The San Jose Earthquakes had been trying to move Alan Gordon for the past couple weeks, but it still came as a surprise to many when it was announced that the affable target man had been shipped to the LA Galaxy. Sure, the trade allows Gordon to be closer to his close friends and family, but did it have to be to the Quakes' main rival?
Gordon produced many special moments for the Earthquakes in his three-plus years in Black and Blue, beating LA in the 2013 California Clasico at Stanford Stadium and sending 50,000 fans into rapture chief among them. He was a major influence in the locker room, its spiritual leader so to speak, and a fan-favorite among those in the Buck Shaw stands. He has been injured in one way or another for the better part of his time in San Jose, but he never backed down from taking the field to represent the Quakes. His positive energy will be missed.
For this photo gallery retrospective, the Center Line Soccer photographers scoured our archives for some favorite shots of Gordon and those Goonies moments with the Quakes. We have loads of great memories, and Alan was always fun to shoot. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Photographs by Joe Nuxoll, Lyndsay Radnedge and Maciek Gudrymowicz.