I often wonder if this season is already over for Chivas USA. Not to be a skeptic but when you look at all the injuries, the lack of experience of the young players, and some questionable substitutions from Preki, even a Stevie wonder can see that time is running out for this team. Last night, Galaxy robbed Chivas USA of 2 points with an Alan Gordon header in stoppage time to draw 2-2. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story of the game.
Galaxy came in loose and firing on all cylinders in the first half. Goats USA looked shell shocked by the energy and pace that Team Beckham was willing to imposing. After going 1-0 into the second half, LA’s no. 1 pub team withered and faltered, thus they lost the lead. All looked pretty good for the goats going into stoppage time, but then it happened. The clock struck 12 o’ clock: Jim Curtin (all 6’4” of him) failed to mark Goatkiller Gordon on a set piece and BANG! It was all over.
Honestly, it’s almost impossible to ignore the potential of what could have been a great season for Chivas USA. At this point, one point is one point, but against the Galaxy, it might as well be no points. There are no moral victories for Chivas USA fans, this team is hurt and many fans (not including myself) are starting to lose hope. There are no reinforcements on the way, there are signs of a new stadium on the horizon, and there is no word on Jorge Flores missing persons file. Fan favorites are not always the best players on the team, but with M*A*S*H* unit for a roster, Chivas USA needs all the help it can get. Like I said, I’m not losing hope, but…………..time is running out.
GAME NOTES: Zack Thorton has decent skills for 350lb. man. It was nice to see Preki on the sidelines again, but why was he talking to himself on the way to the locker room at halftime? Roberto Nurse has nice looking braids, that’e the most positive thing I can say about him. Roberto Pires should fight Jesse Marsch in the UFC octogan. My money is on the Marsch. Who can forget the dropkick on Beckham last year? I miss Alex Zotinca, that butt head. Atiba Harris made a guest appearance in the game and made defenders looked foolish. Does Carey Talley have a mullet? Carlos Ruiz as trade bait? Good luck with that. The Union Ultras (the Official Chivas USA supporters) unveiled their new banner with players and Preki on it. Well done. It did have Jorge Flores’ image on it, so he was there at least in spirit. Carlos Ruiz as trade bait? Good luck with that. Maybe Thorton should try professional wrestling.
I‘ve debated since the end of tonight’s game as to how negative I wanted to be writing this. Think about it. Chivas USA had a chance to separate itself from the jewel of the MLS in the Western conference standings. It had a chance to prove that it was no longer a compliant, financial slave to AEG. It had a chance to quiet all those lame and biased Los Angeles soccer journalists with their closet love for the LA Galaxy. Oh well, it’s never a fairy tale ending with Chivas USA. I’m resigned to admit it now. Call it fatalism, I guess.
Until Chivas USA regains its magic, it will forever be a franchise that flails under a Galaxy franchise that is anything but a jewel. So what’s this about magic? What am I talking about? This Chivas team has heart and soul. It has players that have the courage to fight and not surrender. It doesn’t depend solely on one player with international fame to generate interest, nor does it depend on one player to score all the goals for the team. The magic that I refer to is the one that players like Maykel Galindo brought last year and to a limited degree, Paco Palencia and Ramon Ramirez in past seasons. This team is solid enough to play with anybody in the league and beat most of them. However, based on last nights 1-1 draw, Chivas lacks a talisman like a Pavel Nedved or Juan Roman Riquelme to elevate this team to the next level. Make no mistake, this team can pass and defend. Landon Donovan disappeared last night. David Beckham was ineffective. Carlos Ruiz was punked by Guzan and defenders time after time. Jesse Marsch and Pablo Nagamura played keep away with the Galaxy midfield and often made them look silly. However, in front of the box, our forward attack had the finishing, finesse touch of the Incredible Hulk.
I know in my heart there is only one person that can bring the magic I speak of to the pitch and it ain’t Chris Angel or David Blaine, his name is Adolfo “Bofo” Bautista. This player possesses the type of skill, technique, and magic that this team lacks right now. I’m pretty sick and tired of losing or drawing against lesser quality MLS squads because we can’t finish. Bautista is also a player in desperate need of a change and the Chivas fans would now have one Mexico’s most dynamic players to cal their own. Imagine Sacha to Bautista to Razov to Galindo, Goal.
