After two humiliating losses this season against their most hated rivals, Quakes fans are hoping for a different result this Sunday.  While the Galaxy’s inept defense should surely win the award for best comedic performance, the Quakes have yet to put one in the net in two previous meeting with their SoCal foes.  So far it’s been a story of Leaky D vs. Impotent Offense, with the Quakes’ lack of goal-scoring punch making the L.A. defense look like world beaters, a tough task indeed. 

All that looks to change, however, as Frank Yallop and John Doyle have gone on a transfer binge, signing Francisco Lima, Darren Huckerby, Arturo Alvarez, Scott Sealy, and now young Spaniard Mikel Arce.  Joe Vide and Ivan Guerrero (one of my personal faves) were shown the door.  Surely a Quakes attack boasting the likes of Huckerby, Alvarez, and Sealy will be a bit more worrying to the Galaxy.  On top of that, the Quakes are on a wave of optimism while L.A. is stuck in a state of stagnation and bad feelings that could only get worse.  Appearances are always deceiving with rivalry games though.  L.A. plays with confidence against San Jose this season, while the Quakes always look a bit intimidated.  Donovan’s first return to the Bay Area since 2005 will see a reawakening of old passions and hatred, which can always have unpredicatable effects on a game. 

Your guess for the Quakes’ lineup this Sunday is as good as mine, with the many new additions making any predictions difficult.  I expect Yallop to avoid any sudden changes by keeping to a 4-4-2 (at least for now), and using Alvarez off the bench.

Probable Lineup:

              Sealy-Johnson

Huckerby-Lima-Corrales-O’Brien

Denton-Garcia-Cochrane-Hernandez

                      Cannon

I hope that Yallop benches Denton and puts someone else (perhaps Riley) in that spot, but so far Frank seems to be set on starting him.

Tactically, the Quakes’ main focus should be to contain L.A.’s potent offense of Beckham, Buddle, Donovan, and Ruiz.  This begins with dominating possession, especially in the midfield, forcing the Galaxy’s attacking stars to track back and play defense, while also keeping the ball away from them.  Physicality will be key to taking Donovan and Ruiz out of the game.  You can’t simply mark them forever, they will find a way to break through at some point, so you have to outmuscle them and make their lives hell for ninety minutes without giving away any stupid fouls.  Buddle is physical himself, so the key is to match him, something that Cochrane did a horrible job of last game.  Usually the logic is to cut off service, but Beckham’s service is not going to be denied.  Huckerby’s defense is not his strong suit, nor is Denton up to the task.  Just keep an eye on the dangermen up front. 

On offense, the Quakes need to be less predictable.  Build-up play is fine, hesitating and letting your opponent get back into shape and settle is not.  L.A. is embarassingly vulnerable to counterattacks, so San Jose needs to be better in transition play and make those overload opportunities count.  I think this is where someone like Alvarez can definitely help out.  Additionally, Huckerby needs someone in the left back position who can make overlapping runs and open up space for him.  The difference between Denton and Guerrero behind him last week was like night and day.  Unfortunately, Guerrero is now gone, but someone like Riley, while also prone to boneheaded mistakes, at least has more offensive prowess than Denton.

Team Match-Up

San Jose                                       Los Angeles

***                Goalkeepers          *

***                  Defense                *

**                    Midfield                **

**                    Forwards              ****

 Key Man: Darren Huckerby

Somebody has to step up and exploit the Galaxy defense.  With two games under his belt, Huckerby should have a better idea of how to fit into this team.  Here is his chance to endear himself forever to San Jose fans, by giving them a win against their most hated enemy. 

Verdict: A goal-fest looks to be in the cards for this one.  I’m not convinced that the Quakes defense can keep L.A. shut down for a whole game, and I think the Quakes can put some in the net this time around with their new personnel.  With the playoffs looking out of reach, all Quakes fans want for Christmas is a win against L.A.

Rivalries are one of the true joys of fandom. Nothing beats the feeling of absolute loathing pumping through your veins as the opposing team takes the field. I can say with true sincerity that there are few things on Earth that I hate more than the L.A. Galaxy. I know that there are consistent attempts to pump up the Chivas U.S.A.-Galaxy derby as the number one clasico in the country, especially in the absence of the Quakes, and I appreciate the rivalries among other teams in the league, both new and old, but let’s be real here. Those who have been watching this league for awhile know that the Quakes-Scum…I mean, Galaxy, match-up is the premier organic rivalry in MLS. It is an outgrowth of true grassroots hate and mythology. As such, it is absolutely beautiful and to be celebrated.

