New York Red Bulls: Florian Valot making lineup decisions difficult
By Liam Pettit
Florian Valot continued to build on his impressive string of games in 2018 with a great showing in the New York Red Bulls’ 3-1 win against Montreal.
Coming into 2018, you would have been hard-pressed to find someone outside of the New York Red Bulls organization who thought Florian Valot would make this much of an impact, this early. But from inside the organization, Valot’s output is no surprise. Jesse Marsch thinks the best is yet to come.
"I mean, we’re really excited about the future for Flo and I feel like we’re just starting to scratch the surface. We’ve seen it blossom with USL and we felt strongly that we would be able to insert it into MLS, and now it’s starting to come together and I think it’s only going to get much better."
On Saturday afternoon, Jesse Marsch gave Florian Valot his third start in MLS play, and he continued to prove his abilities. This time, he started on the wing, opposed to the CAM/CDM roles he shined in during his previous appearances.
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Making His Chances Count
His versatility is proving undeniable as he smoothly assisted Bradley Wright-Phillips on the opening score. On the day, Valot attempted 3 crosses, and finished with 35 successful passes, passing at a 72% success rate.
But in the New York Red Bull’s system, attacking play doesn’t always earn a spot in the team, it’s work-rate and pressing too. The Frenchman won 2 tackles, 2 interceptions, and fought for 5 successful defensive recoveries. Jesse Marsch praised the midfielder’s abilities after Saturday’s 3-1 win,
"He can play the way we want. He can run all day. He’s incredibly smart tactically and he can make attacking plays."
Valot, 25, played two seasons at Rider University in the MAAC Conference. The midfielder started playing with the U-23 PDL side in 2015, until signing with the New York Red Bulls 2 in 2016. In 1.5 seasons with RB2, he managed 10 goals and 13 assists which earned him a contract with the first team.
Starting in USL to CONCACAF Champions League in just a matter of months, exemplifies Marsch’s belief and trust in Valot. Without any hesitation, Valot replaced an injured Rzatkowski in Tijuana and provided a crucial assist to Bradley Wright-Phillips. Weeks later, after two impressive starts in MLS play, he was again trusted to start in the semi-finals of CCL.
After the 3-1 win vs Montreal, Valot was asked about rewarding Jesse’s confidence,
"It’s big to have the coach’s confidence and also the players, I have been feeling that confidence over the past weeks and months now…"
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With all the excellent individual performances in 2018, Marsch has a lot to think about week-to-week.