Chivas USA needs only a little tuning
Unlike the Galaxy, which needs a major overhaul both on and off the field, Chivas USA will simply require a little fine-tuning during the Major League Soccer off-season.
Under Coach Preki, Los Angeles’ “other” soccer team enjoyed considerable success in 2007, finishing in first place in the Western Conference, qualifying for the MLS playoffs, convincingly winning its season series against the rival Galaxy and having several players either win or be nominated for individual honors.
All in all, Chivas USA’s third season was its best yet and, with a few corrections here and there, 2008 could be even better.
More than anything, Chivas needs to improve its depth, especially in attack. The team was knocked out of the playoffs for one reason only: the lack of quality strikers to back up Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo.
When Razov (11 goals, eight assists) and Galindo (12 goals, five assists) went down with injuries late in the season, the goals simply dried up. Backup forwards John Cunliffe and Laurent Merlin proved not to be of MLS quality and both should be replaced.
Cunliffe managed only three goals in 494 minutes spread over 15 games, while Merlin’s statistics were twice as bleak. He scored only one goal in 806 minutes while appearing in 22 games. Cunliffe, 23, could possibly be used more effectively on the left flank, as a backup attacking midfielder, but it is difficult to envision a future role for Merlin.
The bottom line is that if Chivas is ever to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, it needs four quality forwards, not two.
At the other end of the field, on defense, Preki’s squad was one of the most accomplished teams in the league in 2007. The 28 goals it allowed were the second-fewest in MLS behind the 23 given up by defending champion Houston Dynamo.
The back line was anchored in the center by Mexican veteran Claudio Suarez and Jamaican international Shavar Thomas, with either Alex Zotinca or Lawson Vaughn wide to the right and Jonathan Bornstein wide left.
Bornstein, the league’s rookie of the year in 2006, statistically did not have as good a year this time around, but was nonetheless solid. Zotinca’s propensity for committing unnecessary fouls was a worry, but having both he and the rapidly improving Vaughn able to play in defense or midfield gave Preki some valuable options.
Whether Suarez, who turns 39 next month, will return for another season is up in the air. But the former Mexico national team icon performed well enough in 2007 to be a deserving finalist for the league’s defender-of-the-year honors and having him stay for one more season would be a huge boost for Chivas.
The same applies to midfielder Jesse Marsch, 34 on Thursday, whose solid year included a memorable toe-to-toe and eye-to-eye encounter with the Galaxy’s David Beckham.
Marsch and teammate Paulo Nagamura formed a capable partnership in the center of midfield and keeping them paired should be a priority for Preki.
Wide midfielders Francisco “Panchito” Mendoza and Sacha Kljestan both provided some highlights this season, with Kljestan’s four goals and team-high 13 assists making him Chivas’ third-leading scorer.
Like Suarez, Mendoza, 22, is another of the starters whose immediate future is uncertain. His lively play has caught the eye of his former club, Chivas de Guadalajara, and it is possible that a trade could develop in the off-season.
The biggest potential off-season loss, however, would be if Brad Guzan, the league’s goalkeeper of the year, were to be signed by a European team. Rumors that Arsenal of the English Premier League is interested in Guzan have been swirling around for several weeks.
Guzan led MLS with 13 shutouts in the regular season and earned another one Saturday night in the 0-0 tie with the Kansas City Wizards that ended Chivas USA’s playoff run. He is currently the No. 3 keeper on the U.S. national team and could challenge for Tim Howard’s No. 1 spot by the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