The morning hang-over after a defeat is a time when every fan has to try to do what is usually impossible: put things in perspective. Most of the time it doesn’t work, and the rest of the week is spent moping around the house, taking out left-over frustration on customers or co-workers, and attacking anyone who happens to mention, even in passing, the city that beat you. But this time around, after this defeat, I found it easier to wake up this morning and think about having some semblance of a normal day. Its funny, but the world goes on after gameday. People smile and talk to you the day after a defeat as if nothing ever happened. Usually, its pretty enraging and bewildering. Even sacrilegious. But today, its OK, I can be the bigger man and understand that they don’t know the proper mourning rites.

My Zen-like calm may seem disturbing and confusing considering what happened yesterday. In many ways, it was the worst of results. To start off the season with a resounding loss to our most hated of rivals is bad enough. Add in the fact that it was Beckham, for Quakes fans a symbol of the Galaxy’s laughable quest for shallow glory and “superclub” status, and Donovan, Judas himself, who scored the goals which deflated our dreams of an upset, and you have the recipe for total despair. Yet I think I am not alone among Quakes supporters in not feeling crushed. For one simple reason: we’re back. San Jose fans have survived the far greater pain of losing our team, at the time not knowing that they would ever return, and because of that we are able to gain that elusive sense of perspective. Win or lose, at least we exist.

With that said, the day was everything a gameday should be (minus a victory). On the drive down to L.A., I kept hallucinating, which while normally might be a cause for worry, is perfectly understandable in the context of the mix of nerves and excitement that gameday brings. The sign that said Llagas Road I clearly saw as Lalas Road until I did a double-take. I spotted a lonely soccer ball in the middle of a rural pasture and felt the overwhelming urge to hop out of the car and rescue it. As we hit the Grapevine outside L.A., I had a vivid flash-back to looking at that same scenery on the way to MLS Cup 2003. The away fan experience is new to me, but I was exhilirated by the special sort of solidarity that exists in the visitor’s section of the stands. Us against the world, and that’s nothing new for a Quakes fan. I chuckled when I saw that the concession stands were selling “Earthquake” potato chips to hungry Galaxy fans. Don’t they say you are what you eat? Next to us was a section filled with young kids, which only added to the boy-band concert effect whenever Beckham even looked at the ball. Which reminds me, some genius in the section next to us decided to try to be macho and start a fight with some members of the 1906 Ultras (an Earthquakes supporter’s group) who were trying to put up a sign in the visitor’s corner. Here’s a bit of advice: maybe you shouldn’t be trying to start a brawl when you have have your children next to you, let alone in the midst of a whole section filled with kids. I present him with the coveted Idiot Fan of the Year award. On a final note, my girlfriend is steadily being converted to the irrational world of Quakes fandom, and after the game she started launching into a diatribe against the L.A. players, fans, stadium, league, and city itself. She then threatened to drive back home immediately because she couldn’t stand being in the city any longer. Making quite good progress I must say.

Before I launch into the post-game analysis, a message to the Galaxy fans: We love to hate you. I’m sure you love to hate us. The best rivalry in the league is back. Cheers, and many more battles to come in the future.

Post-game Analysis: SJ 0 LA 2

Why did the Earthquakes lose? It was the intangibles that were key, and despite what I still believe to be Quakes advantages in several areas of the field, it was the category that I gave to the Galaxy which won the day. Let’s recap how each of the areas of the field played out compared to my predictions.

Goalkeepers: Cronin was rarely tested, which is a shame. Credit to L.A. for keeping the Quakes away from their weakest point. Cannon made a crucial mistake by coming off the line on L.A.’s second goal. If he would’ve held his ground, Donovan would have had to keep the ball and try to find some other shot on goal. Still, Cannon did come up with some key saves and without him we would’ve been even worse off.

Galaxy Forwards vs. Quakes Defense: The Quakes defense, which is their strength, seemed to be full of nerves, at least in the first half, leading to a couple of key errors. A lack of cohesiveness as a unit also was a crucial factor. Donovan was clearly energized by the rivalry, and showed up to play. Gordon did well, but the Quakes are lucky that it was him in that spot and not Ruiz.

 Quakes Forwards vs. Galaxy Defense: The Quakes forwards were suffocated by a lack of service from the midfield. But they also failed to adjust to the flow of the game or make any threatening runs that would’ve helped to pull apart the Galaxy defense. I’m still a believer in Kei Kamara, but Shea Salinas is probably not the answer at forward. Still, the Galaxy defense was helped out by being able to sit on an early 2 - 0 lead. That, combined with a deep defensive line, effectively took San Jose’s speed out of the equation.

