No Risa for the Weary
With Birk Risa departing, and new transfers yet to arrive, Pascal Jansen returns to tactical adjustments (and Kevin O’Toole) to keep NYCFC above the playoff line on a long road trip.
It’s easy to see why New York City Football Club signed Birk Risa in 2023. For possession-based teams that build play from the back, having a left-footed center-back on the left side is essential since their natural outward passing curve creates wider lanes and safer angles compared to the inward-bending passes of a right-footed player, which are more susceptible to interception. The Norwegian centerback also offered a sweet left foot adept at pinging long balls over the top or making field-switching passes to the opposite winger—capabilities unmatched by any centerback NYCFC has ever had. Adding a player who could slot next to Thiago Martins on the backline, with the potential to provide elite progressive passing, was well worth the transfer fee of around $1 million and the accompanying TAM salary.
However, Risa’s tenure at NYCFC was uneven. He struggled to step out of the shadow of Alexander Callens, the Peruvian club legend whose shoes he filled. A couple of injuries and a lack of confidence led to inconsistent defensive performances, allowing Justin Haak, despite playing on his weaker foot, to take the starting spot. Nevertheless, when Kevin O’Toole went down this spring, Risa stepped up with some of his best performances in a New York City uniform, playing a key role in the team’s defensive turnaround.
Risa stepped into a hybrid role, shifting seamlessly between left-back and left centerback in a back three. Starting on May 14th, Risa made eight consecutive regular-season starts alongside Thiago Martins and Justin Haak. During this stretch, NYCFC led the league with 0.75 goals against per game, while their underlying metrics were also impressive, ranking eighth with 1.20 expected goals against per game.
Despite finally bringing an element of consistency to NYCFC’s backline, Risa made a surprising move (perhaps not so surprising given the current state of affairs in the United States) by relocating his family back to Norway. After his transfer to Molde and with the summer transfer window not open, Pascal Jansen faces the challenge of patching together the left side of NYCFC’s formation with limited options.
With no other left-footed centerback on the roster following Risa’s absence, Jansen had to get creative again in reshaping the left side. Fortunately, Risa’s departure coincided with O’Toole’s return from injury. The Princeton graduate is a smart player, providing Jansen with a left-footed defender whom he can deploy flexibly. In recent games, O’Toole has not only played as a traditional fullback but has also taken on roles as an inverted fullback and a more forward, attacking wingback.
Against Orlando City, Jansen started the game in a 4-3-3 formation, with O’Toole fulfilling a traditional fullback role. But NYCFC had significant issues, especially in possession, with Orlando’s man-to-man press preventing the Pigeons’ three-man midfield from finding space in the buildup.
In the second half, Jansen countered by shifting to a box midfield, creating a four-on-three overload that opened up space on the wings and led to a more cohesive attack as NYCFC pushed for an equalizer. However, without Risa, O’Toole moved inside instead of Haak, playing an inverted fullback role reminiscent of Philip Lahm during Pep Guardiola’s tenure at Bayern Munich.
O’Toole handled his shifting roles well, giving Jansen the flexibility to use him as either a traditional or inverted fullback, sometimes even switching from one possession to the next. However, in the inverted role, he doesn’t quite offer the same offensive quality that Haak brought to the midfield when filling that hybrid spot.
Jansen entered the Kansas City match facing two significant challenges: playing a third road game in eight days and replacing Hannes Wolf, who had appeared in 55 straight games for NYCFC before a hamstring injury sidelined him.
When Jansen released the lineup and inserted Jonny Shore into the midfield, it looked like Andres Perea was shifting to the left wing, but his tactical tweak ran deeper than that. On defense, Perea was playing on the left wing in NYCFC’s typical 4-2-3-1.
But on offense, Perea was still essentially playing the same central midfield position in the left half space that he had played against Orlando, with O’Toole as the primary provider of width on the left side. The box formation once again caused significant problems for Sporting KC, as NYCFC found ample space in the midfield to quickly build up and attack in a game that they probably should have won, given their xG differential of nearly a goal.
However, Kevin O’Toole lacks Wolf’s work rate, and his intelligent runs don’t compensate for the offensive quality the Austrian provides. Risa’s departure leaves a significant gap on Jansen’s left flank, on a team that Malachi Jones’ injury setback has already hindered, Keaton Park’s mysterious foot injury, and Maxi Moralez’s declining performance.
The key takeaway is that, once again, Jansen has consistently demonstrated flexibility in his tactics to compensate for NYCFC’s personnel issues, sometimes changing shapes multiple times during a game. He has kept NYCFC’s boat floating above the playoff line, gaining critical points on the road despite some rocky waters as the Pigeons await the opening of the summer transfer window today. And as NYCFC prepares to enter the Leagues Cup, Jansen will need to show that he can maintain this adaptability because the Pigeons aren’t yet clear of the lee shore.
Reinforcements are on the way, including DP No. 10 Nicolás Fernández and Raul Gustavo, a left-footed Brazilian ballplaying centerback from Jansen’s old club, Ferencváros. However, both players will need time to complete the visa process and integrate with the team. It also may not be enough. The absence of attacking options on the bench has cost NYCFC points this season, making further upgrades to the attacking depth a top priority. ❧
Image: Johan Christian Dahl, View of Dresden by Moonlight
Data: American Soccer Analysis
Nico and Gustavo are going to help a lot, and they should be up to speed for the last 10 games. After that, there are some open questions, especially on the wings.
It's possible Trapito and Juli will get unlocked with a more dynamic No. 10, but that remains to be seen, and if they're not, we're going to continue to be frustrated by our attack.
Anyway, good on you for giving Birk the credit he deserved for his performance in his final stretch with us.