EXCLUSIVE: Knocked for defensive liabilities, big-striking McGlynn knows there's a World Cup on the line – and minds to change
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Just seconds into the U.S. men's national team's friendly against Turkey, Jack McGlynn showed what he can do. It was no secret or surprise, and if Turkey had done any measure of scouting, they never would have allowed it. The book on McGlynn reads "world-class left foot" over and over again on every single page and, by showing him onto that left foot, Turkey allowed McGlynn to create magic.
That's what McGlynn can do but, when the discussions about McGlynn begin, they so often come with a caveat. It's not so much what he can do with that otherworldly left foot, but rather all of the other things he can't when the ball doesn't happen to fall onto it.
"Not athletic enough," many say. "No defensive instincts" is the take that usually follows it. The stats don't necessarily dispute it. Some would describe him as a "luxury player" – someone who has a very specific skill at a legitimate elite level, but falls short at other things that matter. Can you carry a luxury player on a national team? Isn't that the definition of luxury? Can someone with those labels make it to the highest level?
Those are the outside perceptions. McGlynn understands them. He knows them. And, over the course of an exclusive interview with GOAL, he makes it all pretty damn clear that he absolutely hates them. He rejects them. He'll prove it, too.
"People who think I'm slow, they don't know what they're talking about," McGlynn says, rising out of his chair with the speed convincing enough that he might just be right. "You see people being like 'Oh, he's slow.' But did you see my goal? Have you seen any of my goals this year? It's me running at speed and getting onto a ball. People don't know what I can do. People just think I'm slow."
Changing those perceptions will, ultimately, make the difference for McGlynn. There are things he can do with the ball that no other player in the USMNT pool can do. He's a legitimately elite passer. His versatility is rapidly becoming an asset. Perhaps most importantly, he's one of the few players in American soccer who can get people out of their seats. He's made a habit of doing that by pinging in long shots that will repeatedly be shown on year-end highlight reels.
McGlynn, though, has doubters. It's an opinion for them, but, for McGlynn, it's very personal. There's a World Cup on the line and there are minds to change. For McGlynn, it begins this summer, with the USMNT in the Gold Cup, with the most important stretch of his career thus far.
"I'm here to try to get a spot," he says. "I'm a young guy, I'm an MLS guy, and I'm trying to come here and claim a spot and get on the World Cup team. I can't just be like, 'Oh, I'm happy I scored one good goal.' I want it, you know? I really want it, and I want it all."
Getty ImagesThat left foot
The first time McGlynn realized there was something different came in middle school. He was doing what he always did, running the show on the field, and it got so bad that, finally, the referee had to step in.
"Stop scoring," he was told. That was enough.
He can admit now that so much of it came naturally. There are certain things that he can do that are virtually not coachable. The way that he can measure the ball with that left foot? It's a gift, but one he's also honed over the years.
"Definitely, some of it's natural," he says. "Some of it's just, 'Oh, I know how to do that' because I feel like I've done it so many times.' In some ways, I can just see things, and it feels like I've seen it before. And then I remember that I've worked on it. It's partly that, but also partly me just going, 'Oh, I was born with it.'
"It all goes back to the confidence that I have. I've worked on this my whole life, so why not trust myself to do it? I'm a young guy, but why would I play scared or safe? That's not who I am. I've shown it already. I'm going to try stuff and, if it comes off, great. If not, you know I'll try it again until it does come off. That's my mindset."
McGlynn's willingness to try things led to two incredible USMNT goals this year. His first came in January, when he curled in a 30-yard stunner against Venezuela to open the scoring. That goal was, despite its difficulty, was also relatively simple. McGlynn was given too much space, and he took advantage of it.
His second was even more difficult. Played through out wide, McGlynn took a few touches before cutting inside, placing the ball onto that left foot. A mistake from Turkey, who could only watch helplessly as McGlynn picked out the far post in a way that few can. With that goal, he became just the third player in the last 30 years to score his first two USMNT goals from outside the box.
They weren't flukes. Both of his goals in MLS this season came from well outside the box, as did his long-range missile in the U.S. Open Cup. Over the course of the last six months, McGlynn has scored five goals from distance for club and country, all on that powerful left foot. His assist in the USMNT's 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the Gold Cup opener on Sunday night came off that foot, too.
Again, though, those are the things people know he can do. Now, about those things people think he can't.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFighting the perceptions
"Men lie, women lie, numbers don't," Jay-Z once said. The numbers, in many ways, tend to support McGlynn's critics.
Per FBRef, McGlynn is elite in just about every offensive category. Compared to other midfielders, he's in the 90th percentile or better in shots, expected assists, shot-creating actions, passes attempted and progressive passes. This is a player that dictates a game with the ball and, as noted, can win a game with one long-range missile.
