The Meteoric rise of Eduardo Lillingston was further demonstrated last Saturday with his game winner against the Sounders. Now more than ever we are going to need Lillingston to retain his form.

Three reasons why:

1) After our slip up on Wednesday against the Dynamo, we stand a mere 3 points ahead in the West.

2) With 10 road games left and only 7 at home, we will surely be depending on Eduardo’s quality away performances to secure some much needed points before the playoffs.

3) The Confederations Cup leaves us without Bornstein and Kljestan. Compare these departures against that of Houston (losing an unthreatening Brian Ching) and Seattle (Jarrod Smith) and there is no doubt that Chivas will suffer the most from this year’s World Cup dress rehearsal.
Fortunately, (or unfortunately, if you value the SuperLiga) there are only two league games scheduled during this span.

It’s hard to gripe too much when you’re still top of the table, but with one win in our last five, things are certainly becoming a lot more real for the Red and White.

There’s not much to say that I’m sure you are all not thinking.
The differences between tonights clash with the Fire and last weekend’s game against the Wizards are vast. Unlike Saturday, tonights game featured tempo, drive, and was not played on what appeared to be a little league baseball diamond. However, the one thing both games shared was…HORRIBLE OFFICIATING.

I’m not going to pontificate in detail how abysmal the refereeing has been during the last couple weeks, we can all agree on that. What matters now is how fast it improves. Because quite frankly, it doesn’t matter if we are the beneficiaries of terrible calls (as we were a couple times last weekend) or the victims (tonight). When we allow these kind of calls, it is the sport and the league itself that suffers.

After the game, Alexi Lalas (a man whom has done the MLS no favors the last few years) had this to say about McBride’s tumble:

” I know it’s hard for the American Sports mentality to understand, when you can draw a penalty…you do it”

Truth be told, diving is a big part of the European game. But by now Mr. Lalas should know that not everything that comes from Europe (bad hair, franchise player management, embarrassing sound bites) is a good thing.

10 Yellows
1 Red Card
3 Penalty Kicks
1 evening to forget

It’s a unique position when your team excels to the extent Chivas have this season. On one hand, it is easy to be overcome with elation at the current standings and overall performance of the club. On the other, us fans tend to become accustomed quite fast to our current level of performance and are not hesitant to ask…what’s next?

That in itself is an interesting question. With the SuperLiga looming just around the corner, Chivas are surely anxious to make a mark against their south of the border counterparts. Depth will soon become a question, as this tournament (now increasingly important due to the lack of other competitions for Mexican sides) will surely test the physicality of the Chivas side.
Add to that, upcoming fixtures against Houston and Seattle that will see a slightly weakened side due to International duty…and well, maybe we shouldn’t let ourselves get carried away.

Fortunately, Preki has never been a coach to rest on his laurels. Seen here after the DC game, he obviously has no qualms about critiquing his side.

So here we are, halfway through the 2009 season. The bottom line is, new expectations have been set by Club Deportivo Chivas USA. As satisfied as we are by current standings, it is what lies ahead that is most exciting, and perhaps most challenging. Let’s hope the team continues to recognize these challenges all the way to the MLS Cup.

Sight of England 5 – Germany 1…Check
Stamford Bridge…Check
Bundesliga 2 game…Check
Tranining ground of Czech National Team…umm Check

Let’s just say I’ve visited plenty of cathedrals to pay pennance, to my girlfriend.

I have managed to keep up with the Chivas, and could not be more thrilled by the following;

1) The ability of Nagamura to play in such a fine holding position, while also scoring goals.
2) The quality short passes that have become the signature of our game.
3) The fact that we have an 8 POINT LEAD on Seattle!!!

Unbelievable!!

I look forward to attending the DC game on the 16th, and would love to hear your opinions on our continuing surge.

Viva Chivas!!!

“As long as no-one scored, it was always going to be close” Arsene Wenger

That pretty much summed up last weekends exciting, yet scoreless Superclásico. Chivas played as a far more dominant side, even when down to ten men and should be most satisfied with their ability to neutralize any kind of threat the Galaxy had to offer. That they did so with a defense that has been besieged by injuries and ill timed National call-ups made it all the more sweet. Chivas have turned a scrappy, ever changing back line into a dominant respected force that has allowed just 3 goals in four games. Add to that, Goalkeeper Zach Thornton coming off his second shutout of the season and they have to be confident heading into this weekends clash against the suddenly human (and keeper-less) Sounders.

It became quite apparent last Saturday that the Chivas are still looking for their ideal finisher. While having no trouble moving the ball up the field, far too many plays died in the final third. A fact made all the more distressing by the fact that the Galaxy’s defense appeared to be transplanted from the nearby Carson Jr. High School.

