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New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Brenden Aaronson: My game in my words
This article is part of our My Game In My Words 2025 series, an exclusive set of interviews with USMNT players where they talk us through how they do what they do on a soccer pitch. Brenden Aaronson has a secret which may take admirers of his all-action, lung-busting style by surprise. The Leeds United midfielder doesn't like running. He might lead the press for Daniel Farke's 2024-25 Championship title winners, and routinely cover most of the pitch in his efforts, but the 24-year-old has long been wary of being miscast. Advertisement It is his creative side that flourished during Leeds' triumphant campaign in English football's second tier and, as he gears up for their return to the Premier League next season, he talked The Athletic through his game and how he wants to improve as a provider even further next term. 'I hate running,' Aaronson says. 'I know it seems like I don't, but I just want to get the ball. That's the No 1 thing for me. I'll never do it (run) in the summertime without a ball. I never have enjoyed it but I'm just good at it.' So running may be a necessary evil, but it is part of what makes the USMNT star a physical outlier for his club. Last season, he logged more than 3,500 minutes of game time for Leeds (third-highest of their outfield players) across the 46 Championship matches, and his energy has helped lead the way. That is comfortably the biggest workload of his senior career — he appeared in all 46 games, and started 43 — so how has he stayed so fresh? 'It's knowing your body,' he says. 'I know what I need and the muscles I need to focus on. I run a lot, so calves and hips are always a big thing — keeping on top of the things that get tight. This is the most I've been in the gym for a whole season. It's not easy to keep the weight when you run as much as I do, and as much as a Leeds player does, but I've been working on strength and flexibility.' Not for the first time in our conversation, Aaronson references the 2024-25 Premier League's title-winning top goalscorer as a source of inspiration. 'I read about (Liverpool forward) Mohamed Salah being consistently in the gym,' he says. 'He has an unbelievable build and stature and that constant work on the little things adds up and has made him what he is. It has helped me too. For the hips, it's yoga and massage, because when you're just using foam-rolling it's not always easy to get the spot you need. So deep-tissue massage helps me a lot — the top of the glutes and hips. 'The Leeds physios have been great. Sometimes the pain still gets me but we have a good laugh in the physio room and we haven't had many injuries this season, so credit to those guys behind the scenes. They do a great job.' Aaronson's physical robustness last season is also linked to his mental well-being. 'I put it down to simple things; the support system I have with my fiancee being out here,' he adds. 'A lot of football has to do with those outside things, staying happy. There are so many games and ups and downs, so I always have my fiancee, I have had my friends come to visit and it keeps you going.' Aaronson is typical of many modern attackers in his multi-positional capacity. He has played as a No 10 for Leeds, as a central midfielder and also on the left. Though he primarily played No 10 last season, he would often pull into those half-spaces on either side of midfield too, as shown by his heatmap below. But what does he feel is his best position? 'It's tough to say because I have played so many — mostly at the 10 — but I see myself as a box-to-box midfielder,' he says. 'I defend and I attack. One of the underrated things is when I can pick the ball up in the midfield and drive the team forward. For me, it's also having the freedom in the midfield to go and get the ball, play, turn and have that freedom in between the lines. Advertisement 'So I'd say, ideally, I'd be an eight and a half. 'This formation this season has been a dream position because it's a 4-3-3 in the way the left winger comes into the pocket, I'm in the right pocket, sometimes the eight, who is Joe Rothewell or Illia Gruev, comes into the left pocket. I would compare it to a Liverpool eight, also rotating into the No 10 areas in between the lines and combining with Joel (Piroe, Leeds' striker) too. 'So for me it's a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, and either the 10 or the eight.' Aaronson also believes the approach USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to see from his players mirrors the style of football he himself prefers. 'The shape and the way he wants to play with the ball, combining, pressing and being attacking is the way I want to play,' he says. 'But I've played winger for the attacking team a lot and that's great too, because the winger comes inside a lot as a No 10. Ideally, it'd be as an eight or 10 but if I have to be the winger coming in, that's fine. 