If this were Jeopardy, we’d frame the issue like this:

Alex Trebek: Production at this position has eluded the Philadelphia Union since the departure of Tranquillo Barnetta in 2016. 

Contestant: What is attacking midfielder?

Alex Trebek: Please be more specific.

Contestant: Uh.. what is the #10 position in a 4-2-3-1 formation?

Alex Trebek: That’s correct!

Contestant: Ok. I’ll take Major League Soccer for $800, thank you. 

It took awhile, but it looks like the Union finally have an experienced and legitimate #10 heading into Saturday’s season opener.

29-year-old Bořek Dočkal was officially added as a designated player this morning, on loan from Henan Jianye in the Chinese league. He’s a Czech Republic international with a ton of experience playing European football, as I wrote about awhile back.

The simplest of takes is that this guy theoretically fills a void that could not be covered by:

  1. Alejandro Bedoya, who simply is not a #10. He said so himself after the Union tried using him in that spot to begin the 2017 campaign
  2. Roland Alberg, who was a volume goal scorer and more of a withdrawn/second striker, a guy whose desire and attitude did not seem to match his high level of natural talent and skill
  3. Ilsinho, who was a a lifelong winger and lacked the finishing touch to be more than a serviceable CAM
  4. Fabian Herbers, who I kind of liked as a #10 in a few games back in 2016… before he went back to the wing, then got hurt
  5. Adam Najem, who will get some minutes there this year but isn’t ready quite yet. He’ll continue to learn the position and grow into a legit MLS player alongside fellow homegrown Anthony Fontana

If you watched the U back in 2016, you know how big of a role Barnetta played, an experienced veteran with loads of high-level experience who knew how to press and seemed to get better as the game went on. He was less of a crafty South American-styled CAM and more of a “volume 10,” a guy who won’t carve you up with clinical through balls but one who gets a load of final third touches and serves up excellent crosses and set pieces.

Dockal still has to finish up some paperwork and he didn’t play in any Union preseason games. He’s dealing with a small ankle injury and seems doubtful to appear on Saturday, but maybe he’ll be ready for week two. It’s just one of those things you deal with in MLS, guys coming in near the end of the winter transfer window.

He does speak English and has played meaningful minutes overseas, not just in China but also in Norway when he spent a couple of years with Rosenborg, plus a brief loan spell in Turkey. Every player on the roster now speaks English, including Ilsinho, who began doing interviews in our language last season.

Another random note is that Dockal joins a city that already features four Czech athletes, and they all play for the Flyers: Radko Gudas, Jake Voracek, Petr Mrazek, and Michal Neuvirth. It might sound corny, but sometimes foreign athletes acclimate to new places in a smoother way when they have other ex-pats to talk to and spend time with. Barnetta, a Switzerland native, was close with Mark Streit:

Anyway, if you’re a casual fan or a “four for four” type, the Dockal signing means the Union will be a lot more interesting in attacking scenarios this season. They’ve lacked this type of player for awhile, and I’d equate it to the Sixers adding a creative point guard who makes his teammates better with vision and passing, or maybe the Flyers adding a Brent Burns type of guy who can control the puck and dish out assists (ala Shayne Gostisbehere).

Here’s some recent video of Dockal playing in China. There’s some good stuff and bad stuff in here, so it’s more accurate than just finding a highlight reel of goals and assists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fswev2SJXb4&t=67s