If fans, media, and opponents were shocked tosee Andy Najar utilized as a right back during D.C. United's recent road trip,they weren't the only ones.
The young player himself didn't even see itcoming.
"I was surprised when they put me at rightback," Najar said in a Spanish language interview on Tuesday. "But if there are moreopportunities to play there then I will take advantage of them. I'll gladly take the responsibility ofplaying right back and do my best for the team."
As surprised as he might have been, it's not asthough Najar was ill prepared for the new assignment. During a highly decorated career in United's academy, thegifted teen developed a reputation as a stellar right back. In fact - according to academy records- the Honduran never actually played in his current midfield position until hedid so with D.C.'s senior team. Najar played either as a forward or as an outside back in his youth developmentdays, and he was dominant at both.
"We didn't know where he was going to endup playing, we just knew that he was good enough," United's Under-16 coachTom Torres recalled of Najar's time in the academy system. "The key with Andy was that in anyone-on-one matchup, whether he had the ball or he didn't, he was always goingto come out on top."
It's difficult to argue Torres' assessmentafter watching Najar help D.C. earn its first shutout since early April. Bombing up and down the right flankagainst Toronto, the 19-year-old displayed all the qualities a manager couldhope to find in a right back. Hislockdown defending coupled with the ability get forward at pace kept TFC'sattack in check while providing D.C.'s forward thrust with an entirely new element. In the 18th minute, Najar arguably madethe defensive play of the match when he nodded away a deflected cross whichotherwise would have resulted in a likely tap-in for TFC's Luis Silva.
And as for those moments where theattack-minded prodigy may have been caught being too aggressive?
Just a part of the learning curve.
"Truthfully, there were a few chances in each half where I wanted to get forward more and the coachestold me not too," Najar admitted with a smile. "My first responsibility is to defend."
"You see some things out there that maybe - against a betterteam - could have cost us. Just asfar as his positioning and not knowing the position," acknowledged HeadCoach Ben Olsen. "Sayingthat, he did a lot of great things too. On the offensive side his instincts are good and his passing out of the backwas good. He also made a play ortwo that kept us in the game early. I thought he did a great job."