Midfield: In my book, this is where the game was won. The Galaxy midfield was playing the high-pressure game that the Quakes should have been implementing and squeezed out the center of the pitch. O’brien was off his game, and his passing was often aimless. Grabavoy was anonymous, while Corrales seemed to be waging a one-man war because of it. The lack of energy, intensity, and off-the-ball movement on the part of the Quakes midfield was decisive.

Coaches: Credit to Gullit. Changing to a 4-4-2, instead of trying to school this Galaxy squad on the finer intricacies of a 4-3-3 system, is the way to go. Yallop did his best to try to make some alterations, though I wish he would’ve made a clearer adjustment at the half. Still, I can’t fault him for much.

Intangibles: As I said before, these were crucial. Home-field advantage, this game being the Galaxy’s home opener, the bright lights of a national broadcast, the nerves of the Quakes players, San Jose’s lack of chemistry, and the fact that L.A. already had a game to work out the nerves and kinks all combined to put the Earthquakes at a large disadvantage. We also can’t forget the questionable nature of the Earthquakes’ disallowed goal.

Key Man: Ned Grabavoy was neutralized, by both the Galaxy and himself. As I predicted, this helped lead to a complete lack of effective service to the forwards. Long balls straight to the Galaxy defense seemed to be the order of the day.

Verdict: My prediction that the result of this game would make things clearer for the Earthquakes was wrong, it has only made things muddier. How much of this defeat can be attributed to the quality of this squad, and how much is the product of confidence, chemistry, and the difficulties of the road? It would be easy to fall into a sky-is-falling extravaganza. But let’s use some of that sense of perspective I mentioned earlier. Every team so far this year has either won or tied its home opener. The defending champions, Houston, were routed 3 - 0 on the road against New England. The team that beat us so convincingly last night lost 4 - 0 against Colorado on the road last week. They were able to make adjustments and soak in the energy of their home opener to come away with a victory. If we can do the same, then all is not lost.

Player Ratings:

Joe Cannon - 6 [Mostly for being below his usual standard of perfection.]

James Riley - 6 [Looked a bit nervous. I like his upside though.]

Ryan Cochrane - 5 [Two errors lead to two goals. Will be solid once the defense settles.]

Nick Garcia - 7 [Broke up countless Galaxy passes and attacks. Played with poise.]

Jason Hernandez - 6 [Allowed far too much space on the left flank.]

Ronnie O’Brien - 6 [Made bad passes. Needs to settle into the team.]

Ned Grabavoy - 6 [Where was he? Needs to work with Corrales to open up the middle.]

Ramiro Corrales - 7 [Did his best to be both the defense and offense.]

Ivan Guerrero - 6 [Didn't do enough to be dangerous.]

Kei Kamara - 6 [Didn't get service. Held up the ball, but no one was making runs.]

Shea Salinas - 6 [Not a forward. Shouldn't be playing with his back to goal.]

Substitutes:

Gavin Glinton - 6 [Didn't add anything to the game.]

John Cunliffe - 6 [Ditto. I would like to see him get a chance at the starting job though.]

Ryan Johnson - N/A [Didn't play long enough. Had a good move and run after he came on.]

There’s that feeling again, and I can’t help but supress a smile. Even this gloomy weather can’t dampen my giddiness because the first game of the season is tomorrow! Two and half years is a long time to wait for a season opener. I had almost forgotten what it’s like to be be consumed by Quakes fever, but it hasn’t taken long for it all to come back to me. As the week goes on, and game day gets closer and closer, you find that your mind’s ability to focus on anything else gets weaker and weaker, until you reach the level of clinical obsession. I feel today like a kid on Christmas Eve. The beautiful (and terrifying) thing about match day and and Christmas’ as a kid alike is that you never know what you’re going to get. It may be that pair of socks or gruesome sweater that you desperately try to half-grimace, half-smile your way out of, only to be forced into taking five different sets of photos with the offending items. Or it may be just what you wanted, that glimmering toy that’s been haunting your daydreams for the past few months. Needless to say, I’m hoping to unwrap a big fat box of three points against the Galaxy tomorrow night. Either way, though, I’m just happy to have a present to open after two barren years.

This will be my second trip down to the Home Depot Center. My previous experience was a monumental one: MLS Cup 2003. Ekelund’s early free kick and superhero goal celebration are images indelibly embroidered onto my brain. as is Jamil Walker’s sublime through ball to Donovan that made it 2-0. Chicago struck back after the half, but the Quakes responded almost instantaneously with a Mulrooney goal. This was definitely dramatic stuff, especially when a Chris Roner own goal, followed by a Roner-induced penalty kick threatened to level things up just when it looked like we had the cup in the bag. But when Onstad calmly served up a miracle and saved Razov’s penalty kick, I knew we had it. The rest is history, Donovan sealed the deal with a fourth goal, and I was happy that I didn’t travel the six hours to L.A. just to see an irrepeatable season be scuttled. I have never been so nervous in my life as that MLS Cup game. There were times when I could barely watch, but I’m glad I did, because it was a beautiful torment.