'You don't see many wingers staying out wide much but you do with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona — wide, wide wingers creating space for the others centrally. It's a mixture.' Aaronson picked a good time to deliver his career-best goal haul. His nine for Leeds in 2024-25 was a personal high for a single season, and saw him capitalise on Farke's attacking formation. It was also a case of the old phrase: the harder he worked, the luckier he got. He cites the clinical first-time strike in a 2-1 win over Watford at Elland Road last October, below, as an example. 'This is staying alive to the play always,' he says of how he times his run into the area, latches onto the ball after Wilfried Gnonto's cross is palmed away by goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and sweeps it first time into the net. 'I'm arriving late in the box. This season, I've had goals from being centrally in the box and that's something I've learnt from the coach: staying centrally in that area,' he says. 'It's smelling it and being in the right place at the right time for where the ball might go. I would say there's a little bit of luck but also sniffing out these opportunities to get on the ball at the top of the box. Advertisement 'I had one (in April's 4-0 home win against Bristol City) when everyone was looking at the ball, but I seized on it and got my shot in, although I put it over the bar. If you watch it, three or four players are watching the ball and I know there's a chance it will come back across, so I got there.' Along with Farke's advice, he also puts his improved goal tally down to putting in extra effort on the training ground. 'Ed Wootten, the goalkeeper coach here, CJ (analysis lead Christopher John) and Eddie (assistant manager Edmund Riemer) have been great,' Aaronson says. 'They let me stay out there and do repetitions and it works for this type of goal. Other clubs will look at the numbers from the weekend and say, 'You ran a certain amount so you can't do this or that during the week (to rest)'. Repetition is huge.' Aaronson models his practice on the near-obsessional attitudes of Premier League icons from the past, and he values Leeds' trust in him to balance that extra training with the necessary recovery time. 'Going back to when Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were at Man United, do you think they told them to stay off the pitch?' he says. 'They were always doing extra stuff in the Prem back in that era. The clubs never said no. But clubs are saying no a bit now. 'I'd never push myself too much because I want to be playing every game and if I'm injured, I can't.' It has certainly worked. In December, he applied another fine finish to what was a goal-of-the-season contender against Derby County, later called a 'perfect team move' by Farke. 'This is a typical goal from us,' Aaronson says. 'The movement has been so fluid. A lot of teams have sat back and (then) it's difficult to create opportunities but the way we've been structured and our movements were hard to pick up. 'This is a great example, the passes were intricate and very difficult to pick up. It's hard for teams to do much about it. I know Joel Piroe is a striker who wants to combine, and I can run off him. This is a false-nine type of thing. I feel like I'm pretty good at running off him and playing these one-twos. Advertisement 'For me, it's one of the goals of the season. We do a lot of small-sided games and 11 v 11 in really tight areas (in training), so when we're playing on a bigger pitch, it pays off.' Another goal, on the opening weekend of the season in a 3-3 draw with visitors Portsmouth, was a result of Aaronson studying some of the game's best finishers. 'Sometimes I don't shoot enough because I want to give the final pass. But in the summer, I worked a lot on trying to get off my shot,' he says. Three Portsmouth players are between him and the goal as he moves into the penalty area and shapes to shoot after receiving Piroe's pass. 'There are defenders in front here but it goes through their legs,' he adds. 'A little bit of hesitation can throw a defender off and (help you) find a gap. 'It's just shifting to find the angle, and knowing that when you shift the ball, defenders always open their legs. I don't know why — they tell them not to these days, but they always do it. Salah does it all the time. He goes left and then back the way he came, because he knows the defender is going to open his legs. 'The goalie can't see the ball until late either, because it goes through a player's legs. It's not a powerful shot by any means, but it catches him off-guard.' Farke has spoken about calming Aaronson down in crucial moments to ensure he is making the right decisions, and the 47-time U.S. international does feel he is more composed now. 