Quakes blanked 4-0 in Open Cup action

(UPDATED) The San Jose Earthquakes fell 4-0 to Real Salt Lake Wednesday night in a play-in match for the U.S. Open Cup. The one-sided match was marred by a catastrophic clash of heads between Earthquakes defenders Ryan Cochrane and Jay Ayres just nine minutes into the match, with both players being taken off the field before play resumed in the 15th minute. Read more

Quakes/RSL play-by-play available online

KALL 700 will be broadcasting tonight’s U.S. Open Cup play-in match between the Quakes and Real Salt Lake.

Press looks ahead to Open Cup, Buck Shaw

The Quakes play Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match tonight, and if you’re wondering whether the Quakes will play their first team, the answer is no. In story for MLSnet.com, coach Frank Yallop made it plain to writer Jeff Carlisle that his focus is on MLS.

“I’m going to play all of the reserves, guys who haven’t played,” said Yallop. “They’ve done well in the reserve games, and they’ve done well in training, so they deserve the chance. I’m going to get them game sharp for whenever we’re going to use them.”

While this glass could be seen as half-empty, we prefer to see it as half-full. Yallop is known for having confidence in his players, a trait that this season has been shown in the careful way he’s put together his roster. When the season started and the team was short several players, he did not panic but instead said time and again, “We don’t want just any guys — we want the right guys.” Everyone on the roster wears the name “San Jose Earthquakes” on his shirt, and we think it’s great that Yallop has the faith in the reserves to go out and do that shirt proud.

Be sure to read Tim Hanley’s preview of tonight’s match on CLS for a more detailed breakdown. For more on the game from an RSL point of view, we’ll refer you to this story in the Deseret News, which tells us that four players will be making their first starts for the Utah side: Matias Cordoba, Kenny Cutler, Tony Beltran and Chris Seitz. Former RSL general manager Steve Pastorino evaluates the team’s progress in this piece in the Salt Lake Tribune.

The story of the day, though, comes from Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney, who interviews Lew Wolff, John Doyle, and Yallop about the renovations the Quakes have made to their temporary home at Santa Clara University, Buck Shaw Stadium.

Mahoney’s story provides some insight into the team’s renovations to Buck Shaw as well as Wolff’s stadium philosophy, both of which will interest Quakes fans:

Wolff authorized about $3 million in renovations and upgrades, more than double the cost he cited in December before work began, for a facility the team will most likely abandon in three years, when its own stadium near San Jose International Airport is scheduled for completion…

“We think that sports today, and beyond, absolutely have to be in venues that are absolutely perfect, as perfect as you can get for that sport,” says Wolff, whose soccer stadium project cleared a political hurdle last week. He’s also developing a stadium for his other sports team, the Oakland A’s, to replace the Oakland Coliseum shared with the NFL Raiders. “The moment you try to have hockey and basketball, or football and soccer, you lose something. Occasionally for a huge game, you can use a huge venue, but our whole goal is the fan experience.”

Winning “seconds” could be the key to victory for Quakes over RSL

Traditionally MLS teams have taken a casual approach to the US Open Cup. There is little prestige and even less money involved. Most coaches try and sneak through the early rounds using reserve players. It does, however, represent a trophy and I can’t help but think that San Jose’s coaching staff may consider the Open Cup a winnable prize. In addition, both San Jose and Real Salt Lake have lost games recently and need to get back on track. Coaches cannot afford to let their side get used to losing. Read more

A quick look around the league

Okay, so the new ‘Quakes forward is “Peguero Jean Phillippe.” Somewhere, the old NASL Chicago Sting’s Ingo Peter (who’s also in the record books as “Peter Ingo”) is smiling.

Taking a quick look around the league…

Can someone in the MLS office take steps to stop fans throwing streamers (and other crap) at players taking corner kicks? That kind of behavior is embarrassing, strictly bush league. I love all the passion MLS matches can muster — chants, songs, signs, flags, etc., but when you start throwing things at players, the Commish has to step in. If the fans can’t respect their opponent, they should at least respect the game. Yeah, Toronto, I’m looking at you. LA, too.

While I’m addressing the MLS brass, Don Garber’s letter about his “concerns of a lack progress” in Houston’s negotiations for a stadium deal was a complete misstep in what has otherwise been a very successful run as MLS’ fearless leader. In his new blog on MLSnet.com, the Commish said he was “very surprised” that letter was leaked (welcome to big city politics) and that “anyone who read the letter knows, I was not threatening the Mayor (of Houston) in any way.” Um… yeah, right. The letter was addressed to the Dynamo owners, but Don Garber telling Phil Anschutz what city his team can or can’t be in is a laugh. And if the letter wasn’t threatening the city of Houston with moving the franchise, how do you read this part:

It is inconceivable that MLS will allow the team to continue playing as a secondary tenant in a college football facility, particularly after the League moved the team due to the challenges at San Jose State.

While another relocation would be equally traumatic, we both must consider our options to ensure that the team has a path to economic success.

