The good.

Alecko Eskandarian. Four goals in seven games, only four of these seven games were starts.

Maykel Galindo played. Even injured and rusty, the guy is awesome. His attacking runs and style of agressive play is missed. I can’t imagine what this season would have been like with a healthy Maykel. Things are looking up. Besides the 15 minutes he played with the first team, the talented striker played 30 minutes in the reserves against the Galaxy on Sunday and netted a goal.

Alex Zotinca. I forgot how good he was. I took him for granted last year and I will never do it again. His confidence and ability to move the ball up and down the field at his first game back. Again, imagine the season with a consistent Zotinca.

Midseason acquisitions are doing well. Preki’s ability to pull players in from other teams and get the best out of them is second to none. Case in point, Paulo Nagamura, Shavar Thomas, and Carrey Talley. Preki’s latest addition, Sasha Victorine, added to this list by adding the game winning goal and adding another victory to the end-of-the-season run.

While we are on the subject of midseason acquisitions, a certain Brazilian that wears Red and White got his first assist. Dejair fed Keith Savage the ball for a goal against the Galaxy reserves. Check it here.

The Bad.

Ante was pulled early in the game against the wizards due to a calf strain. Hopefully he will be around for the playoffs. Please. Word on the streets says Ante was just being cautious. Let’s hope.

Attiba Harris is a funny guy. He is never perfect, but most of the time he is out there winning balls and making runs. Something was off on Saturday.

Playoff bound?

The team holds second place in the Western Conference, Nothing is for sure yet. Points on the rode the next two games are very important. We might not need full points, but points.

Good news is we are four points from the Houston Dynamo. A couple of wins combined with a team that is focused on the Champions League could see Chivas USA on top of the conference. On the same note, fifth place is only three points behind the Red and White.

Will Chivas USA get healthy? This may be the biggest question. Chivas USA have been playing short handed and stealing results. The team is not healthy. Helping to illustrate the condition of the team is this graph.

There were some assumptions made*
Red cards were taken into account**

The key to any team performing is health. Preki has been forced to put together interesting line ups. The biggest issue has been in the back. Chivas USA played without several starters in the rear and this left a hole. The team has a great starting four in Bornstein, Thomas, Suarez and Vaughn, and even Zotinca. However, Curtin has had trouble adjusting and Pozniak does not seem to be at 100%. These players make great substitutes, but nothing can replace the starting line up.

We’ve been found out. Chivas USA are not a surprise this year. Everyone in the league knows who Chivas USA is, the Western Conference Champions. They all know how we play, possession football. The last three game have shown that other teams will no longer allow the Red and White to control the game. The midfield have a steep task ahead of them.

Officiating? The match was spectacular, and had potential to be even more exciting. However, no better way to kill a match like a red card. I’m going on the record and saying “Chivas USA had AT LEAST one more goal in them” I’m not saying either player didn’t deserve a card. Pancho Mendoza probably didn’t deserve his first yellow, but he did deserve his second. He went into the tackle knowing he had a yellow, so in that regard, he deserved a yellow. Where on earth would Sacha Kljestan get a red card for that? Where was the intent? Maybe he deserved a card, but that? Wow.

What good came out of this match? The answer in short… A lot. First off, the strikers on the team, even as injured as they are, are scoring. And the goals are coming from everywhere. Three of the four midfielders have scored, and the same goes for the strikers. HUGE step in the development of the Chivas USA squad. Jesse Marsch is another bright point. The co-captain is pushing his squad as hard as he can. The midfield belongs to him, and it is strong. Lastly, Shavar Thomas is looking better than ever. He has been adjusting to different players and picking up slack in the back. He looks solid.

Did the Chivas USA deserve to lose? Let me know wat you think.

The Chivas USA hosted 2005 expansion rivals in a thrilling 4 goal affair. The Red and White weathered the storm even though the were missing several starters, including captain Claudio Suarez and star strike Ante Razov.

Real Salt Lake assisted the Red and White by supplying two of the three goal scorers. Both Atiba Harris and Alecko Eskandarian played for RSL last year and each striker scored a goal in Saturday night’s game.

The Opposition.

Real Salt Lake stepped on the field with intent. The team has made some significant upgrades to the roster and coach Jason Kreis has made it clear that he plans on attending the playoffs this year. His team played with intensity and quite honestly outplayed the Red and White for portions of the match. The upgraded squad played with heart and intensity.

