If you ever have a chance to meet Haris Medunjanin, you should take it. Just say hello, exchange a few words, see how the 33-year old Bosnian carries himself and treats those around him. Medunjanin, who is probably still best described — with the phrase Earnie Stewart may have brought to the American soccer lexicon — as a controlling midfielder, embodies the intense work ethic, team-first attitude, and veteran leadership Philadelphia Union felt they needed in the center of the park. And now he is sticking around for another year after signing a contract extension the club announced on Thursday. "I like it over here," Medunjanin says with a grin when asked why he wanted to stay in Philadelphia. "I said why not? I will stay here as long as I can and help the team if it's possible. The people here in Philly, the coaching staff, the players, they help me a lot to feel comfortable here because it's difficult for a foreign player to come somewhere."
Even with Ale Bedoya in the fold at the end of the 2016 season, Tranquillo Barnetta's return to Switzerland left a gap in both the center of the park, and a hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere the club wanted in place as the young core they saw flowering in the academy began populating the first team. In short, both short-term needs and longer-term philosophy suggested an extremely high degree of professionalism was a necessary attribute as the Union sought out a new midfielder.
"Once we were looking for a person that could play the six role and has a lot of control of the ball, and his name came by, it was an automatic hit," Union Sporting Director, and soon-to-be US Men's National Team General Manager, Earnie Stewart says of Medunjanin. "We saw and knew he was capable of the things he's doing right now.
"When we started this process of bringing him in, we thought we were going to see how it goes. But now you see what kind of professional he is and how long he can last — he's like a diesel, he can run all day; it was pretty evident at the beginning of the season that we wanted to extend his contract."
Without Medunjanin's unique skillset, it's debatable whether the Union would have been able to accelerate the development of the excellent young center backs who now anchor one of the better defenses in the league. "You have the off-field part where he's a wonderful person, understands his role, and is committed to the Philadelphia Union but also the overall thought process that young kids can proceed in their career and develop themselves," Stewart explains.
And those young kids? They agree."He's a conductor," says Mark McKenzie, who has emerged as a calm, steady presence in back at the age of 19. "Dropping between us, picking up the ball. Having him back is a threat in attack and it's a threat in in the buildup."
McKenzie's defensive partner, also only 19 years old, agrees. "Just a leader," Auston Trusty says, immediately listing all the ways Medunjanin elevates his game. "Pushing everybody to be their best, making sure the touches are right, making sure your balls are right, playing the right pass, playing the right way."
"I joke a lot of times with Trusty, I shout at him and Mark," Medunjanin says with a sly smile, quickly becoming serious as he reflects on the young defenders’ progress. "But I believe in them. That's why in training I shout, to help them to stay awake because I always want the best for them, so they can feel more comfortable in the game and be more mature. And that's the most important thing."
Popular critiques of Medunjanin center around what he lacks: The play-busting qualities of a stereotypical defensive midfielder, the mobility of a classic box-to-box player like Bedoya. It is fair, then, to say the Bosnian is not a true six, a true eight, or a true ten. But to cast those facts in a purely negative light ignores that those traditional numerals obscure a wealth of tactical nuance in modern systems.
Medunjanin's biggest asset, in fact, may be that he has never tried to play those traditional roles. Haris Medunjanin plays as Haris Medunjanin, and in the Union's possession-driven setup the "Haris" role has proven to be a very effective position to occupy; opposing coaches gameplan around and grouse about Medunjanin as a result. "In our vision, it's very important that you have somebody that's capable of getting the ball but also having the oversight and distribution of the ball and where that needs to be," Stewart argues. "I think Haris is one of the better ones in the league in the understanding of the game, his tactical knowledge is very good, and then I don't even have to talk about his passing. The combination of those makes it very important that he stays part of our team.
"He's one of our leaders," Stewart continues. "I'm pretty sure everybody is going to be thrilled and pleased that he's going to be with us longer."
"I respect them and they respect me, and I think that's the key," Medunjanin says of his decision to extend his stay with Philadelphia Union. "I always said that if I feel comfortable somewhere and people like you, why do you need to change?"
People do like Haris Medunjanin, especially those in the Philadelphia Union locker room.
And if you meet him, you will too.