Ironically, what I’m thinking more about than that actual Cup match as I ponder heading down to L.A. for tomorrow’s game with my girlfriend, is how last time my buddies and I came up with the absolutely genius idea of camping out in the mountains the night before instead of getting a simple motel room like normal humans. Why we did this I still have no clue, other than being cheap and impulsive. The campsite was called Chuchupaute, a name that still lives in infamy for the three of us who took up that little adventure. Somewhere along the way we forgot that it was November, and that mountains = cold. On the way in, we saw a warning about Bubonic plague-infected squirrels roaming the area. That should’ve been the clue for us to turn right around and head for the nearest Motel 6. Instead, we endured a night of freezing cold, made only worse by the presence of the only other campers there, who persisted in blaring 80’s hair-metal into the late hours of the night. Between the unbearable cold, which kept me awake throughout the night replaying all those TV documentaries in my head about people losing limbs to frostbite, and having to suffer through the joys of Ratt and Winger, I stayed awake all night. Finally, when morning came, we rushed into the car and I placed my feet onto the heater vent, eventually regaining feeling in them after an hour or so. Was the MLS Cup the next day worth it? Of course. But its not an experience that needs to be repeated. A hotel room and not waking up with frost on my blanket will do just fine.

With that said, what am I expecting to see tomorrow?

Pre-game Match Analysis: Quakes vs. L.A. 04/03/08

Let’s break down the teams and see how they match up.

Goalkeepers: No contest here. San Jose has one of the best goalkeepers in league history, Joe Cannon. By contrast, L.A.’s young and relatively untested keeper, Steve Cronin, was torched for four goals last week against Colorado. His confidence will be in the toilet, and he’s not well-protected by the defense in front of him.

Advantage - Quakes

Galaxy Forwards vs. Quakes Defense: A tough one. L.A. has placed most of its emphasis and resources on its attack, while the Quakes have so far done the same for their defense. The injury of Carlos Ruiz in last week’s match against Colorado not only leaves the Galaxy’s forward corps far less potent, but deprives them of the franchise’s all-time leading scorer against San Jose (six goals in his career against the Quakes). Alan Gordon and Edson Buddle are both inadequate replacements. Still, Landon Donovan is always a threat, and will have added inspiration going against his old team. The Quakes defense of Riley, Hernandez, Cochrane, and Garcia, is very solid and has played well in pre-season. But they also have only had two months to develop into a cohesive defensive unit.

Advantage - Even

Quakes Forwards vs. Galaxy Defense: At first glance it appears this is also a tough one to call. L.A.’s defense is definitely their weak point, while for the Quakes the entire pre-season has been filled with anxieties about the potency of their forwards. However, I’m giving this one to the Quakes. All the prophecies of doom surrounding the Galaxy’s defense seem to be true, borne out by its horrible showing against Colorado, allowing four goals against a half-strength Colorado team. While both Kei Kamara and his likely starting partner, rookie Shea Salinas, are relatively untested as starting forwards (with Salinas’ natural position being as a winger), they possess tremendous pace which matches up well against L.A.’s slow and unorganized defense. Advantage - Quakes

I caught up with Ryan Cochrane as the Quakes held their last practice at Stanford Stadium before heading down to L.A. for Thursday’s game.  The April 3rd match is the season opener for the Earthquakes, and marks the return of the fiercest rivalry in Major League Soccer.  Ryan Cochrane is the lone returnee from the 2005 Earthquakes team which was relocated to Houston.  

ASR: Can you tell us how you ended up back in San Jose?

RC: It was three days before the final game, and I got a call from Dom Kinnear. He asked me if I would like to go back to San Jose. I said I’d love to go back, I’d love to stay here as well. He told me that they were going to leave me unprotected in the expansion draft, which I was OK with. I still didn’t know what was going to happen. Obviously, San Jose had a lot of choices of who to take, and there were a lot of good players around the league who were left on the expansion list. At that point, going into the championship match last year I knew there was a chance I was going to be in San Jose next year, which was a strange feeling. A couple of days after the final, I was flying from Houston back to my hometown, Portland. I turned on my phone once we landed and I had a ton of text messages from buddies and everybody saying “congrats”, but nobody said what the “congrats” was for. So i called my girlfriend, and she was scurrying through the MLS website but couldn’t find what she was looking for. Then I called one of my buddies, and he told me what happened: that I got picked first in the expansion draft. So at that point I was real thrilled to get back. I love the Bay Area. I went to college here, and it’s kind of my second home. Just to be back with an organization that has a rich tradition of success, and obviously this group is a great group to be with. I’m real excited about it. 