'He (Farke) has spoken to me about it in finishing situations,' he says. 'When I was younger, even though I haven't been a crazy goalscorer, I would always get chances. Even in the Prem season two years ago, I had a lot of chances, but I hit the woodwork a lot. But at the top level, you will only get a couple of chances a game. 'Back in the Premier League I might get one or two chances, max, a game and that's when you have to calm down.' His rapport on and off the field with Dutchman Piroe, the Championship's 19-goal top scorer last season, has helped. 'I have learned from him,' Aaronson says. 'We are always doing finishing together Thursdays and Fridays after training.' The drills are simple but effective: 'I try to keep up with him, because if I play him one v one he's always winning,' he says. 'Maybe once or twice out of 100, I come out first. 'The way he strikes the ball, I always try to learn from.' Aside from his improving attacking output, Farke has valued Aaronson's energy and pressing. He is often the player charged with leading Leeds' pressing game and his influence is especially notable in this next example from that April match against Bristol City. In this passage of play, he and Gnonto get close to two City players near the touchline in opposition territory, and when the visitors' Ross McCrorie makes a short pass to midfield colleague Jason Knight, it is the American's cue to start the press. Knight turns and plays a forward pass through midfield towards team-mate George Earthy. Seeing the opposing winger has space to run into, Aaronson eats up the yards as he sprints to get back: His presence seems to prompt Earthy to turn away from the Leeds goal and play the ball back to his centre-half Haydon Roberts. The defender quickly returns it to Earthy in a one-two but Aaronson is now all over them and closing the space. His example is taken up by Leeds' right-back Jayden Bogle, who gets tight on Earthy and challenges, as Gnonto also zooms back. Advertisement In the end, Earthy is forced to play back towards his own goal again and the ball, deflected off the incoming Gnonto, travels into City's half and goes out for a throw. A potentially dangerous situation has been snuffed out. Aaronson will frequently continue to press as far as the opposing goalkeeper and force him to go long. He is also often tasked with man-marking the opposition's No 10. He explains he is not always the designated pressing lead. 'It's off a feeling,' he says. 'Me and Illia, or whoever the other eight is, presses with the two sixes. 'We also have pressing triggers. It can also be the winger or the striker who starts the press if they're higher in their half. If they (the opposition) come into our half, we morph into more of a 4-4-2 and I can jump from the eight to the centre-back, and that pushes everyone up.' Does he look before starting the press to ensure his effort is being backed up? 'I do — especially when you're playing teams that have double sixes who are always on the ball,' he says. 'It's tough to really jump in when guys are going off your back shoulder. 'Middlesbrough are very good at this with (fellow USMNT midfielder) Aiden Morris and Hayden Hackney; they're good at knowing I'm going to go and they can just bounce it out. So we have to be more careful. But it's a good trigger for us because when everyone goes, we know we have a good chance of winning the ball.' As with that hard-running effort against Bristol City, does he have to strike the right balance between leading the way physically and preserving energy to get on the ball and then make things happen offensively for Leeds? 'Sometimes I need to control it a bit more. If I am more rested, I can do even more with the ball,' Aaronson says. 'But sometimes you want to help the team and get the crowd going. Advertisement 'That's in games, though. If I have to run in pre-season, I'll always try to find a way to still get the ball out there rather than running.' Aaronson's occasional frustration at his 'runner' reputation often leads to less attention to his creative prowess. Last season, he should have had more than those two assists, when looking at his expected assists figure (5.7). In open play, his 1.7 chances created per 90 minutes was the best in the Leeds squad (among those to play 900+ minutes). 'I'm a perfectionist and after a game, if I haven't created much, I am hard on myself,' Aaronson says. Does he study the numbers that highlight his creative potential? 'I've looked, trust me,' he says. 'People say stats ruin the game and in one way I kind of agree because you can partly judge a player on how many assists or goals, but you also have to look at the pre-assists or what they do throughout the game to influence it.' There is flair to his game, too. We discuss the no-look backheel away to Watford in February, below, which teed up team-mate Daniel James for a shot at goal. James, who played the ball to Aaronson in the first place and ran onto his cute backheel, narrowly missed with the attempt. 