In the meantime, Preki is going to have to stop watching “Hoosiers” and not get himself red carded. His team needed him and it would take more than Dennis Hopper to run the picket fence to break the Galaxy 8-man defense.
Did I mention that I’m a Chivas USA supporter? Well if it isn’t obvious by now then it should be. I’m biased and I hate the LA Galaxy. Chivas USA lost last night. Not the game but the chance to step on the throats of all the haters.2
Random notes: MLS teams should hire Oliver Stone to investigate the MLS-favoring-Beckham WAY TOO MUCH. I got tired of seeing Chivas USA players getting whistled for being within inches of Golden Balls. Tom Cruise was at the game administering IQ tests to potential Scientologists. Attiba Harris should be pissed for being subbed out. Que paso con Claudio Suarez? Raphael Wicky is getting surgery. Gone and soon to be forgotten. Burling is a beast. He needs header practice though. Can someone tell Panchito Mendoza to pass the ball instead of running like an escaped convict? He needs vision. Like the Franc Ribery kind. Ante Razov is back and he’s pissed. Not good for MLS defenses. Don’t call him old either. Anthony Hamilton makes me wish we still Laurent Merlin. No he doesn’t. Yes, he does. Sacha should keep his emotions in check for Galaxy games, they refs have his number. He’s potentially Chivas USA’s first mega-star. Too bad you can’t get his authentic adidas jersey anywhere in Los Angeles or Southern California. He’s from Orange County, but you have to special order his jersey and wait 4-6 years to get it. Actually, you can’t get any authentic Chivas USA jerseys anywhere in LA. Now if you’re a Galaxy fan, that’s different.
Tonight, Chivas USA won its fourth game in its last six contests. An awesome display of offensive attack and top level goalkeeping from Brad Guzan must have surely made MLS bigwigs gush with joy. Especially, since Chivas’ 2-0 drubbing of the once-might Chicago Fire was on ESPN2 before a national audience. This was Chivas USA soccer. Check that, futbol. The players may have changed slightly from past line-ups (again) but the voracious pursuit to put the ball in the back of the net was something not to common in the MLS. Don’t believe me? Even with one man down, Chicago still could not find the net in the seond half. Chivas USA is not an offensive juggernaut as of yet, make no mistake about it. However, you have wonder if Preki’s sadistically-intense practices and Denis Te Klose’s Ajax influence are starting to morph into a league version of “Total Football”. Don’t laugh. This team never stopped pushing forward and always had players shifting around to defend the ball and keep the attack flowing. Intense defense and sublime passing. The Fire look flustered.
The crowd was significantly larger than recent Chivas USA games and you can thank Chuatemoc Blanco for that. His Club America fans came out in droves. This was good for the league and most importantly, for Chivas USA finances. Unfortunately, this game also brought out the bad seeds, too. Club America’s infamous supporters, La Monumental, also came out to get their “Blanco” fix and brought their shanks to the game to celebrate. You may have spotted them during the telecast; they took off their shirts to show off their beer guts and Mexi-mullets and proceeded to spend the entire night trying to taunt Chivas fans in section 104. Thankfully, trouble was averted due in large part to the Department of Home Depot Security and a few dozen or so Las Angeles County sheriff’s deputies WITH GUNS. Oh well, it really is a double edged sword when Chicago fire comes to LA to play Chivas USA: good for business, bad for living free. Kudos to the Chivas USA front office for taking extreme security measures again to protect all the fans.
Here’s what I learned from this game about Chivas USA and not in any particular order. Raphael Wicky is still world class-quality, when healthy. Sascha Kljestan obviously is close to becoming the next Clint Dempsey or better. Pancho Mendoza is a better left back than left wing. Justin Braun plays better when knows he’s 6’3” 215lbs. Ante Razov can still play, no goals but 2 assists. Claudio Suarez is old, real old. Can he still defend? Damn skippy. Last, a copy of this game should be sent to every European football team that is in need of a goalkeeper who plays smart and fearless. I don’t think even MLS-hater Steven Cohen can’t argue that Guzan is world class now. Tonight’s game was really a global tryout for Brad Guzan. If Chivas USA doesn’t get at least 6 million in a transfer fee for this man, than something is wrong.
As for tonight, everything went right.
