Chivas USA memories

We had joy 

Guess which player is still in MLS?

we had fun

The ChivaGirls!

We had seasons in the sun. 

Nomar! No more Chivas USA.

But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time. 

Where were you when Preki beat Brazil? Cobi was there.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.

One of the biggest banners in MLS ever?

But the wine and the song, like the seasons, all have gone. 

Chivas Slowly Turning Heads

Admit it. You thought Chivas USA were crap. That's okay, you were probably in good company.

Chivas USA were given about as much hope of making the playoffs as a mule would be in winning the Kentucky Derby, but this red-and-white mule could turn out to be a thoroughbred, one few saw coming.

Chivas USA is not having a tremendous season quite yet. They are 0-3 at home, having lost all three home games by the same hard-luck 1-0 score. But where they've found success and where they have started turning some heads is on the road. A 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake was shocking and to prove that was no fluke the club came from behind to beat Portland 2-1 on the weekend.

Bad teams don't get those kinds of road results, not a clean sheet against a team that rarely loses at home and a comeback win over another side who was supposed to be better than Chivas.


Now, I'm not hailing Chivas as the second-coming of Barcelona. Don't get me wrong, this team has some issues that need to be worked out. The attack needs to be much more dangerous and the team must see games through particularly at home. All three goals they've yielded at home have come in the second half.


But the hope is there. It's there within the team and now those outside the team can see things coming to fruition.


I dedicated my Wednesday PE column to Chivas USA but for some reason it's not linked online. I'll share with you some of what Fraser told me:


On earning respect and if he feels the road results have helped the club gain some respect: Earning respect is an ongoing process. Perhaps we had a little respect from Salt Lake, perhaps we got a little more respect from Portland but at the end of the day earning respect is a never-ending process.


On how feels the process has been and is going: It’s understood that turning this franchise around was going to take time and we feel we are taking steps towards that. It’s a long process. In some instances you get quite fortunate and it’s a quick process but for the most part it’s a long, hard process and there’s no easy route to being good.


On how comfortable he feels in his position now compared to last year: I’ve felt pretty comfortable last year knowing what we were trying to do and what we were trying to accomplish. This year there is a different feeling, a feeling more of expectations. We’ve been here a year long, brought in a few players and have high expectations for ourselves.

Live! From the Rose Bowl

3:10 p.m. Well, ok, we're not actually at the Rose Bowl yet. Luis and I decided to be environmental and carpool to the game and at this moment, we're stuck in the traffic leading to the stadium parking lots. People are walking past us at a steady clip, going faster than the molasses pace of the crowded cars.

Also, we haven't seen one USA fan yet. It's been pure El Tri flags and jerseys on the people and waving from the cars.

3:12 - A USA flag! Yay for the folks in the gold Toyota Camry.

4:10 - Finally safe in the press box. Fans starting to get to their seats at well. Kickoff is in a couple of hours. There's no water in the pressbox, though. Nothing until 5pm, they say.

5: 15 - Just got back from the Chuck Blazer press conference - the big scoop is that he's not running for CONCACAF president in the next election. Other than that, he wouldn't talk FIFA stuff. Mainly he said this Gold Cup has been a big success.

5: 20 - So Bradley ends up being the coach with the surprises - Adu starts! Chepo de la Torre goes with the same lineup he's had since the suspensions.

Full starting lineup - USA: Howard, Bocanegra, Bradley, Dolo, Dempsey, Donovan, Jones, Lichaj, Adu, Goodson, Bedoya

Mexico - Salcido, Marquez, Torrado, Barrera, Castro, Dos Santos, Talavera, Hernandez, Moreno, Juarez, Guardado

Actually, now that the teams have jogged onto the field, I'd have to say that the USA support isn't bad. A solid 20 percent, and a vocal minority here at the Rose Bowl.

5:45 Mexico isn't doing much in their warmup - not that that means anything. They're basically jogging a bit and tapping the ball back and forth. Clearly, they don't want to expend any extra energy.

5:55 - Nice little PSA on the importance of signing up for the bone marrow registry to help kids like little Jonah, who jogged onto the field. Get registered, folks! I'm registered, though I've never been called upon to donate.