'This game was super-open,' Aaronson recalls. 'I had a lot of time between the lines. I'm not going out to just assist and score, it's about the wider game. I knew that behind Joel on the right pocket, I had a ton of space. I've always liked to combine and play one-twos with team-mates. I like the close-quarter play, and it's about expressing yourself and having fun with the game. 'I trust DJ (James) will always be there, with his pace, and if I'm just flicking it or backheeling it, then he gets to it.' Aaronson is aware Leeds might not always be able to attack with such abandon next season when they are back in the Premier League. 'It's a mentality shift,' he says. 'When we go to Anfield (to face champions Liverpool), maybe we have to be smart and organised and wait for our chance to counter-attack.' Advertisement It will be a busy summer for the New Jersey native, who was included on the USMNT training-camp roster ahead of friendlies against Turkey on Saturday and Switzerland three days later, and may also play in the Concacaf Gold Cup when that starts on June 14. A good job, then, that energy isn't a problem and neither, increasingly, is self-belief for a player who had his doubters after he was loaned out by Leeds to Germany's Union Berlin following their 2023 relegation. He made 36 appearances, including 28 starts, for Leeds the last time they were in the English top flight, and insists he will return to the division as a rejuvenated performer. 'It'll be a different challenge because we won't be the best team in the league,' he says. 'The goal is to stay up. 'I'm mentally prepared for it and have grown so much since the last time. My game has gone a level higher and I'm more confident.' The My Game in My Words series is sponsored by the Active Cash Visa® Credit Card from Wells Fargo. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Tim Vizer / AFP,)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brenden Aaronson set to feature in 2025 Gold Cup
The USMNT has announced its roster for the 2025 Gold Cup tournament, with Leeds United attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson included in Mauricio Pochettino' s 26-man squad. Facing a busy June schedule, the Stars and Stripes take on Turkey (June 7th) and Switzerland (June 11th) in Connecticut and Nashville respectively ahead of the Gold Cup. Advertisement They then kick-off their group stage campaign against Trinidad & Tobago (June 15th), then Saudi Arabia (June 20th) and lastly Haiti (June 23rd). Aaronson comes off the back of a successful season for Leeds which saw the 24-year-old feature in 47 games in all competitions and rack up 11 goal contributions, securing the Championship title in the process. United States Mens National Team Squad: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace) Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (San Diego), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven), Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht), Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC),Damion Downs (FC Köln), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino names 27-player roster ahead of Gold Cup
If the U.S. men's national team is to win its first Concacaf Gold Cup since 2021 this summer, it will do so severely shorthanded. Coach Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday named a 27-player USMNT training camp roster ahead of the biennial regional championship and the two early June friendlies that precede it. And as expected, many of the American regulars are missing. FOX Sports reported on Wednesday that star attacker Christian Pulisic would skip this summer's tournament following two grueling seasons with Italian club A.C. Milan. Weston McKennie and Tim Weah are unavailable because Juventus is participating in the FIFA Club World Cup instead, as is Gio Reyna's Borussia Dortmund. Several other prominent names are absent; Antonee "Jedi" Robinson is still dealing with the minor injuries that prevented him from participating in the Concacaf Nations League final four in March. Yunus Musah and Tanner Tessmann, who both started the Nations League semifinal loss to Panama, were also left off the squad, which will be trimmed to 26 on June 4. The Gold Cup begins on June 14, with the Americans kicking off group play against Trinidad and Tobago the following day. Understandably, Pochettino is focusing on the players that are available, a group led by 2022 World Cup veterans Brenden Aaronson, Sergino Dest, Matt Turner and Haji Wright, and Premier League center back Chris Richards. Now recovered from an ACL tear he suffered last spring, Dest is participating in his first camp under the Argentine manager. Some of Pochettino's selections were still surprising. Four players have never been capped at senior level: Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder and the son