New look for Chivas USA
Chivas USA launches its third season tonight at the Home Depot Center, but chances are the spotlight will be focused on Major League Soccer’s newest team and first Canadian club, Toronto FC.
Coach Mo Johnston has built a surprisingly strong side from scratch, and the Toronto roster features such established MLS players as Edson Buddle, Alecko Eskandarian, Richard Mulrooney, Paulo Nagamura and Ronnie O’Brien, not to mention a host of Canadian national team players.
But Chivas USA fans will be more interested in seeing the latest incarnation of their own team, and there have been significant changes since November.
For one thing, Bob Bradley has moved on and former assistant Preki is now the coach. Tonight’s game will not only be Toronto’s first in MLS, but also Preki’s first as a head coach.
“You do whatever you can to prepare the group and start the season the right way,” the former U.S. national team standout said.
Said Chivas forward Ante Razov: “Preki knows the game well. Obviously, he played at a very high level. He’s got a great feel for it. He studied under Bob very closely. He’s learning on the fly, but we’re in good shape.”
Chivas USA, version 3.0, will be faster than ever, thanks to the addition of forward Maykel Galindo, who defected from Cuba’s national team during the 2005 Gold Cup and played for the Seattle Sounders last year.
“He’s an absolute burner,” said Razov, who led Chivas in scoring last season with 14 goals and eight assists. “He’s maybe the fastest guy in the league. He’s got that kind of speed.
“That’s something I’ve always wanted to play with. The threat of him being able to run away from anybody is going to keep defenses honest.”
Said Preki: “That’s something we haven’t had before. That’s another dimension that we have this year. Hopefully, we’ll be able to stretch the defenses and be a threat.”
Chivas, which finished 10-9-13 last season, will also be smarter this year with Honduran national team star Amado Guevara pulling the strings in midfield. Chivas thought highly enough about Guevara’s skills to give up its designated player slot for the New York Red Bulls’ former playmaker.
“It’s a very big change, but I feel good about it,” Guevara said.
Razov said, “The demands on him are going to be different than in New York,” adding that more would be expected defensively from the Honduran player. “But he’s got a lot of freedom to go forward and spring Maykel and myself in the attack.”
Another difference is that Chivas USA’s makeup has changed. The roster features only five players born in Mexico, including two starters -- three-time World Cup defender Claudio Suarez and crowd-pleasing midfielder Francisco “Panchito” Mendoza.
Two of the stars who helped Chivas reach the playoffs last season, forward Juan Francisco “Paco” Palencia and winger Juan Pablo “Loco” Garcia, have returned to Mexico, and no new “name” players from Mexico have been signed.
Instead, the roster features players from such diverse spots as Colombia, Cuba, England, Honduras, Mexico, Romania and the U.S., with an American of Pakistani background already on board and a French player waiting in the wings.
Ramon Ramirez, the former Mexico national team standout, said that was not necessarily a bad thing.
“I think it’s important that there is always a Mexican culture [within the team] and that there are always a couple of important Mexican players,” he said. “But the team is showing that it is giving opportunities to people from all over the world.
“Chivas people know what the team is made of and what the colors stand for,” regardless of who wears the famous jersey with the red and white vertical stripes.
“I like it,” midfielder Jesse Marsch said. “This team has personality, man. This team has some serious personality.”
It also looks improved.
“I think we’re a little more seasoned and we’ve got a little bit more team speed,” Marsch said. “We’ll be better with the ball. Loco was dynamic in terms of creating some decent [scoring] opportunities, but his turnover rate was much higher than Amado’s is going to be.”
Chivas USA was an unknown factor when it made its debut in 2005 and stumbled to a 4-22-6 mark. The team turned itself around last season and made the playoffs, and that changes everything for 2007.
“The expectations are higher,” Marsch said. “We’re not going to sneak up on anybody.”
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