San Jose Earthquakes Oswaldo Alanis from Orlando: ‘I feel safe’

Oswaldo Alanis was the big signing for the San Jose Earthquakes in the offseason, and coming out of the coronavirus shutdown, the defender is ready for action.

Alanis and his teammates traveled to Orlando on Wednesday to begin preparations for the MLS is Back Tournament, which will be held in central Florida from July 8-Aug. 11.

In a conference call with reporters Friday, the Mexican international said MLS has the ability to take some market share by being among the first leagues in the United States to restart.

“We’re happy to be here, we’re glad to have the opportunity to start before other leagues...We want to work as hard as we can,” he said in English.

With the Quakes the first MLS team to go into the “bubble” at Disney Wide World of Sports, amid exponential increases in coronavirus cases in the state of Florida this week, Alanis expressed no concern with contracting COVID-19.

“I feel really safe,” he explained. “We are really protected, the protocol and all the things the league and the tournament and the people that is here, makes us feel really safe. Because in everything we’ve done — in the meals, in training, in the trip, in every space we are [doing] things — everything is really care about being in the safest way. I know we cannot go out, we cannot [do] things that put us in danger. I feel safe, I feel happy that I can [do] what I want and play soccer and be safe because they have all the things that take care of us.”

Alanis, currently on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara, was asked if his experience winning the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup with Mexico will help him in the MLS is Back Tournament. But the player says short competitions are not out of the ordinary and he’s willing to take it as it comes.

“Not just that game, that tournament, because we have been training like that since I was little,” Alanis said. “We have with the national team different cups or tournaments that are the same. I think all over your career you keep training that [way]. For another thing, it’s a good thing I lived that tournament and had that experience, but I think I have to be prepared for every tournament the way that it is. But now, I think the team will be ready and focused on the three first games and try to win the best we can.”

The Earthquakes are scheduled to kick off their MLS is Back Tournament slate on July 10 against the Seattle Sounders.

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