5:56 - The Gold Cup trophy is out on the field now. It's very modern looking, a little soulless, some might say.

5:58 - 10-man USA team holds on versus New Zealand in the U17 World Cup. The 0-0 result advances them out of the group round, but they'll be playing one of the tougher teams.

6:00 Anthems. The crowd is pretty respectful of both.

It's really a mixed group at the Rose Bowl, right below the pressbox, there's a couple at the game together. He's wearing the latest USA Donovan jersey. She's in a Chicharito green El Tri jersey. They're sharing a beer.

1 - Kickoff! Looks like Donovan is up top. Not sure I like that. Donovan can finish fine, but of late, he's been more effective as the feeder. But I'd bet that's not what Mexico expected.

2 - Guardado feeds Chicha in the box, but Lil Pea can't quite get on it. USA escape.

4 - Goal kick for the USA as another Mexico attack fails on the final pass. Not looking good for the Americans so far.

5 - Corner kick for Mexico. It's cleared.

6 - Mexico counter - Chicha gets knocked down but Dos Santos picks the ball up and attacks the goal. His outside shot doesn't miss by much.

8 - 'Dolo and Adu work together nicely to get a corner. Adu takes it, and Bradley heads the ball into the goal. GOAL! USA!

9 - It was really nice interplay between Adu and Dolo, outnumbered against defenders, but using some quality ball control to keep the ball until Dolo bounced it off a defender for the corner. Adu took the corner well, and Bradley had perfect near-post position for the flick into the goal.

12 - Dolo is out - injury of some kind. J. Bornstein comes in - and Chicha gets a header, but it was over the goal.

14 - Dempsey hacks at Marquez, gets his leg. Chicha in the box again, misses wide.

15 - Barrera takes a crack after Guardado sets him up - Howard saves.

17 - Mexico corner kick - cleared.

20 - Cherundolo has a left ankle sprain.

21 - Mexico is really hammering at the USA goal. I'm reminded of the last USA-Mexico qualifier at Azteca. The USA got the early lead there, but ultimately, that fired Mexico up and they came back to win the game.

23 - - Adu with a nice solo run, but he eventually gets cut off.

23 - GOAL! Landon Donovan. Freddy to Dempsey to Donovan. Dempsey returns the favor from the Panama match.

25 - The Mexico fans in the crowd are getting a bit grumpy. The USA fans? In ecstasy.

26 - Freddy has a go! Misses wide.

28 - Salcido is off - Torres Nilo comes on. Guess the Honduras game took more out of Salxido than many imagined.

29 - Suddenly the stadium roars! GOAL! Barrera!

30 - Just like that, Mexico is back in striking distance. Game on.

31 - It was Chicha with the assist to Barrera. This game is a cracker.

33 - Donovan gets a yellow for tripping Rafa Marquez from behind.

36 - GOAL! Mexico ties it, or does the USA also give it away at the same time? Succession of errors, really. Donovan and Jones collide in midfield, letting a long pass get down to Dos Santos, who crossed it in and when Lichaj tried to clear the ball fell to Guardado, who tucked it into an empty goal because Howard had come out for the earlier shot. 2-2

38 - Adu down for a bit. Back up.

42 - Now Marquez is down. Still not up. He's carted off the field.

43 - Crowd working together - USA and Mexico fans alike, to do the wave. There it goes, around the stadium three times now.

44 - Reynoso is in now for Marquez. Guardado has the armband, which Marquez previously had.

45 - Mexico working the ball around. They get a counter and Gio is out ahead of the Merican defense, with Guardado running near post. Gio shoots past an onrushing Tim Howard, misses far post, and Guardado is mad Gio didn't pass it to him instead.

45+ Goodson saves a Mexico counter by leaping high to clear the pass that was much more accurate than the American attack's long passes tend to be.

Well, so much for Dos a Cero, but on the other hand, Mexico has only a single sub left, and they've burned a lot of energy fighting back to equalize. It's a cliche, but it's still anyone's game at this point.

Teams are back on the field for the second half. I'll probably be writing less, though, because have to start working on my article for si.com.

47 - Bedoya is lively to beat his defender, but his cross is way off.