Some bright spots for their squad were Robby Findley, Nat Borchers and Dema Kovalenko. Findley burned through the back line several times. Borchers kept RSL in the match and Kovalenko proved to be worth his price.

The Chivas USA.

They say a great team wins even when they don’t play great. This may have been the case at the HDC. Out of action for the Red and White included Ante Razov (calf strain), Claudio Suarez (bereavement), Lawson Vaughn (hamstring), and Alex Zotinca (MCL). Players still not at 100% include Maykel Galindo (hernia), Alecko Eskandarian (groind), and Raphael Wicky (ankles). Some of the new players that made a debut for the team include Alecko Eskandarian, Chris Pozniac, and Eric Ebert.

Offense

Maykel did well, his best showing this season. The striker terrorized the RSL defense, taking defenders on and creating opportunities. The defense double teamed the Cuban, sometimes triple teaming him and he stilled peeked at goal. Atiba showed up as well. The target forward was marked tightly, and still found the back of the net in between two RSL defenders. Alecko came on the field for Maykel in the 77th minute. The new striker has been dealing with injuries to his groin. However he managed to walk the ball into the back of the net from a perfect pass delivered by Raphael Wicky.

Midfield

The midfield stepped up to the plate. Jesse Marsch captained the team in Claudio’s absence. Jesse was active and vocal, leading the team and running the midfield. Paulo Nagamura combined well with Marsch in the middle of the park. Kljestan managed to knock the ball in at the 32nd minute and worked his magic on the right. At the 69th minute, he moved to the middle of the park to make room for Wicky. Wicky’s touch and placement was spectacular. He seemed surprised at the physical level of play, but he was also nursing an injury. Mendoza had trouble connecting any passes, but made up for it with his defensive duties.

Defense

The defense was on. Everyone did well, Curtain lacked a little pace and Findley exploited it, but Shavar Thomas was there to clean up. Solid performance from Jonathan Bornstien. Chris Pozniak played calm and cool. I’m not sure he left a big footprint on the night. Eric Ebert came on for Chris late in the game and showed potential.

All in all a victory for the Chivas USA. The HDC had over 17,000 Chivas USA fans and two supporters groups making noise. The Home victory is hopefully just the first of many to come.

Chivas USA defeat San Diego State 2-1

Chivas USA defeated the San Diego State Aztecs in a heated match 2-1.

From the team “Chukwudi Chijindu put the team ahead just seven minutes into the game when he received a ball from Ante Razov and hammered home a shot to the near post from 12 yards. Chivas USA continued pushing up for goals throughout the first half, and were caught on a quick counter attack by San Diego State in the 27th minute, when Steven Beitashour’s shot was deflected to Daniel Ortega, who finished for the Aztecs to tie the game.

The match went into the half tied at one, but Chivas USA quickly took the lead once the second session started. Razov’s free kick from 25 yards was saved by the Aztec goalkeeper, but the rebound fell to Erasmo Solórzano, who finished easily. The Red-and-White had a number of chances in the rest of the half, with forward Anthony Hamilton hitting the post and Solórzano seeing his header bounce over the net, but the game ended with the 2-1 scoreline.”

The team used the 4-4-2 during the game, but Flores pushed up late in the game for a 4-3-3. Here is the line up.

————————- Ante Razov——Anthony Hamilton——————————–

Justin Braun (Jorge Flores 46)-John Cunliffe – Daniel Paladini – Chukwudi Chijindu (Erasmo Solórzano 46)

——-Gerson Mayen – Bobby Burling – Jim Curtin – Eric Ebert (Arnaldo Salazar 46)———-

————————————–Lance Parker————————————

Chivas USA played a majority of the reserve squad. However, the team is becoming very deep, and the quality on the pitch has stepped up this year. There were several stand out players.

John Cunliffe. John played very well in as a central midfielder. He distributes the ball well and created several opportunities. He is always ready to pull the trigger, and will take shots from outside the box.

Chukwudi Chijindu. The Southern California local is strong and quick. He is able to explode at any moment.

Jorge Flores. Sueno is finding a nice home as a left midfielder. In many ways he plays very similarly to Pancho Mendoza in his attacks. Plus the kid shows a lot of heart.

The team is headed off to Fresno to compete against the Fuego. Fresno is one of the strongest teams in the PDL, and they come equipped with a Brazilian trio. The scrimmage should see most of the first team.

More to follow, including more notes from the scrimmage and ChivaFest.

This preseason has been plagued with injuries (and other issues). Here’s the latest.