In a league where playoff games often see smaller crowds than regular season games (sound familiar, New England?) the Houston Dynamo drew over 30,000 to each of their two home playoff matches last year. Garber might say a strong fan base isn’t enough to ensure success, but it’s one hell of a good start.

A group of investors led by boxing’s Golden Boy Oscar de la Hoya recently purchased half the Houston club from AEG. When you put all that working capital next to two shiny new MLS Cups, it should be good times in Houston. I hope they’ll be able to file Garber’s letter next to all those old “Houston 1836” logos and move forward. In Houston.

As the Quakes continue shopping for more help on offense, some folks might wonder why Amado Guevara ended up in Toronto instead of California. Not me.

A glance Columbus’ way shows what a difference one man can make to a team, if it’s the right guy. With Guillermo Barros Schelotto in the lineup, Columbus is atop the East and (at times) is even entertaining. Toronto is hoping Amado Guevara will work the same wonders for their club, and while his signing immediately makes them a better team (for now), it’ll be interesting to see how long the love lasts.

Guevara played hungry in his TFC debut, scoring two goals (the first TFC player to ever net 2 in a game). Still, he has a long way to go to erase memories of his departure from Chivas USA last year. The Goats had traded their Designated Player slot for Guevara, but ate that investment when he couldn’t get with coach Preki’s program. Preki kicked Guevara to the curb after just four games, and went on to win the Western Division and MLS Coach of the Year.

New York was also glad to get rid of Guevara, despite his 2004 MLS MVP trophy (that Joe Cannon should’ve won for carrying Colorado to the playoffs that year despite an offense that produced less than one goal a game). So, stay tuned. Guevara can be a big talent, and an even bigger pain in the… coach’s side. I’m glad the Quakes didn’t consider him.

Next up: searching for US Open Cup results, and getting ready for Buck Shaw’s debut as a MLS venue. See you at the game.

Final score flatters New York

It’s a good thing Pelé already dubbed soccer “The Beautiful Game,” because he wouldn’t have been inspired to do so watching yesterday’s match between Los Toros Rojos and the Earthquakes. The home crowd may have gone home happy based on a very flattering 2-0 final score, but there wasn’t much to get excited about otherwise.

Ryan Cochrane’s late foul on Jozy Altidore was a game-changing play, but we’re pointing our finger at the artificial turf at the Meadowlands as the real gamekiller. It may not be obvious to a casual observer, but that turf changes everything. Balls bounce a little higher, run a little faster, and those elements are enough to turn the Beautiful Game into a parody of itself.

One of our favorite things about soccer is the way the geometry of the field twists and turns depending on where the ball and players are. A ball played into space down a wing with a speedy midfielder chasing it down seems to stretch the pitch, suddenly creating room where none previously existed. It’s a move that takes a lot of skill to execute, though, since the ball has to be struck hard enough to get past the defenders but not so hard that it runs out of bounds before a teammate can get to it. On the fast, fake surface of Giants Stadium, such plays are nearly impossible, so the ball has to be played directly to a player’s head or feet. Removing the possibility of stretching the field with a nice ball into space drains much of the imagination and creativity from the match, rendering the game something less than beautiful.

Of course, the Quakes are not blameless in our analysis of Sunday’s performance — they looked a bit flat from the onset, and we found ourselves thinking early in the second half that the best result we could hope for would be a scoreless draw. That’s not normally an idea we entertain when we’re watching Frank Yallop’s side play soccer. We’re going to pin some of that on the field, too — when the turf is different enough that you can’t effectively anticipate something as simple as the height of a bouncing ball and need to consider it carefully instead of just acting on instinct, that’s going to take some of the edge off your game.

Thank goodness that won’t be a problem this Saturday, when the team makes its Buck Shaw Stadium debut. The field has been re-graded, with new drainage installed and new sod laid, and was looking lush last week. Let’s hope a return to a beautiful field marks a return to the Beautiful Game for the Quakes.

• • •
We’ve got match reports from many sources today, but we want to point out another article first. According to Australian 442, the Down Under edition of the English football magazine, the Quakes were visited recently by representatives of Sydney Olympic, a team in Australia’s New South Wales Premier League. (The NSW Premier League is just below Australia’s top division, the A-League.)

Sydney Olympic director of football Manny Spanoudakis, who visited the US in recent weeks with the FFA’s approval, says Australian football can learn much from US football and sees opportunities to develop links.

“Their game day experience is quite unbelievable. It’s just so much more professional in that regard,” he said.

“And some of the stadiums over there, they are like shopping malls.”

Spanoudakis toured San Jose’s training facility and the club’s two grounds - the Buck Shaw and McAfee stadiums - and was very impressed with what he saw.

He also hinted that he may meet San Jose officials later in the year to discuss way in which the two clubs could reach an alliance of sorts.

“I spoke with Frank Yallop the coach and we spoke about his time coaching Beckham and there seems to be a greater recognition of Aussie football over there after the Galaxy matches here and the Pan Pacific tournament.”