48 - Dos Santos waltzes the ball into the box against five USA defenders, nearly walks the ball into the goal.

49 - I think Howard might be unnerved by the "Puto" chants. he doesn't seem his solid self.

50 - Not a minute after I type that, GOAL! MEXICO! Barrera finishes past a diving Howard. 3-1

51 - Correction to earlier post - Mexico has a sub left.

54 - Guardado had the assist to Barrera, by the way. He's really the key to making things happen for Mexico.

57 - Adu fights for the ball, gets a freekick deep in USA territory, though.

58 - Now Freddy gets a much better freekick chance. He and Donovan stand over it - and it's a nice free kick by Adu- not Beckham caliber, too soft, but Talavera has to make the save.

60 - The USA builds up nicely and Dempsey off the CROSSBAR!

62 - Attendance is announced at 93,420. Years later, people will ask, "Where you there?" This game is that good. Best Gold Cup final ever? Could be.

63 - Jones leads out a USA counter, then Freddy muffs it with a weird backpass and Jones has to chase Dos Santos all the way back to the USA goal.

67 - Scuffle on the field - Jones apparently took a swing at Chicha, but the ref missed it. Gio then fouled a USA player hard, and then the freekick nearly went in for the USA.

68 - Mexico are pissed at Jones. It might have been perfect timing for the tiring squad. Anger gives them new energy.

73 - The El Tri players are now shoving Jones every chance they get.

75 - Final sub for Mexico - Zavala - so no chance for De Nigris today. Barrera is off. Chepo is looking to close up shop.

76 - GOAL! Mexico - A still pissed Chicha fights for the ball in the corner, forcing Bocanegra and Bornstein to take him on and Bornstein finally pokes the ball away, right to Dos Santos, who attacks into the corner of the box, Howard, rushing out, can't get the ball away, and Dos Santos isn't closed down by the defense, and kicks a delicate chip into the corner. 4-2. Mexico leads with breathing room.

77 - Oh, it was Eric Lichaj on the post who couldn't jump high enough. Not his fault, the finish from Dos Santos was perfect - and he's gotten a lot of grief for his lack of finishing.

84 - Dempsey from distance is not even a little close.

87 - Yellow for Dempsey, who is steaming. 4 unanswered goals by the opposition will do that do ya.

Fulltime! Mexico wins the 2011 Gold Cup! What a great final. Well, USA fans, what do you think? Does Bob Bradley need to go?

In Reserve, Chivas Wins

The Track and Field Stadium at Home Depot Center was the site of the latest edition of the Super Clasico between Chivas USA and the LA Galaxy.

Okay, it was just a reserve match but it still was Chivas-Galaxy match.

Victor Estupinian had two goals while Gerson Mayen added two assists as Chivas won 3-1.

Some things of note from the match for both sides:

* Chivas looked very solid in this match, particularly in the midfield. Mariano Trujillo and Francisco Mendoza offered quite a bit for Chivas and really helped dictate the possession. With those two holding down the midfield, it allowed Mayen the freedom to create and Mayen had little trouble carving up the Galaxy's backline. He sent a perfectly-placed ball to Estupinian on Chivas' second goal, the eventual match-winner, for his best assist of the afternoon but also set up the rookie earlier in the half.

* By contrast, the Galaxy's best asset was Adam Cristman. The club's new forward played for the first time in a Galaxy uniform and showed his worth in just 45 minutes of play. He was a bit of a load for Chivas' backline to handle. Cristman accounted for the Galaxy's only goal when he lifted a ball over from the left side of the box to the right side and Hector Jimenez got to the end of it and put it away.

* The Galaxy were likely encouraged to see both Cristman and Gregg Berhalter play. Each player is capable of contributing and would add a great deal to the club's depth, which will be tested this summer. Cristman played 45 minutes, said he may have been able to play another 15 while Berhalter played 30 but may have been able to go 45.

* When reserve team coach Curt Onalfo took Cristman out in favor of 16-year-old Jack McBean at halftime, the Galaxy lost a bit of their bite up front. It's understandable of course, given that McBean is far from being even a player of Cristman's caliber.

