I see Jay training all the time. Juggling, cutting, working his touch in the grassy area known as the Circle of Life just outside my door. Every once in a while I join him and we kick around for a bit. It was about time that I invited him down to my room to watch a game. I absolutely love watching soccer, and played for 15 years of my life, but watching with Jay Baker would be an opportunity to watch a game with a college-level player and pick his brain. Baker, an undecided junior, is also not a new man to the college game, even if he is a new man on Union’s campus. He played for the last two years at Emmaus College, where he was top goal scorer as a 16-year-old freshman.
“It’s impressive,” Baker said with a laugh before going on to explain that his feat was mostly just because the team was very bad and only won 2 games that whole season.
A good opportunity for us to watch a game together presented itself when Goias played Sao Paulo in the Brazilian league (or the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A) on Oct. 18. Not only was this a game we could watch together, but it had a special connection to both my roommate, Sam, who grew up in Monte Verde, Brazil (near Sao Paulo), and to Baker, who spent a summer in Brazil near Sao Paulo with a program called Missionary Athletes International.
“It’s a summer academy with a bunch of college students—college soccer players—from across the US and a few native Brazilians who were just playing in the offseason,” Baker said. “We went down to Brazil and played there against a bunch of teams, and also like ran some kids’ camps and stuff.”
We turned on the game in the 9th minute (late due to technical difficulties) as Goias were setting up for a corner and were treated to watching a possible Puskas Award (the international goal of the year) contender immediately. The corner kick soared over the knot of men in front of the goal before coming down to Goias leftback Hugo at the edge of the box who simply (and I ensure you, it is not simple at all) volleyed the ball first time into the top corner of the goal with venom. I screamed and Baker laughed with joy.
“What a time to start watching,” Baker said. “I wonder how many times he did that in practice to just pull that out.”
As we watched, I asked Baker a lot about what he saw and what he looked for.
“Definitely watching to learn,” Baker said. “What that means is looking for positioning, that’s huge, and off the ball movement is huge.”
Watching the pros is not just an educational experience for Baker, however. It is also entertaining.
“It’s always fun to watch how a team plays, just from an entertainment standpoint,” Baker said. “For that you want to look at, like, does this team like to posses the ball? Is their plan of attack based on counterattack?”
He talked about counterattacking teams and how they get their opponent to spread out, then steal the ball and attack quickly before their opponent can get back. He talked about how many European teams like to play in space nowadays, but teams like Fluminense in Brazil play a game reliant on technical players that play through congested spaces and are reminiscent of the tiki taka style played by prime FC Barcelona and the Spain National Team that won back-to-back European Championships and a World Cup.
“Do they rely on a few stellar players to be the life of the team or are they really mechanical and clinical,” Baker said. “All fun stuff.”
Baker also went on to explain the difference between watching and playing.
“When I’m on the field, I’m not nearly so focused on the big picture like that. I want to make sure I’m doing my job as best I can,” Baker said. “Which still involves looking at what the rest of the team is doing and responding to it and looking at what the opposition is doing and responding to it. But you’re not trying to analyze and come up with guidelines because you already have them.”
Watching Goias play Sao Paulo, one thing really stood out to Baker about professionals.
“This isn’t unique to this game, but the technique and footwork is always incredible,” Baker said. Then he clarified. “It isn’t so much being flashy, but the consistency is insane. Like, there isn’t anything these guys are doing that guys on our team haven’t done before, but these guys can do it like 9 times out of 10.”
When Sao Paulo got one of their few opportunities of the game, Baker was able to break it down for me.
“They flipped the point of attack there,” he said.
He broke down how Sao Paulo worked the ball around, flipping the point of attack. He showed how the winger got free as the other attackers drew out their defenders so the winger could overlap. We rewatched the flow of play, how the left back pushed up and pulled away the Goias right back. Unfortunately for Sao Paulo, the attacking midfielder who the winger cut the ball back to sent it approximately seven rows up into the stands.
I’ve always found watching a sport with an athlete and getting their perspective to be an interesting exercise. Watching a game with Jay Baker was both entertaining and informative. I plan to do it again.