of former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter; Orlando City fullback Alex Freeman; Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan; and German-born forward Damion Downs, who helped Cologne earn promotion to the Bundesliga this season by scoring 10 goals in 29 games. The USMNT will face European foes Turkey and Switzerland in tuneups on June 7 and 10, respectively. The full training camp roster is as follows: Goalkeepers: Matt Freese, New York City FC (MLS); Patrick Schulte, Columbus Crew (MLS), Zack Steffen, Colorado Rapids (MLS); Matt Turner, Crystal Palace (England) Defenders: Max Arfsten, Columbus; Sergiño Dest, PSV Eindhoven, (Netherlands); Alex Freeman, Orlando (MLS); DeJuan Jones, San Jose Earthquakes (MLS); Mark McKenzie, Toulouse (France); Tim Ream, Charlotte (MLS); Chris Richards, Crystal Palace; Miles Robinson, Cincinnati (MLS) Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Leeds (England); Tyler Adams, Bournemouth (England): Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver (MLS); Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis (Spain); Luca de la Torre, San Diego (MLS); Diego Luna, Real Salt Lake (MLS); Jack McGlynn, Houston Dynamo (MLS); Quinn Sullivan, Philadelphia Union (MLS); Malik Tillman, PSV; Sean Zawadzki, Columbus Forwards: Patrick Agyemang, Charlotte (MLS); Folarin Balogun, Monaco (France); Damion Downs, Cologne (Germany); Brian White, Vancouver; Haji Wright, Coventry (England) recommended Get more from Gold Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Leeds must trust Farke to find the right characters'
Leeds have been linked in recent days with out-of-contract players with Premier League experience and, among fans, the names have provoked a mixed is arguably the most important transfer window in the club's history and United must make every single signing count if they are to cement their place in England's top tier next caution is justified, but free agents have worked for Daniel Farke in the his first season in charge, Farke brought Sam Byram back to the club. An academy product, Byram's time away from Yorkshire was ravaged with rumours emerged of a potential return, some questioned whether his best days were behind in the past two seasons Byram has played almost as many league games (69) as he did in total during his eight years away from Leeds (80), and he has been a solid when Ethan Ampadu and Illia Gruev got injured within the space of 70 minutes of football last September, United went looking for an emergency defensive midfielder and signed out-of-contract Josuha Guilavogui they found more than a back-up player. The farewell messages written on his final matchday shirt indicate the impact he had on team Aaronson wrote: "Best mate, best player here, love you g", Jayden Bogle wrote: "The best human I have ever met", another wrote: "My brother, leader, legend, what a man you are mate".There is caution among the fan base and rightly so about some of the names Leeds have been linked with over the past few weeks - and an acceptance that Leeds need to be shopping in a different market than previous with a young side, Premier League experience is needed and hard to come by, and Leeds must trust Farke to find the right characters for the more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Leeds must put everything into summer recruitment
For the first time in decades Leeds United have owners with deep pockets and a competent board and management team who can match pragmatism with they will need all that nous to navigate this summer's transfer one can say who will make the step up to the Premier League within the squad. But there is a core group of players who I imagine would and that includes Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, Jayden Bogle, Ao Tanaka and Dan James.I would imagine the club are working on a deal to bring Manor Solomon back, as well as considering the merits of a new contract for Junior Firpo. The two linked up on Leeds' left side to great success last Paraag Marathe confirmed sales will have to be made to ensure the club's position against financial fair play rules. This means any sales would have to represent a profit on the balance it would not surprise me should Illan Meslier be sold. The Frenchman fell out of favour towards the end of the season and could attract a price tag that would surpass what Leeds paid for player fans might expect Leeds to sell is Brenden Aaronson. But I do not see him attracting an offer that would secure a profit, and despite his deficiencies in possession, he has excelled without the ball in disrupting opposition teams' passing will be defending far more in the Premier League than in the Championship and will need to adjust their strategy to survive, and that includes recruitment and are back where the club and city deserve to be but they must put everything they have into this summer's transfer window if they want to stay up.
