Pena: Give ‘Em Hell, Whoever They Are

If there is one thing that the Galaxy’s Danny Pena apparently does not lack, it’s confidence.

Which is why tonight at the Rose Bowl he will be given the task of containing Washington D.C. United’s Marco “El Diablo” Etcheverry in the Major League Soccer season-opener for both teams.

It should prove to be a devil of a job. Etcheverry led the league in assists last season with 19, and his playmaker’s role was crucial to United’s 3-2 victory over the Galaxy in the MLS championship game.

But Pena, who has played the last two seasons indoors, is not intimidated by Etcheverry, Tampa Bay’s Carlos Valderrama or any of the other top-flight stars he will have to defend this season.

“I’ve got no problems with that,” Pena said. “As far as I’m concerned, Etcheverry and Valderrama are just like any other players on the field. Just like I treat [Mauricio] Cienfuegos and [Eduardo] Hurtado as equal to anybody else on my team.

“Any team I play against, they’re all enemies to me. I’m not going to back out of any tackles just because he’s Valderrama. If he’s there to be taken, I’m going to take him.”

Does that mean Pena is going to be the Galaxy’s enforcer in 1997?

“I don’t know so much about being the hard man,” he said. “It’s just a natural thing for me to defend hard. I’ve always been one of those players who is able to endure a lot of pain and play through pain. And if I can inflict some pain on my opponents, I will do so, in a very clean manner.”

It was Washington that inflicted pain on the Galaxy last season, coming from 2-0 down with 20 minutes to play to snatch the MLS title from Los Angeles at Foxboro Stadium. That defeat still rankles the Galaxy players.

D.C. United’s John Harkes, the U.S. national team captain, is not sure he likes the idea of a rematch this early in the season.

“Some say it will be good to get this game out of the way, but I don’t know,” he said earlier in the week in Costa Rica.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a great atmosphere, and you’ve got to look at the positive things from it. What [both teams] created last year in a very dramatic final, people loved. I mean, to have 38,000, almost 40,000, turn out in the rain. I’m sure there’s going to be a good crowd in L.A. too.

“L.A. is a strong team, very competitive. It’s going to be a hard one for us, but it’ll be good. We’re looking forward to it.”