Seattle Sounders: Jordan Morris, the simplistic, throwback winger

Throwback wingers do not widely exist in modern-day football. But in Jordan Morris, the Seattle Sounders have one of the best: a brilliantly simplistic winger.

Over the past decade, football has tactically evolved more than in any other period in its history. From the berth of tika-taka in the late 00s with Pep Guardiola, Barcelona and Spain through to the transition-orientated, space-obsessed pressing games of Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, the sport is entirely different to what it used to be.

Even at the amateur level, players are smarter, quicker, more tactically astute than they ever been, with different systems and approaches used throughout the footballing pyramid.

Nevertheless, while this development proves that the game is smarter than ever, with analytics bringing sweeping changes on and off the pitch, sometimes, it is refreshing to witness a throwback player rekindling the former greatness of a seemingly bygone era.

In winger Jordan Morris, the Seattle Sounders boast one of the greatest throwback players in Major League Soccer. While he developed as a centre-forward and has later adapted to his wide berth, this season, the American international has since developed an approach to the position that is brilliantly simplistic and wonderfully ancient.

Very plainly, he runs quickly and directly, with and without the ball. When he dribbles, there are no fancy tricks or skills. It is a drop of the shoulder, a shift of his balance, and a dart down the touchline. Off the ball, he hugs the touchline, bursts in behind opposing defences, or looks to sneak in at the back post to convert crosses from the opposite flank. Morris is an old-school winger.

And the Seattle Sounders are reaping the benefits, as teammate Cristian Roldan explained this week prior to Sunday’s MLS Cup against Toronto FC:

"“In terms of Jordan, it’s so great to see him have fun. He’s having the most fun of his career, I think and that in large part has to do with switching from right to left on the wing and I think once he got back from the Gold Cup, he was a bit sharper, fitter, stronger in every single category. And he’s getting the final product. Not just scoring, but being dangerous, being a threat, willing to run without the ball. He’s using his strengths of his ability. And I also think the team is willing to play a hopeful ball that Jordan will get there, instead of trying to play out of everything.”"

More from MLS Multiplex

Recovering from an ACL tear that meant he missed the entirety of the 2018 season, Morris displayed that same vicious, explosive athleticism that made him such a threat in his younger years, but allied it with a greater awareness of the position he was playing and understanding of his relative strengths and weaknesses.

Morris does not overcomplicate things. The silky skills, slalomed dribbling and incisive passing he leaves for Roldan, Nicolas Lodeiro and now Raul Ruidiaz. He rarely drifts inside, other than to burst into the box at the back post, he avoice the inside channel, instead standing on the touchline, stretching the pitch, and waiting for space to open up to drive into.

And this is not an insult to Morris. In fact, it is an appraisal of his self-awareness and his execution. Football is a simple game overcomplicated by fools. And Morris so brilliantly, brutishly and successfully takes it back to the drawing board, where he excels. His 17 goals and assists this season are proof of that.

Seattle Sounders: How do you stop Raul Ruidiaz?. dark. Next

Morris has been superb this season, a throwback winger in the modern game. And if he performs as he has been doing all year, the Seattle Sounders might be lifting their second MLS Cup in four years.

Home/Seattle Sounders