Chivas USA Just Tries to Fit In

By Paul Gutierrez

March 30, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

They came to town full of promises, evoking images of a Spanish-neighing Trojan horse being wheeled into the Home Depot Center.

In taking over the Southland’s soccer market, Club Deportivo Chivas USA was going to assume the characteristics of its parent club, Chivas de Guadalajara.

But the boasts to make the Major League Soccer expansion franchise the mirror image of its Mexican mother ship have been modified.

Mexican coach? Introducing Dutchman Thomas Rongen.

All-Mexican roster? Hola, Ezra Hendrickson and Matt Taylor.

And with Chivas USA preparing for Saturday’s season opener against defending MLS Cup champion D.C. United, the latest pledge to be tweaked involved the Goats’ alignment.

If they’re not careful, Chivas USA officials are going to turn their team into just another run-of-the-mill MLS club.

They promised to bring a high-powered brand of attacking Mexican soccer, using Chivas’ famed 3-4-3 alignment, but it turns out the Mexican game is more opportunistic than aggressive when compared to MLS. The 3-4-3 was more disaster than staple in the Goats’ exhibition season, which had more drama than a Mexican telenovela. And it all involved projected starters.

Injuries to goalkeeper Martin Zuniga and defender Armando Begines, team captain and midfielder Ramon Ramirez’s quitting the team in a huff because the nanny for his children could not quickly get a visa, then returning, and forward Alonso Sandoval’s being kicked off the team, purportedly because of his love for nightlife, have all had their effect.

But an embarrassing 7-0 loss to the U.S. national team in a scrimmage prompted Rongen to rethink strategy. So now, Chivas USA is using four defenders in a 4-3-3 formation and Rongen has joked that he is maintaining Chivas tradition ... by using three forwards.

“With an expansion team, we can only expect to get better each and every week,” said Rongen, who led D.C. United to the 1999 MLS Cup title. “We’re not clicking on all cylinders, obviously, with a new team.”

It may be too harsh to classify the group of eight Mexican players Chivas sent to Chivas USA as has-beens and never-will-be’s, but only two started the club’s exhibition finale against Osasuna of Spain, Ramirez, the Mexican legend, and Hector Cuadros, the supposed on-the-rise playmaker.

And only four players on what will be a 28-man roster have played more than two full seasons in MLS -- midfielder Francisco Gomez and defenders Hendrickson, Orlando Perez and Ryan Suarez.

The switch to four defenders sits well with Hendrickson and Suarez, both of whom have played with the Galaxy.

“It gives more security,” Hendrickson said. “MLS is such a faster-paced game that we need that extra security back there.” Suarez, who joined Chivas USA late in camp after a tryout in England, said the 3-4-3 “requires your midfield to run up and down and obviously the Mexican way is not running up and down. It’s very much touch-the-ball and keep possession throughout. It’s going to be really hard in MLS to play that system where there’s so much pressure because the American player runs for 90 minutes.

“They’re not quite used to that yet, the [Mexican] player. And so I think Thomas realized after the national team game and the Earthquake game that they needed to change things up and solidify the back.”

Hendrickson referred to the stretch when Chivas USA was outscored, 12-0, in scrimmage losses to the U.S. and San Jose and an exhibition loss to Atlante of the Mexican league as a “rude awakening.”

“Now that we’ve switched [formations], we’ve been a lot better and hopefully we’ll stick with that,” he said.

In the Goats’ 1-0 loss to Osasuna, midfield was the main area of concern, even as the Spaniards scored on a miscue by 20-year-old rookie goalkeeper Brad Guzan. There is no timetable for Zuniga’s return from the knee injury he suffered against the U.S.

Cuadros, meanwhile, was ineffective and was pulled with more than 30 minutes to play, replaced by fellow Mexican youngster Francisco Mendoza.

Rongen acknowledged the midfield’s shortcomings but also said it was up to the forwards to get into better position. Taylor, Thiago Martins and Arturo Torres, selected from the Galaxy in the expansion draft, started up top for Chivas USA in its last two exhibitions.

The way Hendrickson sees it, if you’re not scoring goals, you shouldn’t be giving up any, either.

“To get results, if it takes switching from the 3-4-3, then do it,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, that’s what people care about -- whether you win or lose. Not what formation you’re playing.”

And that translates to any language.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

STARTER KIT

How the first edition of Chivas 2005 was assembled (two more players still to be added to roster):

GOALKEEPERS

* Martin Zuniga* (sent from Chivas de Guadalajara)

* Brad Guzan (first-round SuperDraft pick from South Carolina)

* Javier Barragan (first-round supplemental pick from CS Dominguez Hills)

DEFENDERS

* Ezra Hendrickson* (expansion draft from D.C. United)

* Ryan Suarez* (traded from Galaxy)

* Douglas Sequeira* (traded from Real Salt Lake)