Maykel Galindo. Maykel underwent a sports hernia surgery on January 10. He was expected to be out for six weeks (February 21). Maykel has been jogging laps and is conditioning for the season, but has yet to participate in a scrimmage.

Lawson Vaughn. Lawson went under the knife on January 25th. The surgery took care of some issues with his left ankle. He was expected to be out six weeks, which puts his potential return at March 7. The Law is attending practice, but mostly observing.

Raphael Wicky. Wicky had surgery on the knuckles of both feet on December 2nd. The surgery was performed in Europe and was required to deal with a ongoing problem the midfielder had. The original return date was two months, which put us at February 2nd. Wicky is currently jogging and training with the team. His official work visa was cleared on Tuesday, so we should expect to see him soon.

Jonathan Bornstein. Jonny B had arthroscopic ankle surgery on December 24. Scar tissue was removed from his left ankle. He was expecting to be back in the fold sometime in February. Bornstien has yet to play in a scrimmage.

Alecko Eskandarian. No official word, jogging with the team.

Pancho Mendoza. Mendoza is out with a adductor injury. No official word on when to expect him back (based on his progress), but it will be before the start of the season.

Paulo Nagamura. Groin strain from last season. Hoping to play some part in saturday’s game.

Shavar Thomas. Shavar is not injured, he is stuck in Jamaica. Chivas USA FO has stated that he is finalizing his visa soon.

So hopefully we will see a healthy squad before the season starts. Until then, we can enjoy some up-and-coming players as Preki finalizes his reserve squad.

The Cubans are missing. Both Alonso and Moore are not in Camp. The duo are no longer part of the team.

The Japanese Blonde Bomber has reported for training camp. The 31 year old Takayuki Suzuki is a 2002 World Cup veteran and has played in Japan, Belgium, Serbia and Brazil.

Local cult idol Mike Munoz is training with the team. Antonio Cue made a deal with Patty Rodriguez (Mike’s girlfriend). She dressed up as a Chiva girl and scored her boyfriend a tryout. Mike played with the Red and White their inaugural year, and was waived. He most recently played with the California Victory in USL 1.

Villa is still after Guzan. O’Neil suggested that if Brad continues his current form, an offer may be made in the summer.

Preki is not planning on making any major changes to the current roster. He plans to add one senior and seven developmental roster players.

Wicky was officially introduced today.

More news when I find it.

Several Swiss and German news articles have confirmed the move of Raphael Wicky to Chivas USA.

We should expect MLS to make an announcement in the next few days. Raphael Wicky has signed a one year deal and Chivas USA have an option for a second year. Wicky is expected to join the team immediately.

Raphael Wicky will not be participating in regular training sessions at first. The 30 year old is recovering from a surgery that took place on December first. Surgery was performed on the knuckles of both feet. Recovery time was expected to be approximately two or three months and is going well.

Wicky is joining the ranks of Maykel Galindo, Jonathan Bornstein, and Lawson Vaughn on the field and off. All of these players recently had surgery. Wicky while training with Chivas USA in August.

So why would Chivas USA acquire Harris, this young raw talent? Funny you (or I) ask. I came up with a possible reason (more like a theory).

I started by asking “Why does Chivas USA need a second string striker that only scored 4 goals last year?” Chivas USA has Galindo and Razov to start with and Cunliffe, Hamilton and Sueno on the bench. Is Harris better than either of these three? Probably not, maybe about the same in quality.

We all (most of us) have been focused on his role at the start of the season… forward. Actually, half of his time was spent in the defensive midfielder role. He progressed this past year and improved most in this defensive midfield role. OK, so he’s versatile, and cheap. Was that enough… no.

So then I started thinking, why would we need to fill a defensive midfield role, we have Jesse Marsch. ….. Wait a minute.

So Jesse moving to Chicago may be more real than we think. Or Preki may be thinking about the future. Jesse won’t be around forever.

So it sounds like we acquired a good defensive midfielder for cheap (Harris = 30k, Jesse = 105K). He is big, has a presence, and is on the way up. Plus, maybe someone other than Suarez will score on a corner.

Harris, I hope you brushed up on your spanish. Bienvenida

I understand that Vergara is first and foremost a business man and he is always looking to make a buck, more power to him. Yet I fear this move will neglect our CUSA team even further. On the other hand, there’s always a possibility of signing talented Korean players who will fit under our salary cap as we’re out of luck on a DP slot for the next five years.

Here’s the cover to the Chivas Korea from MedioTiempo.