* Chivas' third goal came from Chris Cortez, who had done little to distinguish himself. The longtime trialist was not aggressive on a few plays where he should have been and had a dodgy first touch. But Panchito Mendoza sent him a nice through ball and Cortez was able to evade Josh Saunders and tucked it away. Before the goal, he had a dreadful encounter. That he scored makes his afternoon decent but I didn't see much to make me think he can contribute.

* Estupinian, on the other hand, looked dynamic and dangerous. He finished off two chances and had a few others that he may have done better with. Jovan Kirovski was unable to contain him.

* By contrast, the Galaxy's 2011 first-rounder showed he still needs to polish a bit more. Paolo Cardozo had the responsibility of managing the Galaxy's attack and was unable to pull the strings much. He had two free kicks that whistled the goal but aside from that he did not distinguish himself.

* Here's what the men in charge had to say...

Galaxy reserve team coach Curt Onalfo

Chivas head coach Robin Fraser (Carlos Llamosa is the reserve team coach)

Incredulous Pass

Chivas USA did the unthinkable and let Benny Feilhaber slide on by.

Excuse me for a second while I pound my head into the wall.

I just don't understand how this club can continue to get things wrong when it comes to players. I'm not talking about the rank-and-file guys like Jimmy Conrad and Heath Pearce. I think coach Robin Fraser did well to bring in those kinds of MLS veterans.

But this decision to pass on Feilhaber is not Fraser's fault, really. This is an organizational problem as it seems the organization is somehow against bringing in top-caliber players.

What takes the edge of a tiny it - and I do mean tiny - is that Philadelphia also passed on Feilhaber. Chivas then aren't alone in their idiocy. Feilhaber wound up with New England, for now. Not sure if the Revs will keep him or if they will deal him elsewhere, but wherever Feilhaber lands his club will be better off.

Players like Feilhaber don't come along very often, at least in the gift-wrapped form he was presented to Chivas. Usually, this kind of player would require some scouting, some persuading, some negotiating to land. But Feilhaber would have joined Chivas without much hassle. His contract is already done and taken care of. That he is a local product (lived in Irvine, attended UCLA) would have made him a local-boy-does-good sort of story.

Instead, Chivas USA continues to show their lack of gumption, lack of aggressiveness. They're going to try and nickel-and-dime their way to contention, and thus far that has yielded zero playoff series victories in four trips to the postseason.

Fraser Snippet

This may be outdated by the time you listen, or it may be fresh for another couple more hours/days/who knows?

But here is audio of Robin Fraser talking about the Benny Feilhaber decision, which as of 3:50 p.m. PT had not been made. The deadline was 2 p.m. PT so this whole thing has gone on for a ridiculously long amount of time.

Fraser talks about other things, such as Chivas' game at San Jose on Saturday, but the first portion of it is strictly Feilhaber.

No Big Names

What gives with Chivas USA?

Ever since they were first founded, the club has had some sort of aversion to acquiring a big-name franchise-type talent.

Now, they've had some very good players in the past, and had one player who fit that bill in Brad Guzan. But they drafted Guzan and developed him into a player you could build a team around. And even he's not a big name, just a guy who could have been the face of the franchise for many years.

Juan Pablo Garcia and Francisco Palencia were talented players and you could make a case that they were big names. I won't, although I respected the duo and would have liked to have seen them play for several more years in MLS.

But that's about it as far as talented big names go.

Now, the club has the chance to snatch up a name player that could be the centerpiece of a franchise, and again the club is reluctant to pull the trigger and get the player in. Benny Feilhaber fell right into Chivas USA's laps. Feilhaber signed with MLS and with Chivas USA atop the allocation table, he was theirs for the taking.

The deadline for Chivas USA to take him and keep him, take him and trade him, trade the allocation spot or simply do nothing and pass is Tuesday, and it's looking more and it's looking more and more likely that Feilhaber will have as much of a chance as Guzan does in wearing the red-and-white stripes this season.

What gives? Is Chivas USA afraid of landing a big-name, big-talent player? Coaches have come and gone but the mentality remains the same.

Thomas Rongen was around at the start but couldn't do anything to bring in a top talent right from the start.

Bob Bradley traded the club's Designated Player slot away before the team even had the chance to consider a potential player to use it on.

