USMNT set to reap the rewards of Johnson's newfound composure
When Fabian Johnson raced through on goal at Borussia-Park, the clock stood still. Around 15,000 Borussia Mönchengladbach fans in the terracing behind the goal waited anxiously for Johnson to approach Manuel Neuer, the peerless German goalkeeper who has a habit of digging his side out of these situations.
What went through Johnson's mind in those milliseconds offers a fascinating insight into the thought-process of top-level footballers. “I tried not to think about it too much,” the 27-year-old said in the mixed zone post-match. “If you have a lot of time, it starts to get complicated. I just stayed focus and luckily got it into the corner.”
Johnson's composure under pressure was in contrast to a situation five minutes earlier. With the score at 1-0, Julian Korb fluffed a great chance from close range. The young full-back took a touch to steady himself, but by then, the domineering Neuer had closed the angle. Had he taken the chance first time with his left-foot, he might have been able to score before the keeper had changed his body shape. In spite of the 1-0 advantage, provided by Oscar Wendt, there was a shared sense that Bayern would turn the score around with half an hour left.
But after Lars Stindl had netted the second to steady the nerves, Johnson rose to the occasion on 68 minutes and secured an impressive three points to end Bayern's 57-game unbeaten run in league matches before the winter break. An hour or so earlier though, the German champions dominated proceedings and uncharacteristically squandered four or five excellent scoring opportunities.
“We were lucky in the first 30 minutes, but you have to be lucky against Bayern Munich. It's a great team, great attack, great defense, but I think we had a really good team performance. We didn't hide and we attacked well,” opined Johnson who scored an important double last week to earn a draw at Hoffenheim.
Schubert, who extended his unbeaten run as head coach to 10 games, changed his side's shape for the visit of Bayern Munich. With Douglas Costa and Arjen Robben missing, two players who can influence matches from the wing, Schubert and his key players agreed mutually that the German champions would play through the middle. The team set up 3-4-3 with Nico Elvedi handed his first Bundesliga start for the club and Oscar Wendt and Julian Korb turned into makeshift attacking wingers. Despite the shaky start, Schubert showed faith in the team and the benefits on the counterattack were clear in the second half.
“We didn't have much time to focus on it,” Johnson said. The Foals had rest days planned for this week with no European or Cup football to distract their attention. But when Thursday and Friday came around, Johnson spoke of how honing this new formation was the main plan for the weekend. After a difficult first half, strikes from Wendt, Stindl and Johnson in a 14 minute window left the visitors stunned
“I think the key was after we made it 1-0 that we adapted and kept going,” said the US international. “Most of the teams against Bayern would drop back at this point. Bayern is too strong for this and they were still creating chances even at the 90th minute.”
After five league defeats, Gladbach were bottom of the league. Lucien Favre resigned and left the Foals searching for a successor having put together no plans for the Swiss coach's departure. Schubert was promoted from the Under-23 side and the impact is startling. By drawing at Hoffenheim last week, the 44-year-old continued the best start for a new coach since legendary boss Udo Lattek.
“It's hard to describe. It was hard to believe at the beginning, and it's hard to believe now. He (Schubert) is trying to motivate us, trying to make play positive. He just tells us to play the game and have fun.” When asked about Schubert's open relationship with the players, he noted: “We're working together; not against each other. We'll talk about formations and if we want to change, then we just say.”
Johnson's relationship with Jürgen Klinsmann appeared to be on a knife-edge after the last international break. The midfielder has since scored against Juventus and Sevilla, while netting the aforementioned double at Hoffenheim and in the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich. Goals might have enhanced the versatile player's game, but the American sees himself as a team-player first and foremost.
“I'm not trying to think about scoring goals. I just want to help the team. It was a great pass for the goal as well, but the team is the most important thing,” he said. If the goals keep arriving with this regularity, Johnson will soon be the USMNT's leading marksmen at the top level in European football. No pressure.
