Slot him in the middle as a holding midfielder.
Slot him in the middle as an attacking midfielder.
Slot him on the right as a wide midfielder.
No matter the position, Julian Gressel is producing for Atlanta United.
Since being moved to the right for the past three games, Gressel has scored twice and has two assists, both of those key passes coming in Sunday’s 3-1 win over NYCFC at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“I think I am a versatile player coming in,” said Gressel, a rookie and native of Germany. “I knew that I was going to get moved around a little bit. I just have to take it on. I don’t see it as negative. That’s probably a big thing as well, just do your job and play well.”
Gressel was selected with the eighth pick in the first round of the SuperDraft in January. He wasn’t slotted by any of the mock drafts to go that high.
But Atlanta United President Darren Eales, Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra and Manager Gerardo Martino liked several things about Gressel.
First, he can score goals: 30 in 83 appearances at Providence.
Second, he’s versatile. Playing three or four different positions through 12 games at Atlanta United is old hat because he also was moved around as needed at Providence by coach Craig Stewart.
“His versatility is good,” Stewart said after the draft. “Not a bad question, when you ask what’s his best position.”
Lastly, a combination of his maturity (23 years old), experience of playing in the German youth leagues and four years of college, size (6 feet 1, 185 pounds) and technical ability convinced the Atlanta United managers that Gressel was the most pro-ready of the prospects.
He’s proving them right.
Gressel started the season as a holding midfielder, playing beside Carlos Carmona. Gressel stayed in the position, sometimes drifting higher up the field to link the defense with the midfielders. He was moved into an attacking role against Montreal, and struggled, before sliding back beside Carmona against D.C. United. He moved back into an attacking midfielder role in the first meeting against NYCFC, a 3-1 loss, and again struggled as did the rest of the team.
The next game, against Portland, Martino shifted Gressel to the right and he scored his first goal in MLS. He followed with another against Houston. Both of his assists on Sunday came on goals by Miguel Almiron. Gressel has four assists this season.
“We all know what a great player Julian is,” Almiron said. “He’s a really important player for the team. For us, it’s really important that he maintains the level of play that he’s been showing the last couple of games.”
Gressel said the key to finding a comfort level no matter the position is to listen to the coaches.
“They help me get accustomed to that new position quickly so that I know what they want from me at those positions,” he said.
Hector Villalba, normally the right-sided midfielder, said Gressel may be playing the position better than he did before he was moved to striker.
It will be interesting to see what Martino does when Josef Martinez returns from an injury that has sidelined him for more than two months. Should he start at striker, Martino will almost certainly move Villalba back to the right.
What then happens to Gressel?
Well, he can play most any position in the midfield.
“We have to keep pushing him along,” Bocanegra said. “He’s straight out of college. They have a three-month season. We can’t dump all the pressure on him and put everything on his shoulders. But he’s contributing very well to our team right now.”