Preki dealt away Amado Guevara, a player who was a big name within the league.

The club couldn't get Omar Bravo to join as the player instead opted for Kansas City, of all teams.

The only constant with all of these acquisitions is, of course, Antonio Cue, and to a lesser extent Jorge Vergara. Cue is the person who has been around on a daily basis (more or less) from the start while Vergara has been around every now and again since the team started playing in 2005. Maybe they believe the best way to build is from within. To be fair, Chivas Guadalajara does not do a lot of chasing after players. They produce players and ship them to other clubs, such as Javier Hernandez, Carlos Salcido and Carlos Vela, all Guadalajara products. Perhaps they just do not have a buyer's mentality about any player, and that's why we've seen the team try to nickel-and-dime their way to contention.

Whatever the case, it is disappointing to potentially see a player such as Feilhaber so close to Chivas USA and yet not all that close to begin with.

Chivas' road to the playoffs

So apparently we've not countered a Galaxy post with a Chivas USA post. The Galaxy post below about how they could get to the playoffs sparked this, so to counter that particular topic I'll offer here how Chivas USA can get to the postseason.

They're in. Congrats. Now try and win a postseason series. And feel free to score a goal this year.

Sacha on the loss

I had the chance to talk to Sacha Kljestan after the match and asked him what he thought about Preki saying that Sacha's mind was already on the national team.

Here's the audio of our conversation.

Sacha leaves for US duty early Wednesday and will be with the team for the games against Cuba and Trinidad. I also asked him about Cuba, but you'll have to wait for that audio.

Post-game presser

Just got back. Writing furiously but wanted to post up the audio of the post-match press conference featuring Preki and Roberto Nurse.

Audio of it here.

Now back to writing!

Chivas USA vs Tauro FC running blog

Okay, I'm here at Home Depot Center for the Chivas USA-Tauro FC match and I feel like I'm in an empty stadium. Well, actually, it pretty much is an empty stadium. With classes back in session at Cal State Dominguez Hills, the attendance has been capped at 2,000.

As a colleague told me, some prestigious tournament.

Anyway, there is a game to be played and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League proper to be had. Chivas USA needs to win 2-0 to have a shot at advancing. A three-goal win regardless of Tauro's goals gets Chivas through. Anything less and the Panamanians will get through.

Don't have the lineups yet but I can piece together this from Chivas' pre-game warm ups.

Zach Thornton; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Francisco Mendoza; Justin Braun, Kraig Chiles, Paulo Nagamura, Sacha Kljestan; Atiba Harris, Roberto Nurse.

I hadn't expected Alecko Eskandarian or Ante Razov to start. They're warming up though along with Lawson Vaughn, Keith Savage, Jorge Flores and Daniel Paladini among others.

Okay, I missed a couple of players. It's Eric Ebert instead of Kraig Chiles and Dan Kennedy in place of Zach Thornton. So...

CHIVAS USA: Dan Kennedy; Jonathan Bornstein, Jim Curtin, Bobby Burling, Eric Ebert; Francisco Mendoza, Sacha Kljestan, Paulo Nagamura, Atiba Harris; Justin Braun, Roberto Nurse.

TAURO FC: Willington Dominguez; Luis Moreno, Leonel Parris, Alberto Monatas, Roberto Palma, Rolando Rojas; Christian Vega, Gustavo Avila, Jean Alberto McLean; Edwin Aguilar, Luis Fernando Esobar.

So according to the lineups, Tauro will come out in a 5-3-2. Plus, they have Harris listed as a forward which could mean that Chivas will have a 4-3-3. Anyway, I'd expect Chivas to morph into a 3-3-5 if they don't a goal early. I'm also expecting an ugly game, with Tauro seemingly content on packing it in. Good thing there won't be many people to witness such a potentially ugly game.

KICKOFF

1 - Game is underway. Ebert's already messing up on the right side. It's a shame that neither Lawson Vaughn nor Carey Talley are healthy enough to play. You've got two good right-sided backs and you can't start either one of them.

