It’s Into the Fire for Young Guzan
At Chivas USA’s preseason training camp on the outskirts of Guadalajara in early February, goalkeeper Brad Guzan talked about the challenge of being “a white American” on the Mexican-owned-and-operated club. The pressure could be overwhelming if you let it, he intimated.
Guzan could take solace at the time, though, in knowing he was merely the backup to Chivas de Guadalajara transplant Martin Zuniga and could take his time rounding into form. But when Zuniga went down because of a knee injury on March 2, the focus shifted to Guzan.
And the spotlight will perhaps be no brighter than it is today, when the 20-year-old rookie takes arguably the highest-profile position as expansion Chivas USA opens Major League Soccer play at the Home Depot Center against defending champion D.C. United on national television.
“There might be some [anxiety], but the support of my teammates has helped keep it real and kept some of the pressure off me,” said Guzan, Chivas USA’s first-round pick in the SuperDraft after he’d played two years at the University of South Carolina. He was a second-team all-American as a sophomore, when he had a goals-against average of 1.34, and had a GAA of 0.96 as a freshman.
“They’ve helped me adjust to the lifestyle. It’s huge. The support they’ve shown me has been tremendous and my level of comfort and confidence has grown.”
Coach Thomas Rongen said Guzan had already gained the team’s trust.
“He’s proven he can play in this league,” Rongen said. “Is he young? Yes. Is he going to make mistakes? Absolutely. But we’re going to walk through it with him. I’m sure there’s going to be some nerves.”
Perhaps none more, though, than when Guzan saw Zuniga crumple to the field in the 32nd minute of Chivas USA’s 7-0 scrimmage loss to the U.S. national team.
“The first thing I was thinking was that, hopefully, he would be all right,” Guzan said. “I knew he already had [knee ligament] surgery a year earlier.
“The second thing was, ‘OK, here we go.’ I mean, what are you going to do when an opportunity presents itself?”
Guzan hopes to grab it and not look back, even as Rongen said Zuniga was at least four weeks from returning.
Playing with the Chicago Fire reserves last summer, Guzan excelled with an 0.39 GAA.
But being “a white American” and starting in goal for the inaugural game of the sister squad of the most famous of Mexican clubs is a more daunting task. Guzan has found a supporter in Zuniga.
“He’s a tremendous leader and a great professional,” Guzan said. “He’s given me technical pointers but also has told me just to have fun and relax.
“I have to kind of put everything aside -- the fans, the atmosphere, the opening -- and just remember it’s 11 on 11. I have to do everything I can to help the guys in front of me keep the ball out of the net.”
