It’s not about goals for Razov
Somewhere along the line, perhaps tonight in Houston, perhaps next week in Carson, perhaps later still, Ante Razov will unleash a shot, probably with his left foot, that will catapult him into the record book.
Razov, Chivas USA’s 33-year-old striker, has scored 99 regular-season goals in Major League Soccer. Only two players have scored more: Real Salt Lake’s Jason Kreis with 108 and D.C. United’s Jaime Moreno with 105. All three players have been in the league since it was founded in 1996.
The Los Angeles-born former UCLA standout could reach the 100-mark with a goal tonight when Chivas plays the defending champion Dynamo at Robertson Stadium in Houston.
Not that it’s something on which Razov dwells.
“It’ll be nice,” he said. “I’d prefer to get it out of the way so that it doesn’t become a distraction for our team.”
Razov banged in a team-high 14 goals last season in propelling Chivas into the MLS playoffs. It was the sixth time in 11 seasons that he had scored in double figures.
He also scored once in the playoffs, but MLS keeps regular-season and playoff goals in separate categories. If they were combined, Moreno would lead everyone with 117, Kreis would be second with 112 and Razov would be third with 110.
Passing the other two players and becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer is not so much an ambition for Razov as it is a possibility. “To be honest, prior to last year ... that stuff never really came up,” he said.
“Individual achievements come as the result of team accomplishments. If the team wins, I’m sure I’ll have a part in it, and if I end up passing guys along the way in individual achievements, then that’s great.”
Razov, whose MLS career has taken him from the Galaxy to the Chicago Fire to the Columbus Crew, to the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) to Chivas USA, is a natural-born goal scorer, according to Chivas Coach Preki.
“He knows how to find spaces on the field where he can be dangerous. Obviously, he’s a pure striker of the ball. If you give him one or two chances, he’ll score a goal.” Preki said.
But it has not earned Razov a regular spot on the U.S. national team. He has played only 24 games for the U.S. and scored six goals. He was an alternate on the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup squad but did not make the 2006 team that went to Germany.
“I think Ante’s been a little bit unlucky on that,” Preki said. “Obviously, different coaches are looking for different things.”
Razov helped Chicago win the MLS title in 1998 and also won three U.S. Open Cups with the Fire, where his mentor was Bob Bradley, currently the interim U.S. coach. That fact is not going to change his national team fortunes, Razov said.
“I think my biggest enemy is Father Time at this point,” he said. “I haven’t put too much thought into that. I just want to pick up the form I had last year.”
CHIVAS USA TONIGHT
at Houston, 5:30 PDT, FSNW
Site -- Robertson Stadium.
Radio -- 1020.
Records -- Chivas 1-0-0, Dynamo 0-0-1.
Record vs Dynamo (2006) -- 1-1-2.
Update -- The Dynamo knocked Chivas out of the playoffs en route to its MLS title last year and Chivas Coach Preki knows what to expect. “They play hard every game,” he said. Houston defender Ryan Cochrane is serving a one-game suspension, but defensive midfielder Ricardo Clark could return from a right knee sprain. Chivas USA defender Orlando Perez could return after suffering a groin strain. Chivas has signed French forward Laurent Merlin, who initially tried out for the Galaxy.
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Top of the heap
The five leading goal scorers in Major League Soccer history:
*--* Player Goals Team/teams Jason Kreis* 108 Dallas (1996-2004), Real Salt Lake (2005-present) Jaime Moreno* 105 D.C. United (1996-present) Ante Razov* 99 Galaxy (1996-97), Chicago (1998-2004), Columbus, MetroStars (2005), Chivas USA (2006-present) Jeff Cunningham* 92 Columbus (1998-2004), Colorado (2005), Real Salt Lake (2006-present) Roy Lassiter 88 Tampa Bay (1996-1998), D.C. United (1998-99), Miami (2000), Kansas City (2001-02), D.C. United (2002)
*--*
* -- active
Source: mlsnet.com