2 - Bornstein with a cross in to Nurse, goalie gets to ball but not cleanly but no Chivas players there to get to rebound

3 - Buran nearly has breakaway but can't get ball cleanly. He pushes ball forward and Nurse almost gets to it but goalie Dominguez is there first, slides and again leaves ball on ground. He's hurt now and trainers are out tending to him. (STRONG LANGUAGE ALERT!!!) I;m guessing this is the kind of shit we're going to see all game from Tauro.

5 - Corner from Sacha. Several players crash the net but can't get to the ball.

7 - Offside on Braun. He almost had a breakaway, which isn't necessarily a guarantee of a goal with him. still, he's active.

8 - I think that was the first time Tauro had the ball in Chivas' side of the field.

11 - Curtin nearly gets a ball over Tauro's backline; Chivas gets corner

12 - Bruan nearly had a goal but a shot off corner was cleared off line by Parris

14 - Nurse almost breaks free but he gets whistled for offside. Tauro's backline is playing fairly high.

20 - PK!!! Dominguez trips Nurse in the box and gets a yellow! Looks like Sacha will take it.

21 - No goal! Sacha missed it! He hit a soft shot right to Dominguez and the goalie clears it away. Nothing for Chivas. Needless to say, this is going to haunt them.

26 - Tauro looks a bit re-energized by the PK save. They've held the ball a brief moment or two, which is more than they can say for most of the first 20-something minutes.

31 - Tauro counter nearly works but Aguilar can't close down on the ball inside the penalty area.

32 - Chivas desperately needs a goal before the half is over

36 - Harris off the crossbar! Chivas nearly gets that much-needed first goal but nothing going. Tauro's goalie, by the way, is an adventure waiting to happen.

39 - Tauro with two set pieces deep in Chivas territory. They've got four guys in the box, two guys near the ball and another two about 10 yards out of the penalty area. They're not exactly covering themselves.

40 - Corner now for Tauro; ball cleared by a Chivas defender, another corner for Tauro but leads to nothing and goal kick for Chivas

42 - GOAL!!! NURSE!! It's the Mexican-born Nurse who gets the goal. Bornstein sends in a cross, ball bounces around and Nurse spins on it and rips it into the back of the net. Chivas 1-0

45 - Preki is sitting between Alecko Eskandarian and Ante Razov on Chivas' bench and looks like he's giving them some instructions. Tauro's gonna get the heat turned up on em soon enough.

45 - Kljestan rips a shot from distance butbounces out for corner; shot sare falling for CHivas now. Corner goes nowhere, Tauro runs off on a bit of a break but Burling ends up getting fouled.

HALFTIME, Chivas 1-0. Gotta write, be back in a few...

46 - No subs for Chivas. Alecko, Ante, Jorge Flores among those warming up. Only a few early goals prevents Ante and Alecko from seeing action.

52 - Bornstein red! Bornstein picked up his second yellow card after a foul on Leonel Parris. It didn't look like much as he put his hand on Parris' waist but the Panamanian defender did well to sell the play.

54 - Now Sacha gets a yellow. He's in the ref's face and nobody goes over to calm him down. Sacha played a little with fire right there.

55 - Two changes for Chivas - Ante and Alecko in, Braun and Nurse out

59 - Aguilar has time and space in the box but shoots straight to Kennedy. He could have had something better had he waited a second and realized where he was.

60 - Aguilar tries a shot from 18 yards that forces Kennedy to pluck it off the goal line.

61 - Nagamura sends cross into box and Ante gets to it but Dominguez does well to make diving save

63 - GOAL!! TAURO FC!! Luis bags it... Luis Moreno. He gets through the defense, knocks it off the post and it trickles over the line before Panchito can get to it. Chivas, ladies and gentleman, is done.

65 - A phone conversation that may have just took place... "Hello, Preki? This is Bob. The game's over. Can you take Sacha out? Thanks."

65 - Sacha out, Jorge Flores in

77 - Okay, sorry, I was writing. Got 3 stories to send at the whistle and they're all pretty much written. Short of three late Chivas goals, all I need to do is update a couple of things and off they go!

