TUKWILA — Albert Rusnak knows his stats aren’t like they were last year. Coach Brian Schmetzer and assistant coach Freddy Juarez know that, too. They know the fans have noticed as well.

In 2021 with Real Salt Lake, the former captain scored a career-high 11 goals and tacked on 11 assists while starting all 34 games of the season. This year, after becoming perhaps the league’s biggest-ever free-agent signing in the offseason, he’s had just one goal and one assist through 16 games with Seattle.

The change is because Rusnak, who played most of his career as a center attacking midfielder, has shifted back a line to center defensive midfield for Seattle. There, he’s starting the offense instead of being on the end of it, Schmetzer said. 

“He rarely loses the ball. He’s so good at extending our possessions that he’s kind of suited for that role,” Schmetzer told The Seattle Times on Monday. “My coaching philosophy is [that] those two guys are kind of the anchors — both defensively and offensively, at times — of our team.”

Rusnak took some time to settle into the new role. It wasn’t what he planned when he agreed to a contract with the Sounders, who face Nashville on the road Wednesday, but he’s embraced the transition because it happened naturally. 

Rusnak chose Seattle among a plethora of other suitors because he wanted to win trophies, something he’s already helped the team accomplish when the Sounders became the first-ever MLS team to win a CONCACAF Champions League title in May. He wanted to be challenged by playing alongside high-level players, said Juarez, who coached Rusnak at RSL and helped bring him to Seattle.

The shift to central defensive midfielder started in training, about a month into the season. Schmetzer and Juarez discussed the move, agreeing that Rusnak had the individual defending skills needed but questioning his positioning and team defending skills. Rusnak proved he could handle it.

Nine games into the season (not counting friendlies) was the first time the lineup and formation directly reflected Rusnak’s shift to central defensive midfield, though he said he played the role as early as the seventh game against Leon in the Champions League. 

“Albert has a bite to him, so when he needs to do it [defend], he’ll do it,” Juarez said. “It hasn’t been a huge change for him. He has it in him.”

The transition itself was smooth, Rusnak said after Monday’s practice. While playing professionally in the Netherlands, Rusnak said he played a more “classic” central midfield role. With RSL, he’d track backward to collect the ball and distribute it. The hardest part was the defensive responsibilities when other teams overloaded the middle with multiple players, he said.

Rusnak said he’s had many meetings with Schmetzer and the coaching staff about that defensive positioning. That’s the area Schmetzer most wants him to improve, citing times when he’s “flat” in relation to the other center defensive midfielder instead of at an angle. Playing at an angle makes it much more difficult for opponents to penetrate the midfield and backline. 

“It’s a different role … I can play the No. 10, everybody knows that,” Rusnak said, referencing the position number for a center attacking midfielder. “But right now, that’s not my role.”

Rusnak’s new role has allowed him to be a “connector” who links the back line with players in higher lines, Juarez said. Rusnak is key, spreading the ball out to other playmakers like Cristian Roldan, Jordan Morris and Raul Ruidiaz.

“Any team that has success has that player,” Juarez said.

Schmetzer, who’s been at the Sounders’ helm since 2016, has always leaned on two center defensive midfielders to be the team’s “anchors.” Before his first game as a head coach, he worried about how then-midfielder Osvaldo Alonso would handle the Los Angeles Galaxy’s star center midfielders by himself. So he added Roldan alongside him, earning a 1-1 draw, and has primarily stuck to the 4-2-3-1 formation since then. 

Schmetzer does, however, give Rusnak the freedom to choose when he wants to join the offense, if it’s appropriate. That’s where Rusnak says he wants to improve, citing instances when he could’ve joined the attacking third but didn’t. 

With RSL, he grew accustomed to joining every attack without ever looking over his shoulder — he always knew there were enough teammates behind him to win the ball back if they lost it. “I didn’t do much of the defensive work,” he admitted. Now, Rusnak needs to evaluate if the defense will hold up without him. 

“He probably prefers playing a line up, but he’s doing it for the good of the team, which I appreciate,” Schmetzer said. 

Rusnak admits there are certainly moments where he wishes he was part of the attack. He’s had to adjust to multiple different defensive midfield partnerships, including Joao Paulo, Obed Vargas and Kelyn Rowe. Rusnak is more of an “unsung hero” now, Juarez says, but the 28-year-old said he likes the different role.

“He’s getting better, so there’s more to come from him, and I think Albert knows that as well,” Juarez said. “He’s a very talented player, I think one of the most technical players in the league, and he can still get impactful passes, even from deep areas.”

Update on center back Xavier Arreaga

Schmetzer said center back Xavier Arreaga would “probably participate” against Nashville SC on Wednesday. Arreaga went down on June 18 during the LAFC game with a reported quadriceps injury, and has not played since.

“If he doesn’t participate in the game on Wednesday, there’s a really good chance he’ll see the field on Saturday against Chicago,” Schmetzer said. 

During Arreaga’s absence, young center back Jackson Ragen stepped into the starting lineup, earning six consecutive starts. But in the Sounders’ rivalry game with Portland, Ragen received a second yellow card in the first minute of the second half, reducing Seattle to 10 players. That also means Ragen will be suspended for the Nashville SC game. 

Schmetzer will likely turn to Abdoulaye Cissoko, a 22-year-old defender who started 12 games last season but just three this year.

Sounders land pair of All-Stars

Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris were named to the 2022 MLS All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday. This will be the second consecutive All-Star appearance for Ruidiaz, while Morris earned the honors for the first time.

The game, played Aug. 10 in Minnesota, will feature the MLS All-Stars against the Liga MX All-Stars. The 28-man roster was selected through a combination of fan, player and media voting, as well as coach and commissioner selections.

The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.