‘Little Fish’ Ruiz Becomes Prize Catch
El Pescadito is what they call him, the “Little Fish.”
The nickname is appropriate. In Guatemala City, Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz had the pond to himself. In Los Angeles, he is swallowed up by bigger fish circling all around.
Over the last three years, he has been as successful as any local professional athlete, but it has been the likes of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neill, Eric Gagne and Vladimir Guerrero, Oscar De La Hoya and others, who have dominated the headlines
“I don’t care about the publicity or the attention that I receive as an individual,” Ruiz said earlier this week while preparing for tonight’s Major League Soccer Western Conference final against the Kansas City Wizards. “When I stop playing in this league, I want people to remember me as someone who came here and gave them much joy.”
And many goals too.
It was Feb. 5, 2002, when Ruiz joined the Galaxy, discovered in Guatemala by then-coach Sigi Schmid. In the three seasons since, he has rewritten the team’s record book, eclipsing such former Galaxy goal-scoring stars as Mauricio Cienfuegos and Eduardo “El Tanque” Hurtado.
This season, Ruiz, 25, overtook Cobi Jones as the team’s all-time scoring leader. His goal in the 2-0 playoff win over the Colorado Rapids last Saturday was his 72nd in 102 games with the Galaxy and his 11th in 10 playoff matches.
Along the way he has:
* Scored the only goal in MLS Cup 2002 to beat the New England Revolution and give the Galaxy its first league championship.
* Been chosen MLS player of the year in 2002 and a league all-star in each of his three seasons.
* Led the league in goals in 2002 and 2003.
* Led the Galaxy in goals in each of his three seasons.
But that is all in the past. There’s the game tonight at Arrowhead Stadium, and Ruiz said he was determined that the season would not end now.
“There is no choice but to win this match,” he said.
If the Galaxy wins, its immediate future will include an appearance in MLS Cup 2004, the league’s title game at the Home Depot Center on Nov. 14, against the winner of Saturday’s Eastern Conference final involving the Revolution and D.C. United.
And then there’s the more distant future. Ruiz’s MLS contract expires at the end of next season and he has yet to decide whether to stay or to follow a long-held dream of playing in Europe.
“No me quita el sueno,” he said in Spanish, meaning that he doesn’t lose any sleep over it.
Ruiz, his wife Laura and their two daughters have made Long Beach their home and he is not overly eager to pull up stakes once again.
“I have a very good life here ... my family is very happy living in Los Angeles,” he said. “After the end of this contract I will decide whether I will stay in MLS or go somewhere else.
“I’m 25 now, and I know that in Europe they play the best football, however if I were to go to Europe I would only go someplace where I would have the same tranquillity that I have here.”
A lot will depend on how extensively and well Galaxy Coach Steve Sampson rebuilds the team in 2005 and how much help he gives its unquestioned star.
With Korean defender Hong Myung Bo and Austrian midfielder Andreas Herzog retiring and other players possibly being lost in this month’s expansion draft, Sampson would have plenty of room under the salary cap to add another top-level striker and thus take some of the pressure off Ruiz, who would also be required by Guatemala for 10 World Cup qualifying matches in 2005.
“We’re obviously always looking for quality goal scorers,” Sampson said. “I would like to get at least one more playmaking midfielder [to replace Herzog] and of course I’m always looking for a great striker.”
He has one in Ruiz, and the two appear to get along well, especially because Sampson is bilingual.
“I think he really appreciates it,” Sampson said. “He and I can have a lengthy conversation in Spanish. It seems like he opens up much more when he speaks in his native tongue. I believe we have a strong relationship. I believe he appreciates the effort that I make to speak with him in Spanish.”
Ruiz put somewhat less stock in the matter.
“I don’t think language has been a big factor for me,” he said. “I understand English just as well as I understand Spanish. And soccer has only one language.”
What has mattered is that Sampson has changed the way the Galaxy is playing, using a system in which Ruiz is often the lone striker, supported by Jovan Kirovski out of the midfield and by players coming down the wings.
Ruiz has taken a while to adjust to the system.
“What we’re asking him to do is to combine a lot more with Jovan and every once in a while take himself out of that central channel.... That creates opportunities for our central midfielders to come through,” Sampson said. “I’m asking him to be a little bit more unselfish. Not so much so that it takes him out of goal-scoring opportunities, but just a little bit more unselfish to create opportunities for others.”
Said Ruiz: “It was a little difficult of an adjustment at first but ... when the entire team is playing well, it doesn’t matter how many forwards you have. It just matters that you have a set system that you stick to.”
A year beset by injuries, national team call-ups and a coaching change can still end on a high note for Ruiz.
“In all, it’s been a very difficult year for me,” he said, “but that can all change in the next couple of weeks.”
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Galaxy All-Time Goal Leaders
Includes regular season and playoffs
*--* Name Years Gms Gls Carlos Ruiz 2002-present 102 72 Cobi Jones 1996-present 263 65 Mauricio Cienfuegos 1996-2003 241 42 Eduardo Hurtado 1996-98 57 33 Welton 1997-99 75 29 Greg Vanney 1996-2001 194 26 Ezra Hendrickson 1997-2002 168 22 Sasha Victorine 2000-present 140 21 Carlos Hermosillo 1998-99 43 19 Harut Karapetyan 1996-98 81 18
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GALAXY TONIGHT
at Kansas City, 5:30 PST, Fox Sports World
Site -- Arrowhead Stadium.
Radio -- KMPC (1540); KMXE (830).
Records (regular season) -- Galaxy 11-9-10, Wizards 14-9-7.
Record vs Wizards (regular season) -- 0-2-2.
Update -- The Galaxy has defeated Kansas City only once in the last eight regular-season games but holds a 5-2-1 edge over the Wizards in playoff matches. In their last eight playoff games at home, the Wizards are 7-0-1 and have outscored opponents, 18-3. Midfielder Kerry Zavagnin is questionable for Kansas City because of a hamstring strain; Galaxy winger Cobi Jones still is bothered by a heel injury. To encourage a large crowd, Kansas City has priced all tickets at $5.
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EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
* New England at D.C. United, Saturday, 4 p.m., Fox Sports World