82 - Flores nearly had a highlight reel goal but saw his left-footed shot turned away by Dominguez

83 - Curtin clears away a sure goal but the play was blown dead to offside

84 - Razov almost buries one but can't find the handle. Dominguez flops on the ball

85 - Panchito runs up to a ball with the goalie off his line and rips a shot on goal, the ball bounces off a defender though and goes out for a corner, missing the post by inches

86 - Dominguez has been on the ground for about 90 seconds. Wonder if we'll see another 7 minutes of stoppage time

90 - Five minutes of stoppage time

FULL TIME, Chivas 1, Tauro 1. Tauro goes through and will face Santos of Mexico and Municipal of Guatemala and another team

Thoughts on Tauro FC

Chivas USA will host a critical match against Tauro FC tonight. Chivas USA needs to win by two goals in order to have any hopes of advancing to the CONCACAF Champions League.

Here is audio of my post-game chat with Jonathan Bornstein about the game.

Acutally, it's a bit more complicated than just winning by two.

A 2-0 Chivas USA win would send the game to injury time.

A 3-1 Chivas USA win would send Tauro through (road goal edge).

If Tauro scores a single goal, that would ensure that the game would end in regulation no matter what.

Chivas USA will go through with a win by three or more goals regardless of how many goals Tauro scores.

Does Chivas have a shot? It's going to be tough. Ante Razov and Alecko Eskandarian were each already less than 100 percent and to expect them to go again at such a strong clip three days later might be asking too much. I'd expect Justin Braun and Roberto Nurse to play. With those two and Sacha Kljestan, Atiba Harris and Panchito Mendoza searching for offense, I think Chivas has a shot.

Defensively, though, Chivas could be gassed. The central defense pairing will be the same as Tuesday unless Claudio Suarez has some sort of miraculous recovery.

Still, this time it is Tauro FC who has traveled and will play in unfamiliar territory. That's an advantage as well.

If you're going to the game, remember that parking is free. That alone should make for a memorable match.

Esky returns

Alecko Eskandarian was the last player in the locker room on Saturday night. I don't know if he was getting treatment or not but he walked into the shower after nearly everyone else was dressed and on their way out to whatever they had going on after the game.

As I took an empty seat next to him, a camera crew approached him and began recording as I fired away some questions. That set up a pretty comical scene as Preki interjected some thoughts from across the locker room.

Here's audio of the interview. See if you can make out what Preki said to Esky, jokingly... I think...

"The Dream" plays on

I wrote a story on Jorge Flores for both espn.com and Futbol Mundial. As one can see, Flores make the cover of F.M. I used different quotes for each article, and there's one by Claudio Suarez in the F.M. article that is very prophetic. He talks about how young players can burst on the scene and make an impact because they're somewhat overlooked. He says the hard part is doing well when other people figure out a player actually worth defending against.

Flores is actually doing that, because he's had some good play recently and he hasn't lost his ability to provide a spark. However, he's not scoring like he used to, either.

Chivas USA/Tauro running blog

Predictions only get worshipful prophetic credit before kickoff.

Here we go!

Tauro: Dominguez, Rojas, Palmas, Manotas, Moreno, Vega, mclean, Parris, Canales?
Escobar, Aguilar

Chivas USA: Thornton, Bornstein, Suarez, Thomas, Mendoza, Naga, Chiles, Paladine, Flores, Kljestan, Harris

Weird, the broadcast missed kickoff.

