Twenty-year-old Rodrigo Ramos was not going to allow a lack of preparation to stand between him and his goals Sunday against New York City FC.
Knowing his position at right back would likely see him frequently matched up with Spanish star David Villa, the Brazilian defender gave himself every opportunity to succeed well before the opening whistle blew at Yankee Stadium.
“Before the game I saw him I said this kid is going to do great, because he was so focused, so concentrated on having a good game,” said Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic. “He came to the staff and asked questions about Villa, he wanted to see again, and again, clips that we prepared for the team.”
And while Villa on occasion was able to carve out space to operate on the ball, his chances to strike and set up his teammates typically found him off balance or under pressure from Ramos and Johan Kappelhof.
“I think he did very well, it was fantastic to see,” Paunovic said of Ramos. “I can tell you we are very happy in the team with how he’s doing, improving, and now we want to reinforce it. But still there is a long way to go for him. We want him to improve his offensive actions, because he is very capable of coming in the final third … I think he can give more good passes and good crosses to a teammate so we can finish. That’s what it’s all about.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Paunovic emphasized, as he has throughout the season, that although Ramos, Kappelhof, Jonathan Campbell and Michael Harrington seem to have established themselves as his first-choice back line, players like Brandon Vincent -- whose involvement is being managed given what Paunovic called a "very intense" last few months -- and Joao Meira remain integral to the club’s success moving forward.
“You have to understand, and the guys do this, that we will need all our guys engaged, the season is long,” he said. “That’s what we are looking for, a very competitive locker room, very competitive environment where everybody is fighting for his spot and fighting to increase his performance.”
Indeed, an across-the-board increase in performance is what Paunovic is demanding from his side ahead of Saturday’s key conference match against the Montreal Impact, as Chicago aims to build on its current four-match unbeaten run and impressive 356-minute shutout streak. Whether through advanced preparation in the film room or better execution on the training ground, the Fire are focused on taking the next step as a unit.
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“We want to win this game because we see the opportunity not only to get three points but to build up our team and get to the next level of performance we are looking for,” he said. “Having our defense solid, we want to keep that and improve. Now it’s not only a matter of possession, we are doing that pretty decent, but good enough that we can create chances, create opportunities, and for sure where we have to improve is converting those opportunities.
“We believe next game is a great opportunity to put all the pieces together.”
