Daniel Edelman has standout passing night in 0-0 draw with Nashville
Although Red Bull fans will feel like points were dropped against Nashville S.C. on Saturday night, Daniel Edelman's strong performance will be some consolation
A strong sense of deja vu enveloped Red Bull Arena on Saturday night when the New York Red Bulls battled Nashville SC to a 0-0 draw. The match strongly resembled New York’s season opener against Nashville SC which ended in the same result, as the Red Bulls dominated much of the match but ultimately came up short of three points.
Despite the result, coach Sandro Schwarz shared that he’s “not frustrated” about the missed scoring opportunities or the tie. Instead, he wanted to focus the post-game presser on the strong performance of the team overall, especially coming off of a truly disappointing loss away from home against the New England Revolution. And Daniel Edelman played exceptionally well.
Daniel Edelman has had a strong season as a ball-winning defensive midfielder for the New York Red Bulls in 2024. His strong play has helped the Red Bulls remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, and has also kept him in contention for U.S. national youth team slots. In March he was included in the U.S. Men’s Olympic team training camp.
But on Saturday night, as the Red Bulls worked tirelessly to break down Nashville’s stubborn defensive structure, I noticed something. Daniel Edelman wasn’t playing his typical role in the midfield. He wasn’t just winning second balls and laying off simple passes to Frankie Amaya or Wiki Carmona to carry it further upfield. Instead, Edelman was turning and passing, vertically, with incredible range and precision.
When I asked Schwarz about this in the press conference he had this to say: “His mentality is great and his behavior in our defense is great as well. And for him individually, a big part to make the next step is his passing. Situations to play forward, if it’s possible to play vertically, he made it today. With Frankie Amaya together, they made it very well.”
We all know that Daniel Edelman is a defensive workhorse. He can cover a lot of ground, put in crunching tackles, and win second balls in the midfield. But to get to the next level, where he isn’t just selected for the Olympic team training camp, but the final roster as well, he has needed to improve other qualities of his game, like passing. And he is doing that before our very eyes.
According to FBref, Daniel Edelman attempted a team-high 68 passes, and completed 83.8% of those passes (only second to Noah Eile in the team). Furthermore, of those 68 passes, 14 were progressive passes (defined as “completed passes that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal line at least 10 yards from its furthest point in the last six passes, or any completed pass into the penalty area. Excludes passes from the defending 40% of the pitch”). For context, the second-highest number of progressive passes were completed by Cameron Harper, who also had an excellent match, with 7. Edelman led the Red Bulls in touches on Saturday night with 72, and was second to only Frankie Amaya (38) in ball carries with 34.
What’s maybe most encouraging about this performance, is that Edelman’s offensive abilities did not come at the cost of his defensive duties. After the match, center back Noah Eile shared that “All season he’s been really good at helping us defensively to collect those second balls and cover in front of the back line. I’ve mentioned it before, that makes it easier for us in the back line to maybe not deal with as many chances or have that extra cover that he brings. So I think both him and Frankie did a great job today to cover in front of the back line and it was a great performance from both of them”
Daniel Edelman is seriously upping his game; I could see it clearly from the press box on Saturday night with his passing play, and it is showing up in his stat lines as well. I think that his recent inclusions into the U.S. youth national team setup, as well as his positional battle with Peter Stroud this season, have forced Edelman to improve, and he has stepped up to the challenge.
A more capable Edelman will only make things easier for Frankie Amaya, and is also a sign that we can expect positive development from guys like Bento Estrela and Ronald Donkor who are still on the fringes of the first team. So despite the result, Edelman had a standout night and made a big step in his development.