John Sandate
Disclaimer:
The following article is written from the perspective of one Union Ultra member and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of all the Union Ultras. The Union Ultras believe in the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. They also reserve the right to pontificate those freedoms while drinking incessantly.
Chivas USA lost another home game to a seemingly weaker opponent. I can think of few other words that can describe losing to Real Salt Lake, but pathetic might be too harsh. Then again it’s almost clockwork that Chivas USA finds a way to lose a game rather than just go for the jugular and impose it’s will. There was nothing flashy, exciting, or even interesting in this game. Unless you like countless, wasted scoring chances, marching bands playing USC fight songs at a soccer game, or RSL players diving continuously in the last 20 minutes, this game had all the entertainment value of a C-Span press conference.
I don’t like sounding negative, but I can’t drink the kool aid all the time. This was not Chivas USA football. This was a new line up of players coming off the injured list starting in place of players who helped this team win three out of the last four games. I believe in loyalty and rewarding players that deserve it, but this line up looked flustered and lost at times. Change is a good thing, but unlike Barack Obama’s campaign, this was not change I could believe in. This seems to be the time of the season where players start to step up and contending teams start to assert themselves for a run before the MLS all-Star game. Chivas seemed to be the victim of over-coaching. For example, Jorge Flores was rewarded for his 3 goals in four games by sitting on the bench for both halves of this game. This seemed like change for the sake of change.
Real Salt Lake came to play, however terrible to look at it may have been, they imposed their style and walked away with 3 points. By Preki’s own admission those players that started for Chivas USA were not “sharp” and as a result, Chivas USA soccer was dull tonight. The 4-5-1 that RSL ran was as easy on the eyes as Britney Spear’s shaved head, but there was no denying Robbie Findley’s speed on the flank and the constant strain he put on the Chivas backline. Proper respect to him and all the RSL divers that slowed the game to a grinding halt.
It’s hard to come away from this game and think that this team is the defending Western Conference champion and started this 2008 MLS season with high hopes. Now, I’m just praying that this team gets healthier and we stick to a successful starting XI.
On the way out of the stadium, a driver spotted Jorge Flores driving out with a dejected look on his young face. The driver asked him why he didn’t play tonight. He yelled back, “I don’t know, ask the coach.” Maybe change isn’t always a good thing.
John Sandate
Disclaimer:
The following article is written from the perspective of one Union Ultra member and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of all the Union Ultras. The Union Ultras believe in the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. They also reserve the right to pontificate those freedoms while drinking incessantly.
Ever Since I can remember I’ve always been a Futbol Fanatic and my team and passion had always been C.D Guadalajara. Some of my earliest memories involve going to El Estadio Jalisco and watching Chivas play. However, being from Los Angeles, growing up it became harder and harder to travel to Guadalajara and see my goats in person. I watched all of their games religiously and read all of their latest news on the internet but I started to feel disconnected from them. I was addicted to them and watching them play once a year in Los Angeles wasn’t enough to satisfy my needs. I needed to be Alentando en el Tablon (in the stands watching them and cheering them win or lose every weekend). All though I continued loving them wholeheartedly I needed a new drug to satisfy my addiction. When C.D Chivas USA was announced in 2004 my prayers had finally been answered. I finally had a team of my own in MY CITY and in MY COUNTRY. As the first year came and went I had finally found my drug, La Droga de mi Corazon, La Razon por mi Locura but it soon became apparent that with a new team new traditions were needed as well. I began to realize that this team needed a barra brava (Supporter group) of their own regardless of what occurred and happened with Guadalajara. It was then that I began to find others who felt this same way, and the UNION UL7RAS were born. We were a group of individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds who all had one thing in common, our love for Chivas USA. It was then that this group began forming its own identity blending the Ultras style of Europe with the Barra Brava style of South America. We made our official debut at a 2008 pre-season friendly against Columbus in Santa Clara and ever since then the movement just keeps growing and getting stronger. We’re not going anywhere and we can’t be stopped. This is our time. WE ARE CHIVAS USA, AND LOS ANGELES BELONGS TO US. SOMOS LA HINCHADA DEL REBANO GRINGO, LA QUE NUNCA ABANDONA. NO SOMOS MODA, NI NOS PAGAN, ES POR AMOR.
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