The Art of Exploding: How Richie Laryea Draws Fouls
It was wonderful to see Richie Laryea back on the field with the national team after a long injury-induced absence. It was wonderful, too, to watch French defenders shake their heads in bewilderment as he drew foul after foul outside the penalty box.
Yes, despite claims that MLS referees have wisened up to his chicanery, Richie Laryea is still on another level when it comes to turning light contact into emperor penguin-like belly slides over the grass. He led the league in that department last season with 116 fouls drawn. It’s a talent that Jesse Marsch has singled out as potentially handy against crafty CONMEBOL competition.
"We've talked with the group about the mindset of what South American teams are like - they're fighters, they're savvy, they know how to handle referees,” Marsch said, “[Laryea] brings a real edge... Richie is a guy that I think can help us understand.”
And so I watched a bunch of clips of Laryea drawing fouls, with the goal of understanding how he does it. Is it as simple as sacrificing your dignity for a cheap whistle? Or is there a little more to it?
You have to… you have to read the article to find out.
The Art of Exploding:
If you’re willing to do a lot of faceplants, even crummy actors will draw more fouls in their favour than they’ll ever concede for diving. But it’s important to remember that ‘diving’ doesn’t work for everybody. If you’re not quick and clever and good on the ball, nobody’s gonna be in a position to foul you.
That’s the first step to Richie Laryea’s game. He’s not the fastest player on the CanMNT, but he is pretty fast, and he’s pretty good at knocking the ball into his path off the first touch. Here look, I can prove it.
Yeah, it’s gonna be one of those articles. Video aNaLySis!
A lot of his drawn fouls come from his explosiveness - his ability to kick into high gear from a total standstill. Speaking of which, pouring through these clips, Laryea also draws a surprising number of fouls from a total standstill.
Which lead to a lot of kerfuffles or extracurriculars as CONCACAF commentators exclusively call them. Laryea loves winding people up and then feigning a gobsmacked expression when he’s on the receiving end of a shove or two. The one thing I remember fondly about the Jamaica matchup last Nations League was Laryea empowering Leon Bailey into thinking their beef was in any way organic.
Because this isn’t a Doneil Henry type scenario. While Laryea is very good at making people angry, he actually keeps a pretty cool head on his shoulders. A quick glance at his FBref chart shows that he really wouldn’t hurt a fly. Where he draws nearly 5 fouls per 90 minutes, he only commits one roughly every other match.
So how does he have every referee wrapped around his finger? I think it’s because Laryea’s explosiveness extends to his body language. Genuinely, if he’s considering a career after soccer, he’d make a pretty decent stunt performer.
Let’s watch a merely average artist at work. His name is Alphonso Davies (sorry Phonzie, you’re really no Laryea in this department). Here, Alphonso is pretending Olivier Giroud telekinetically knocked him onto his back - if you watch it for a second, it doesn’t really make a lick of sense.
The original contact is Giroud moving left to tap Davies on the chest. Davies, for a moment, is confident he can sneak out with the ball. He does not, in fact, sneak out with the ball - he moves in the opposite direction of where he was supposedly impeded. Referee Fabio Verissimo… buys it, somehow, but it’s the only foul Davies drew against France. And it isn’t terribly convincing.
When Laryea feels contact, he’s smart about it - he pays a little respect to the laws of physics, and also, to the referee’s intelligence. His tumbles onto the pitch are exaggerated, but they’re exaggerated versions of what the human body would really do if it were shoved a little harder. He explodes into the act.
Let’s watch the master at work:
Here, he’s got Shamar Nicholson on his back. We can tell, from a convenient camera angle, that he’s selling it, and that he’s a little late to react. From the referee’s perspective, though, Nicholson just leaned his full weight into him. It’s deceptive, but for an official, it’s annoyingly plausible.
Here’s one where the delayed reaction is actually a little believable. Nakamura is pretty clumsy on this play, colliding with Laryea while he’s turned away and needlessly extending his arm out. I’m not sure Richie actually lost his balance here, but it kinda looks like it, doesn’t it? Take notes Phonzie!
But here’s my favourite:
Oh no, I don’t have anything to add here. Baccala just makes a funny face. Ha, look at his face.
But yeah, that’s the gist of it. Laryea is such a sneaky pest and I love him. There’s a good chance we’re gonna be shaking our fists at the things smart, talented South American teams do to win soccer games.
But we oughtn’t forget our roots. If we need a quick injection of CONCACAF energy, Richie Laryea’s our man.