Borek Dockal hasn’t played a game yet for the Philadelphia Union, but there are signs that his signing is already going to be a successful one for the club.
The Czech No. 10 was officially acquired on Wednesday from Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye and met reporters for the first time on Friday with a quiet confidence about him.
At a position in which pressure is piled on by the ton, Dockal appears to have no fear in approaching what is in front of him.
When Union head coach Jim Curtin chatted with the Czech Republic international this week, Dockal embraced whatever pressure that comes along with his role in the team’s 4-2-3-1 setup.
“I do have to say, my first comment to Borek was the pressure is not on him to have the weight of the No. 10 jersey, the pressure is on the technical staff, the coaches, and the players to make transition as smooth as possible,” Curtin said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday. “We don’t want to put numbers or targets, or this amount of goals, or this amount of assists. Just have him execute, do his job, do what he does best, and that stuff will take care of itself. It’s funny, his response to that was: ‘I want the pressure.’ Which kind of made me go, OK.’ He kind of flipped it on me.”
Dockal doubled down on the comments he made to Curtin on Friday, as explained why it’s important to have pressure.
“From my point of view, if you want to win the games and succeed and achieve your targets, you need to be ready for pressure,” Dockal said. “There is always a pressure in games, in the season, in friendlies, there’s always competition and pressure and there is always difficult moments in games and in the season.”
“You need to have players who are able to handle that pressure and I always felt a responsibility for the team results from my performances and I always felt like if I did my best and give my best performance, I can influence the performance of the whole team,” Dockal said. “There is always pressure and I’m used to it and I feel like I need to feel the pressure to do my best. That’s why I choose to play soccer. That’s why I wanted to play professional.”
The way Dockal carries himself off the field shows us a lot about what kind of player he will be when he steps on the field, which could be as early as Saturday’s home opener against the New England Revolution.
Dockal isn’t the first veteran player to embrace the pressure of the No. 10, as Cristian Maidana and Tranquillo Barnetta did in the past in their own unique ways, but that direction was lost over the last two seasons with Roland Alberg in the fold, as the Dutchman’s performance was too sporadic and his attitude poor at best.
The 29-year-old, who had spells at Rosenborg and Sparta Prague, banks on his past year in China as preparation for the uniqueness of MLS.
“For me, it was actually good to have this experience to leave Europe and see something completely different before I come here,” Dockal said. “It’s going to help me, in my opinion, to adapt. You need to adapt and do different things. If I can, I only use one-two touches. For me, it’s not necessary to use more if you have a chance to pass the ball. All of the leagues have specifics and you just need to read it as soon as possible to find a solution to play your game.”
With experience all around him in the front six, including forward C.J. Sapong, winger David Accam and defensive midfielders Haris Medunjanin and Alejandro Bedoya, Dockal is set to have success right away with a Union side that has the potential to surprise many in the Eastern Conference, especially if the Homegrowns in the starting lineup step up.
Dockal’s also bought into the club’s vision off the field, which is as important as the on-field aspect. With his confidence and experience boosting the Union, he has the potential to go down as one of the club’s most memorable players.
“I have to say I had a great first impression to meet Chris (Albright) and see everyone as a group,” Dockal said. “I like the philosophy they have, but I’m not here to rate their work. The first impression was great and I feel the one group has one target and know how to reach the target, which is important.”