New York City FC have relied heavily on midfielder/defender Justin Haak who has started every MLS game for the club in 2025. His versatility was something of note last season but has become essential to the club as they are still fleshing out their starting line-up following the departure of James Sands last season.
“I think it helps me a lot,” said Haak when asked about his ability to play in different areas of the field. “Showing teams and showing everyone that I can play multiple positions. It’s really good as well for me to get games, train and practice in both of these positions so I can understand the game better.”
Haak has helped City be a defensively stout team, allowing just 14 goals over the course of the regular season. That ties the NYC for third in defense, keeping them in games and letting opponents know that scoring against them won’t be an easy task. Concurrently, Haak has been relied upon to be a calming force wherever he’s been asked to play. That kind of responsibility is something that doesn’t come lightly to the 23 year-old native New Yorker.
“Recently, us defenders have been really locked in on keeping the games close and just putting our team in a chance to win the games. In terms of scoring goals, we know we have one of the best, if not the best, goal scorers in the league in Alonso (Martinez). He’s going to bring the goals. We’re really working on just taking some of the pressure off him and seeing if other guys can help support him.”
Haak’s contributions have not gone unnoticed by head coach Pascal Jansen, who has put a tremendous amount of faith in the young player. The new coach has a plan for how his team will play and has no intention of deviating from it, despite the intense May schedule. Expectations are that Haak will play if he’s fit to do so.
“We’ve played a lot of matches in a short period of time,” said Jansen ahead of Wednesday’s DC trip. “Our approach will not be any different, because we want to get the strongest squad out there on the pitch. That will not change going into whatever game we have to play in this sequence.”
photo by Jordan Bank