ASR: You were part of the 2004 and 2005 Earthquakes teams. Obviously it was traumatic for the fans when the team was relocated. How was it as a player to be relocated?

RC: I think I can pretty much speak for all the players that went to Houston, that they were pretty much crushed. None of the players wanted to go. You saw that the whole last season [2005]. We brought out a banner one time before a game that said “Keep Us In San Jose”. The players were really trying to fight, to do anything they could and keep any hope alive that the Earthquakes would stay here. We had a lot of great fans try to keep us here as well. We loved the city, and just to go down to a new place was tough. The only thing that was a savior in the whole thing was that we got to keep that same group together. You saw that that group was one that stuck together through tough times, always being the “B” team under AEG. L.A. is kind of their baby team. A lot of guys felt that we always got the short end of the stick, and that’s what gave us the chip on our shoulder. It was a tough move for everybody, but if you look back, it worked out with a couple of championships. It’s too bad that we couldn’t do it here, but I’m just glad to be back. 

ASR: Obviously there are a lot of similarities, but how do you compare the coaching styles of Frank Yallop and Dominic Kinnear?

RC: They’re very similar. Trainings are almost identical. So for me that’s been great, having the same trainings for the past four years. It’s not a big change for me. Frank’s very laid back, very much a player’s coach. Dom’s very laid back and a player’s coach as well. But you can get a little more freedom with Frank, Dom’s a very fiery guy. He’s very in-your-face as far as what he expects from you and your role in the team. Frank’s someone who does that subtly and will pull you aside and tell you what he expects. 

ASR: How do you compare this squad to the Earthquakes and Dynamo teams that you have been a part of?

RC: It’s different but there’s the same dynamic. Everything’s been shuffled, and we’ve been two months in preseason right now. We’re still practicing in Stanford right now, we don’t have a stadium yet, and we’re using the Santa Clara locker rooms. But it’s a bit of the same dynamic as back then where you feel like everything is being shuffled around and you’re not exactly where you should be just yet, but Frank and John Doyle have brought in guys who are not going to moan and complain about things but are just going to do the business and get to work everyday. That is a good thing for team chemistry. It helps that we’re a pretty young team, but we still have guys who have had experience in this league, and those guys are team guys. Everybody’s working for each other, and that’s the same mentality of the Houston and previous San Jose teams. 

ASR: You’re 24 and you already have two championships. Are there personal goals that you’re still pursuing?

RC: Oh yeah, I’m trying to fill up all the fingers with some rings. It doesn’t look that good. It’d look a little better with three rings or four rings. Nah, I mean, every year it’s different. You want the same thing. It’s amazing, you think that desire to get another ring would be less after you’ve won two or that it wouldn’t be a big deal if you don’t win. But every year it’s the same thing: I want another. I know for me, the reason I play, is because I hate to lose. I hate being beat. That’s what drives me and everybody on this team. Our goal right now is to get out from under that expansion shadow. As an expansion team, we’re not going to get very much respect around this league until we start proving it. It’s on us to do it. 

ASR: Thursday’s game means the renewal of the San Jose - L.A. rivalry. What are your thoughts heading into the game?

RC: We’re confident. We had a great preseason and had a lot of good results. I think we came a long way in two months. We have a long ways further to go. Guys who haven’t really been here, who don’t know about the San Jose - L.A. rivalry, they’ll learn quickly, and we’ve been warning them about it. That, I don’t want to say hatred, but it kind of is, for L.A. has never gone away for me, even when I was in Houston. And I know those guys in Houston feel the same way about L.A. as they did when they were in San Jose. So it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be heated, it’s going to be a battle. Obviously they have a lot of attention on them with Beckham and with their new coach and all that. It’s kind of the David vs. Goliath thing right now and we love that role for us. 

ASR: Now for the party game question, what player, past or present, would you most like to play with?

RC: Honestly, I would love for Troy Dayak to come back. That guy is like nobody else, no one that I have ever met. He’s a character and he’s the fiercest competitor that I’ve ever been around. I know he was one of the fan favorites here in San Jose, but I think it would be sweet if Troy came back and rounded up the cavalry like a good old cowboy. I love Troy Dayak. 

ASR: Thanks for your time. Have a great season.

RC: Thank you.