As good as the attacking stats are, though, the defensive ones are equally dire: McGlynn is in the 21st percentile or lower in every key defensive metric.
Numbers may not lie, but they may not tell the entire story. That's the message McGlynn is desperate to get across.
"How I play, I sprint when I need to," he says. "I'm in the right position when I need to. You see my goal against Turkey: I run forward right by a guy. I know I'm not the fastest person in the world, and I'm well aware it's not my biggest asset. But I also know that I'm not going to get blown by.
"Watch the Turkey game. I won four out of the five duels I was in. I think I defended pretty well."
Furthering McGlynn's point? His recent positional switch. In that Turkey game and then again against Switzerland, he served as an inverted winger. For the Houston Dynamo, he generally plays as a more attacking midfielder, too. It's much different than how he was previously used with the Philadelphia Union, where he was part of a homegrown army that makes up a large chunk of this USMNT.
In many ways, that's helped McGlynn ease into the USMNT. In other ways, it also unearths some negative feelings dating back to January.
Getty Images SportAn ugly exit, a fresh beginning
Throughout the last few years, McGlynn has often been linked with Europe. It never quite came to pass. It always seemed as if the Union would just be the first stop, not the final one, for McGlynn. That first stop ended earlier than McGlynn ever could have expected, and he's willing to admit that it didn't end well.
In February, just weeks after scoring that goal in January USMNT camp, McGlynn was traded to the Dynamo for a $2.1 million transfer fee. The Union, meanwhile, retained a sell-on fee that would see them net a percentage of any future fee when and if McGlynn heads to Europe. The trade left many shocked. Union sporting eirector Ernst Tanner explained it in a statement.
"At this time, we believe this move is best for both the club and for Jack, allowing us to use the significant proceeds to reinvest and refine our roster, while placing him in an environment suited to his style of play and continued development," he said. "We have no doubt he’ll enjoy a successful career, and we look forward to following his journey.”
Several months later, McGlynn has processed it, to some degree. Tactically, he wasn't the best fit for the Union's pressing style. His game depends on having the ball. The Union didn't see a way to make that work and, by executing the deal, they received a hefty fee and a potential second windfall if he develops with a Dynamo team better suited to his style.
The problem is, McGlynn says, that no one ever really explained that to him.
"Tactically, sure, it made sense, but it definitely could have been handled better," he says. "Nobody from Philly even talked to me. They didn't even have the decency to give me a reason. I was with my girlfriend, and my dad called me and told me I was moving – and that it wasn't Europe.
"He said, 'You're going to an MLS team' and they wouldn't even tell us where until it was all done. They do everything right there all the way through. While I was there, it was great. But it just feels like I should have been treated with a bit more respect on my way out."
In a word, McGlynn said he felt slighted.
"The communication with me? The respect they showed me? It felt like there was none at all," he said. "It was just disrespectful the way they handled it. And I'm happy that it worked out because I'm playing well in Houston. But I really just wish I could have left on better terms."
All has gone to plan in Houston, even if the bitterness remain. McGlynn is better in this new environment, one that is helping him develop in the ways everyone envisioned.
Getty ImagesFinding a position
Upon arriving in Houston, the club made it clear almost immediately: they wanted McGlynn closer to goal. He wasn't going to be a No. 6, but rather a right midfielder, one given the freedom and license to cut in and do the things he does best.
"I'm kind of the playmaker now, and I like that responsibility," McGlynn said. "I'm probably the most confident player out there and I know what I can do, so I like that role. I didn't know what would happen at first. I thought I'd be a center mid, but now I'm like a right 10 and that just lets me cut in and create. I've had four or five this year. I'm confident enough that I will cut in to just hit it, no matter what's going on."
USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino banked on that when he started McGlynn in a similar spot against Turkey and Switzerland. He'd started as a deep-lying midfielder in January camp. He came in the same spot during the Nations League loss to Panama. This summer, Pochettino has followed Ben Olsen's Houston Dynamo blueprint, and he was rewarded with a goal seconds into the Turkey game.
That's not to say that Pochettino believes that is McGlynn's future. In fact, he says it isn't. At some point, for McGlynn to be what he can be, he needs to come back inside.
"I think he can be a great midfielder," Pochettino said. "He can maybe start outside for now in a position like a winger. But, when he has the ball at his feet, everyone can rest a bit. I can rest a bit because I really trust him to make the play. His teammates rely on him and trust him with the ball.
"He needs to improve in other areas to be a player to reach the highest level, but we work with him. His evolution isn't in the position he was in today. I think it's more inside, like an eight or a 10."
Pochettino, ultimately, is the man McGlynn is trying to impress. While he's battling his critics, the ones that call him too slow or too weak, Pochettino is the one who makes the call at the end of the day, and Pochettino is the one who determines whether McGlynn gets to live out his World Cup dream.