Miami (AFP) – The old-fashioned winger is a dying breed in modern football, but the thrill that fans enjoyed from seeing a wide-man bursting down the flanks can still be found in an unlikely place – Nashville, Tennessee. Canadian Jacob Shaffelburg has become something of a cult figure in Major League Soccer and with his national team, and if the rumors are true, he is now attracting attention from European clubs.
With his mullet haircut now enhanced by a moustache, the 25-year-old from Kentville, a small town in Nova Scotia, carries off a distinctly retro look. But it is not only his appearance that recalls another era. As a player, Shaffelburg is a throwback to the 1970s when speedy wingers would think of little else but getting the ball and using their speed or trickery to beat their full-back before whipping in a cross or firing in a shot.
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Followers of MLS have known for some time that, despite modern trends in the game, Shaffelburg’s approach is an effective one. However, it was not until last year’s Copa America, where he helped his team reach the semi-finals, that the winger’s talents reached a wider audience. Canada’s American coach Jesse Marsch, the former RB Leipzig and Leeds United manager, said he was sure that the player’s attributes would be effective on the international stage, where he could feature in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada with the USA and Mexico.
“There’s a lot of coaches that may look at Jacob Shaffelburg and think, yeah, he’s not the most elegant technical player, and maybe he’s not right for me,” Marsch said this week at a media event ahead of the start of the new MLS season next month. “But before I coached him with Canada, I’d been watching him in MLS, and he was the kind of player that I like — a fearless player who likes to run, who’s aggressive, who likes to go at opponents, who gets things wrong, but doesn’t seem to faze him and doesn’t stop. And that relentlessness is something that I think resonates with me,” said Marsch.
It resonates with fans too, with Shaffelburg’s name prominent on the back of shirts at Nashville, and he smiles when asked to explain his popularity. “I guess I’d say I’m relatable, and I guess for maybe some of the casual viewers or new viewers, I would be very exciting to watch,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I’m the most technical player. I’m not a player that wants to play backwards or play the less exciting pass. I like to go forward and attack and take more risks. So I guess I could be more of a fan favorite because I do that stuff, and also I just feel like I’m a normal guy. I guess I try to be,” he said.
The modern academies have faced some criticism for producing a generation of players afraid to take such risks, but Shaffelburg, who for a while ran track at school, isn’t impressed by the priorities of contemporary tactics.
“I got somewhat fast in high school, so I was excited to get back (to football) and I wanted to use it as much as possible,” he said. “I’ve just never really been that much of a technical player or liked the style of play of a lot of possession. I find it a little boring. So that’s why I’ve been having a lot of fun with Jesse and his style,” he added.
Marsch has suggested in the past that Shaffelburg, who was traded by Toronto to Nashville, could excel in Europe, and the player recently signed with the Wasserman agency, which has been able to find North American players deals abroad. Should he eventually move on from Nashville, Marsch says any coach taking him on needs to be ready to commit to the player and his style — as a player and a person.
“Jacob is, I think, an example of somebody who needs to feel invested in and needs to feel a connection. And if he feels that, he’ll do anything for himself, for the team, for the coach, for the program,” he said.
There is another side of Shaffelburg that goes against the grain of the modern game, where players can be as robotic off the pitch as they are on it. His relaxed demeanor and light-hearted approach is another throwback and one that seems to work well for him, especially with Marsch. “When you start talking about Jacob, you can see that I get a smile on my face right away because he’s just such a likable person,” said the American.
© 2024 AFP
