ORLANDO, Fla. – Midfielder Will Johnson is no stranger to change, nor is he unfamiliar with stepping into significant roles on a whim. The 31-year-old proved this last season when a key Orlando City SC player suffered an injury in the first game of the season.
In 2017, when then-team captain Ricardo Kaká suffered a hamstring injury minutes into a home match with New York City FC, Johnson took over the captaincy while the Brazilian was sidelined for the next five matches.
He also played out of his natural position and moved to right back for three games. It wasn’t an unprecedented move, though, as the Canadian had played there under head coach Jason Kreis at Real Salt Lake from 2008 to 2012.
Johnson was asked to make the same tactical shift, again, in City’s most recent 2-0 road win over the Philadelphia Union on April 13 when midfielder Cristian Higuita came on for an injured R.J. Allen in the 29th minute.
But, leading up to the win over Philly, Johnson had not trained as a right back all 2018. He’s been training there this week, as Allen and perennially starting right back Scott Sutter are listed as day-to-day with lower-body injuries.
“Yeah, none. None these past few weeks,” Johnson said of how much he’s trained at right back this season after training on April 17. “More this week because we don’t have any other right backs out there.”
For Kreis, the decision to bring in Johnson was a matter of aggression on Johnson’s part and also a matter of Higuita’s readiness. The third-year City boss wanted an offensive presence on the right flank, and his only other natural option at outside back was left-footed Donny Toia, who started 29 games at left back last season for the Lions.
And Higuita had been building to a high level of preparation over the first few weeks of the 2018 season. He started 2018 by entering preseason out of shape but eventually made his season debut in a 2-0 road loss to NYCFC on March 17. There, he played the first 67 minutes but didn’t see time until beating the Union.
“You know, my first inclination was we had Donny Toia on the bench. He’s a natural outside back, but he’s left-footed,” Kreis said after training on April 17. “And so I really wanted to keep a little bit more of an aggressive mindset, thinking about when we had the ball, if i wanted to have a right-footed player there or a left-footed player there.
“I also had Cristian Higuita who I knew was ready–really, really ready. And so I felt like it was the right time to give him an opportunity–Cristian, first and foremost–and I wanted to keep a right-footed player at right back.”
Johnson also found himself ready in his own way.
When he’s not training for or playing in games, he’s watching them. That helped him prepare for the likes of Philly attacker David Accam, who frequented Johnson’s side during City’s win.
“I take pride in watching a lot of games around the league,” Johnson said. “I know quite a few players. I’ve played against David Accam a lot of times. I know what his strengths are. I know most of the players in this league. I’ve been around a long time.
“And, like I said, after I’m done at our stadium on a Saturday, the benefit of playing in the East Coast time zone is that you get to go home and watch all the other games and see different guys so you know what to expect. Obviously, I’m not the quickest or strongest guy; I’m not here for that, but I can play intellectually and use my head…”
Johnson also credits the successful tactical shift against Philly to a new mindset in Orlando: a mindset of winning. In the early-season going of 2017, Johnson helped lead the Lions to a 6-1-0 start, but City only won four more games the rest of the year, finishing 10th in the East.
Now, six games into 2018, the Lions are 3-2-1 and on the verge of their third four-game winning streak in club history.
“Listen, I think, ultimately, we’ve got a group of guys here this year who wanna win, who wanna do what it takes for the group,” Johnson said. “And that sometimes involves playing out of position–being on the bench, wherever you’re needed… We’re all in a lot of the same meetings, so we know what it takes to fill in these positions.”
The Lions will return to action on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they host the San Jose Earthquakes. The Earthquakes are 10th in the Western Conference with a 1-2-2 record.
For more on the Lions, as they look to continue their first winning streak this season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