Eduardo Lillingston is a hell of an athlete, and will be in contention for Rookie of the Year honors, but he is no target man. And in my opinion, this is the last piece of the puzzle needed to turn Chivas into a championship side.

Absences for this weekends clash:

Chivas will be without forward Ante Razov (ankle surgery), midfielder Sasha Victorine (knee surgery) and defenders Ante Jazic (concussion), Claudio Suarez (calf strain) and Lawson Vaughn (ankle surgery) for a fifth consecutive game.

Perhaps Civas’ most conspicuous loss will be Paulo Nagamura, who’s serving a one-game suspension after being issued a red card on Saturday.

While searching for footage from last year’s SuperClásico, I came across this rather unfortunate mash-up. Just a year later, it’s hard not to find this clip incredibly dated, and i’m not just referring to the soundtrack. The year was 2008, and the run-up to the SuperClásico could not have been much different. The Galaxy were grabbing all the headlines both on and off the field. At Galaxy games, it was not unusual to overhear fans debate the merits of even having a “2nd” team sharing the stadium. The game gave us some of the most questionable defense you will ever see at a professional level. The kind of display MLS haters save on their DVR’s, waiting for a chance to publicly flog the league. I won’t even get into Landycake’s “WTF was he thinking??” hand ball. Quite frankly, this was a game to forget.

A year later, and it looks as if the tables have turned. It would seem, metaphorically speaking, that Chivas USA have indeed brought the “sexy back” to their game. As a reformed Galaxy fan, my old team looks more like a cast-aside ex: pretty face (Arena), savvy personality, sharp dresser, but alas not much going on upstairs. The Chivas on the contrary, are looking like the kind of beautiful, reliable, put-together partner I could see myself settling down with.

LandyCakes, no doubt suffering separation anxiety from a certain set-up man, pinned Chivas’ extraordinary start on “getting a little bit of luck.”

Looking less attractive every day.

Chivas USA preview

Chivas USA travel to DC to take on United. Chivas USA have been on a winning streak while DC has had a streak of their own.

Chivas USA will be with out several players (as usual). The list for this week includes Raphael Wicky, Lawson Vaugh, Eric Ebert, Zack Thornton, and Ante Razov. Probably not’s include Maykel Galindo, Carey Talley, Paulo Nagamura, and Jonathan Bornstein. This will leave us with the following possible line up;

——Braun—–Eskandarian——–

-Kljestan-Victorine-Marsch-Harris-

-Mendoza-Suarez-Thomas-Zotinca-

———–Kennedy—————-

A repeat of last week minus Ante. Not the best line up we put on the field, but a decent one. Dc will be without several of their usuals. Most notably, Jaime Moreno, Ben Olson and Luciano Emilio. Marcelo Gallardo is available for the match but his training with the team has been limited. Additionally, their probable strikers, Rod Dyachenko and Francis Doe played significant minutes in their mid week clash against Cruz Azul.

This game is important to the playoff hopes of both teams, although it seems that Chivas USA is in a little bit better spot that DCU.

Usually I would default to my magic eight ball. Today we will use statistics.

I won’t ask you to perform a long mathematical equation. Sports Club Stats did all the work for you.

Twelve points available. Seven points guarantees a spot. Zero points eliminates the team.

Based on the upcoming schedule for the Western Conference teams, which team (because of their schedule) doesn’t make the playoffs?

OR

What do you think the final standings (including points) will be in 4 weeks based on schedule?

Houston 40 pts……….@PUMAS 9/30
……………………@Colorado 10/4
……………………SFFC 10/07
……………………DC 10/12
……………………SJ 10/15
……………………LA 10/18
……………………Pumas ????
……………………@ Chivas 10/25
……………………Home CCC 10/28

Chivas 36 points @ DC 10/4
……………………@SJ 10/11
……………………Colorado 10/19
……………………Houston 10/25

Colorado 34 points Houston 10/4
……………………@LA 10/12
……………………@Chivas 10/19
……………………RSL 10/25

Salt Lake 34 points @NE 10/4
……………………NY 10/9
……………………Dallas 10/18
……………………@Colorado 10/25

Dallas 33 points SJ 10/2
……………………TFC 10/11
……………………Tigres Friendly10/14
……………………@RSL10/18
……………………@LA 10/26

LA 29 points @Crew 10/4
……………………Colorado 10/12
……………………@Houston 10/18
……………………Dallas 10/26

San Jose 29 points @Dallas 10/02
……………………CD FAS friendly 10/7
……………………Chivas 10/11
……………………@Houston 10/15
……………………@KC 10/18
……………………@TFC 10/25