Michael Dello-Russo: More Than An Armband
10/3/2005 8:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 3, 2005
By Adam Zundell
Maryland Media Relations
It's easy to spot who the team captains are in soccer - the arm band they wear is the dead give away. For the Maryland Terrapins, though, this ritual is unnecessary. Senior defender Michael Dello-Russo is the team's unquestioned leader, the arm band is simply decoration on game days. Some players have to use the arm band as a police officer uses a badge to demonstrate his importance, but not Dello-Russo. He naturally commands, not demands, the respect of his teammates.
Dello-Russo is often described by head coach Sasho Cirovski as "the most versatile player on the team." While he is useful in any spot on the field, it's Dello-Russo's versatility in communicating with the various personalities on the Terrapin team and coaching staff off the field that is perhaps even more valuable.
"You have to take what you want to get across and communicate it in the right way," he says. "I know what the players want, and I know what the coaches want, and it's my job to kind of balance that."
"Michael is a glue of this team," Cirovski comments about Dello-Russo. "He's a great leader and he has a great feel for the game."
Dello-Russo, a native of Columbia, Md., came to Maryland with plenty of talent but was admittedly weak mentally. Despite being unable to remain focused after a bad call, a coach yelling or a chatty player on the opposing team, Cirovski felt that he could develop into an impact player.
"He (Cirovski) likes to develop players, and I think I kind of fit in that mold," Dello-Russo says. "I've improved 100 percent in every aspect of my game. The most important thing, though, has been my mental toughness. It's such a small thing but it can affect you so much."
Playing all over the field in his first two seasons and helping the Terps to their first College Cup appearance as a sophomore, he was forced to miss the 2003 season with a torn MCL. Last season, he found his spot at the center back position where he thrived as the perfect compliment to Kenney Bertz as the Terps made it to the national semifinals for the third straight year.
"Settling in the back has been great," he says. "Working with Kenney, we're kind of opposites, but that's what makes us tough to beat. Now that he and I have had a whole year playing together, we see things and don't have to say anything because we know where each other are."
Dello-Russo is a natural fit as a center back with his knowledge of the game and athleticism. He's able to read the game and anticipate runs from opposing forwards which usually leaves him in perfect position to defend. This season the Terps will usher in a new goalkeeper, putting extra pressure on the defenders to help protect whoever is between the pipes.
"We're not satisfied if they get a shot on goal," Dello-Russo says. "I don't want them to score, I don't want them to get a shot and that's our only goal during the game."
While he takes enormous pride in keeping teams out of the goal, he's also responsible for some Terrapin offense. Dello-Russo, who takes most corner kicks for Maryland, led the team last season with 10 assists with fellow defender Chris Lancos.
The Terps begin the 2005 season in pursuit of the national championship that has eluded them in the previous three seasons. The team's success has been unparalleled during Dello-Russo's career, but it has been the stinging losses and the dream of holding the national championship trophy that keeps the team grounded in a blue-collar work ethic.
"Even though we won so much, we haven't won anything," he says. "We still have a huge grudge that we carry because everybody thinks we're one of the elite programs but we haven't won a national championship, so we still really want it.
"We know how hard it is to get to the College Cup, and we know that you can't get there by taking short cuts. We didn't take short cuts the last three years, and we had the mentality this summer to work our butts off to give ourselves a chance to get back there and try to win it."
In such a fickle game like soccer, no result is ever certain. It is certain, though, that however far Maryland goes this season, it will be Michael Dello-Russo driving them there.
