An Interesting Return

PHOTO: San Jose Earthquakes

Hernán López excited fans last season and promised to be the team’s cornerstone coming into 2025. Injuries robbed the fans and team of seeing his fit in Arena’s system for most of the year.

As the team continues to find form, how do they reintegrate the mercurial midfielder?

Perhaps the largest question for the team down the stretch is reintroducing the Argentine, as it may define the team’s season. Arena needs to balance both the team’s current makeup with the style of López.

In the first few matches under Arena, the midfielder seemed to fit well as that number ten under the two strikers. A formation that allows for López to play centrally is perhaps the best way to get the most from the player. However, as the team grew into the season, injuries and form moved them away from this early formation.

Over the past few weeks, Arena moved the team to a 3-4-3 to make the team even more threatening from the wing. While the formation remains a work in progress, it fits the personnel of the team much better. However, this move makes reintegrating López harder, given the lack of a seamless fit for the midfielder.

Given how the team still views López as a key contributor, they need to find a way to get him contributing to this playoff push.

Not having him as a key part of this side may spell doom for both player and club.

When the team kicked the season off, they employed a 3-4-1-2. The hope lay in giving the team defensive solidity while allowing that number ten to playmake.

On paper, this system felt tailor-made for the Argentine. Playing under two strikers that demanded attention from the defense, he had more than ample room to operate. Further space opened up to him with the midfield playing slightly deeper. 

While the team started out well, it was more of the offense being lights out rather than López being unlocked. He helped make the offense more free-flowing, but the threats came from Arango’s movements and Martinez’s runs. However, to be fair to López, after his injury, the team struggled to get any sort of production from his replacements. 

Given how early into the season López got injured, it remains difficult to make any definitive claims on his potential success in this role. Such a small sample size proves next to nothing, but Arena felt like this was a perfect fit at the start of the season.

Should the team move to reinstate this earlier formation, the team will only look slightly different. After breaking out on the right side, Dejuan Jones likely would move over to the left with Espinoza moved back to right wingback. When both are fully healthy, the duo of Arango and Martinez grab the starting spots up top.

The majority of layers would likely remain unaffected, but the on-field play would suffer. All the fluidity offered by those extra players on the wings disappear. Ultimately, this forces López to be the team’s fulcrum, which he has yet to prove that he can be.

Moving the team back to this formation likely helps the midfielder the most, but stunts the team’s progress.

López needs to play this central role to be effective, but the team doesn’t really need it.

Keeping the current formation seems to be the best course of action for the Quakes. López’s fit remains far from perfect, but may allow him to at least have an impact.

Switching to a 3-4-3 helped the Quakes find their form down the stretch of May. Pushing Espinoza back to the wing and playing Jones at the right wingback spot gave the team even more offensive power. While Costa pairs well with Jones, the team struggled to find a competent left winger.

Arena tried to fit Pellegrino into this role, but the forward offered nothing to the team on the left. Only ever cutting onto his left to score and providing next to nothing in terms of playmaking. Bouda played better, but he’s not a starter yet. 

To play as the foil to Espinoza, the team needs another playmaker who can cut in on the right. Especially with Espinoza as a primary creator via crosses, the left wing must put pressure on the backline by cutting in.

In recent weeks, since his return, Arena has tried to play López in this role to minimal success. Part of that is due to him still getting used to the system, but the concerns of his fit still remain. López has still yet to show any sort of consistency in MLS and changing the system on him may do him no favors.

There is optimism for the Argentine, as the team desperately needs a player of his style in that position. Having a playmaker on the wing at that level puts even more pressure on opposing backlines by throwing more creators at them. With Arango and Espinoza near him, space should exist for him to operate where he can be impactful.

Since finding form recently, the Quakes have trusted this new formation to tear teams apart.

With a glaring need on the left, López may be the perfect fit.

Arriving in San Jose to a team that had already found itself in a losing season, López promised to rejuvenate the team.

For all the glimpses of potential he showed, his time here has thus far been marred by injury and inconsistency.

Now, with the team desperately needing another playmaker for their playoff push, Arena has to find a way to get the Argentine going.

PHOTO: San Jose Earthquakes