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Coming off a maddening 2-1 road defeat to Philadelphia Union on Saturday, New York City FC may be in for another rude awakening this week.
Or rather, a Diskerud awakening.
Odious puns aside, Kreis & Co. must shuffle their rotation again this week following the Mix Master's most recent call-up to the U.S. National Team. The Americans will face their Mexican arch-rivals on Wednesday evening.
Mix, who scored NYC's first-ever MLS goal and currently leads the team in passes both attempted and completed, leaves an outsized gap in his club's midfield diamond. Javier Calle, who started in place of the injured David Villa in New York City's March 21st home loss against Sporting Kansas City, is the most likely candidate to be called into service.
With the ability to play on either half of the pitch, the young Colombian brings an appealing work rate and versatility that the more attack-minded Tony Taylors and Khiry Sheltons of the world cannot yet be trusted to provide. Additionally, young guns Tom McNamara and Kwadwo Poku are still getting their feet wet in the NYC midfield, and are unlikely to start at this point in the season.
The impact of the tilt down in South Texas, which does not fall within an official FIFA international break, will likely be felt in more MLS cities than simply New York: striker call-up Chris Wondolowski's San Jose Earthquakes face the New York Red Bulls this Friday -- just two days after the USA-Mexico match -- while Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Bill Hamid (DC United), and Brek Shea (Orlando City SC) all face club fixtures on the following day, Saturday April 18th.
We saw first-hand how eviscerating an international intermission can be a few weeks back, when there was a noticeable dip in MLS's typical level of play: most notably, the March 28th meeting between the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas -- the former considered a leading title contender, the latter entering that match at the very top of the MLS table -- registered not a single shot on goal for either side.
Stay tuned to Hudson River Blue for all the latest news and notes in the run up to Thursday's game at Yankee Stadium, and be sure to check out our NYC-Philly mega-collaboration with our SB Nation homies and homettes from the Brotherly Game!