders in the Western Conference, I expect they will easily get past the best-of-three series, but will face some very tough tests the rest of the way. San Diego FC have not been great at home all season because opponents are not afraid to sit back and defend. They can take advantage of mistakes with limited counter-attacking chances that can change the state of a match quickly.