We’ll have more news on that as it develops.

Meanwhile, back to the match reports. Here’s Dylan Butler’s match report for the Mercury News and his piece for MLSnet.com. You can also find match reports from The Sports Network and the New Jersey Star-Ledger. MLSnet also has a post-game feature with quotes from coach Frank Yallop and defender Ryan Cochrane. George Vecsey of the New York Times chips in with a feature on New York, which he calls “the least distinctive sports franchise in town.”

Next up for the Quakes is an untelevised U.S. Open Cup match on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, followed by the team’s Santa Clara debut on Saturday night.

New York shuts down, shuts out San Jose, 2-0

New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore (17) battles with San Jose Earthquakes defender Nick Garcia (3) for the ball. Photo by Howard Smith/isiphotos.com

In a physical and forgettable game Sunday at the Meadowlands, the San Jose Earthquakes fell to the New York Red Bulls, 2-0. A 79th minute penalty kick from Mike Magee, along with an injury-time goal from Jozy Altidore, gave New York the points they deserved, while San Jose struggled to find a way to go forward, earning more yellow cards (3) than shots on goal (2) on the day. Read more

Quakes take the turf against Toros Rojos

It seems like a long time since San Jose’s victory over the Rapids last Saturday, but it’s only been eight days. In any case, they’ll more than make up for any lost time with matches today against Los Toros Rojos de Nueva York, Wednesday night’s Open Cup match against Real Salt Lake, and, oh yes, Saturday night’s Buck Shaw Stadium debut against FC Dallas.

The Meadowlands match is previewed here by Elliott Almond of the Mercury News, here by Goal.com’s Pat Walsh, and here by Ian Martin of American Soccer Reader.

Finally, we’ll point out an interesting story from the other side of the pond’s Times of London on new Galaxy coach Ruud Gullitt. It’s worth mentioning for the headline alone — “We can’t play sexy football at L.A. Galaxy” — but it also provides some interesting insights into how MLS’s small rosters, draft, and other arcana are seen by someone rooted in European styles of player acquisition and development.

It’s Peguero Jean Philippe, thank you very much

Long-time fans of MLS will recall the early days of the league, when the powers that be decided the game clock needed to run backwards from 45:00 so as not to confuse us American sports fans as to the length of each half. It wasn’t the only thing they had backwards in those days, nor would it be the last thing.

Take, for example, the newest Earthquake, Peguero Jean Philippe. Yes, that’s right — Peguero Jean Philippe. Despite the fact that MLS has referred to him as “Jean Philippe Peguero” since he joined the Rapids in 2004, it turns out that everyone has had it exactly backwards: his first name is “Peguero” and his last name is “Jean Philippe.” He’s still listed incorrectly in the MLS all-time player register. Only the eagle eye of Jed Mettee, the Quakes’ director of broadcasting and communications, spotted the error. (Mettee also reports that Jean Phillippe goes by either Pedro or JP among the team.)

Bar bet alert: This error could make Jean Philippe the first MLS player to have his first name on the back of his shirt. So sorry, Herculez Gomez, but Jean Philippe did it first. (Readers, let us know if we’re mistaken here. The only other MLS player we can think of who may have had his first name on his back was Branco, but Wikipedia says that his real name is Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal.

• • •

With this week’s game being played in New York, CLS will have limited coverage this weekend — namely, a new photo gallery and a match report, but no video. Also, Tim Hanley is finishing up a project for Rebuilding Together, so he won’t be filing a game preview this week. In the meantime, we’ll refer you to this preview on MLSnet.com.

No male ungulates allowed at Buck Shaw

Don’t bring your pet ram to Buck Shaw Stadium this year. The same goes for your companion buck or, for that matter, any male, hoofed mammal that sports bony protuberances from its head. You may ask why, and we will tell you that horns have been banned from the new home of the Quakes. (In addition to antlered animals, the ban extends to plastic horns, too.)

The decision was announced yesterday by Earhquakes ticket representative Anthony Perry, AKA BroncoQuake, on BigSoccer. The news was greeted with cheering, singing, and even drumming, all things that contribute to the unique atmosphere of Earthquakes games.

David Alioto, Earthquakes executive vice president, told us there were two reasons for the new guideline. “We’re taking into account the wishes of Earthquakes fans and we also want to be good neighbors,” he said. “We think it’s in the best interests of the fans and our partners at the university.”

We’ve already posted our opinion on the horns, so it will come as no surprise that we applaud this new policy. We think that the atmosphere at a game is enhanced much more by sounds that have a little personality to them, rather than the droning hum of the horns. Banning the horns creates the opportunity for the team’s two avid supporters’ groups, the Casbah and the 1906 Ultras, to take the lead in terms of creating an environment that will push the team to new heights — and make Buck Shaw a miserable place for the opposition.

(Oh, and if you really must have a horn, you can still buy one and use it at the team’s remaining games at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. It takes a lot of work to fill that place up with noise.)

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