1 - Mancilla, the coach of Tuaro, well he looks like he enjoys a beer now and again.
4 - Flores is active early on, but his cross misses Harris.
5 - Tuaro has apparently won more championships in Panama than any other.
6 - GOAL! A weird mix-up in front of the goal, as the cross, popped way over, then a Tauro player dribbled a bit in the box, nutmegged Shavar, and another Tuaro guy, Edwin Aguilar, got a foot on it to poke the ball past Thornton. 1-0 Tauro
9 - Chivas USA corner. Sacha received a short corner, passed to Paladini, who made a hash of the cross - Tauro recover the ball.
11 - Flores with a much better cross, but Kljestan gets beaten to it, just barely, by a defender. Corner. Out for a throw. Flores crosses to Harris - header! Wide.
14 - Kljestan's pass is too far, but Flores fights for it regardless in the box. Gets called for foul.
17 - The announcers applaud CONCACAF for setting up this tournament, saying it's the first step in matching Europe. I choke a little on my iced tea.
19 - Yikes, Flores has been playing well, but he blipped on that play. Bornstein crossed the ball well, and Flores' first touch left the ball about eight feet away from him. He'd have been better off shooting.
21 - Two shots by Tauro are closer to killing fans in the stands than in scoring.
23 - CROSSBAR! Thornton beaten again and only the heavy metal saved him. It was a free kick from distance, but it floated high and Thornton backed up and jumped too late.
26 - Escobar from the edge of the box - barely misses the far post.
27 - Corner - caught by Thornton.
30 - The announcers are seriously harshing on Thomas and his mistakes in this game. He gives up a dangerous foul here, just in front of the arc. FK tips the crossbar - very close.
34 - Midfield muckery. Oh dear. Ball popped out to Harris, thanks to a nice Kljestan pass, and Harris came in alone on the goalkeeper and kicked the ball right into him. "He was alone and he failed horribly," says the announcer. Pretty much.
36 - One announcer puts Harris as the fourth forward on the squad, behind Justin Braun.
38 - Nags brings down a Tauro player. Threatening FK. Hits wall.
39 - Nags from distance, hits downtown. The skyscrapers, at least.
44 - Suarez fouls Canales (how dare he?) and Tauro gets a FK. It's served into the box, but no one gets a shot off. It looked to the announcers that Harris fouled somebody and it just didn't get called.
45 - Flores! Why doesn't he shoot? Ball gets away from him in the box and the clearance hits Paladini in the face, first, then his arm.
Halftime.
Hah, hah - the announcers replay not the flukey goal as the "Key play of the game", but Harri's miss alone against the goalkeeper. Cruel, but funny.
Well, with missed opportunities like that, though, Chivas USA have only themselves to blame at this point, depleted roster or no.
46 - The announcers are shocked that Jim Curtain replaces Suarez. They were sure Preki would get rid of the almost-worthless Thomas (their words). They are less surprised that Alecko Eskandarian comes in for Paladini.
48 - They call Esky Alexander, though.
49 - Esky with a close shot - he took it first touch and impressed the announcers by barely missing the far post.
55 - Tuaro player down and off the field.
59 - Another player down. I'm beginning to suspect it's to gain a bit of rest in the humid and hot weather.
60 - FK for Chivas USA. Kljestan puts it over the bar - couldn't get the dip down.
63 - Chivas USA look like they're running out of steam.
64 - Yellow on Vega for clipping Mendoza.
65 - Vaughn is on.
69 - GOAL! Aguilar picks up a pass and the defense breaks as he moves in on goal. they anticipate a pass and no one steps to him until Thornton comes out - Aguilar puts the ball calmly past him. 2-0 Tauro "The goal that kills," the announcers say.
73 - Corner for Chivas USA, but it's cleared.
75 - Esky from distance. Close, but wide.
76 - Chivas USA corner. Caught by the keep.
79 - Chivas trying hard to get a goal to cut into the differential, but Tauro break on the counter and nearly nick a third goal.
80 - Chivas USA with a FK, but goalkeeper is able to snag it. Now the goalkeeper is wasting time with an injury that the announcers don't believe exists.
83 - Panchito's cross misses the box, his teammates, the goal.
84 - Nurse has not played this game and the announcers don't understand why.
85 - Corner for Chivas USA. "A goal would be a marvelous miracle for the MLS team" It doesn't happen. Corner gets cleared.
88 - Flores telegraphs a pass, gets a corner out of it. It gets cleared for another corner, but Dominguez catches that one.
90 - Aguilar gets the MOTM. His second goal convinced the announcers.
7 minutes of stoppage? Wow.
Sach tries to save a ball on a Chivas USA buildup, but he's tired and it goes out.
Nags gets a yellow for clipping Aguilera.
Final whistle. Pretty horrid game for Chivas USA.

LA Soccer beat

Luis wasn't at the game last night, exploring other possible career options instead. So that meant I had a Chivas USA assignment to cover the game.

Here's my match article. And reaction piece.

Preki post-Quakes

Here's some of Preki's thoughts after his team split points with the 'Quakes. There's not going to be any video of Frank Yallop, because he didn't do a post-game presser.

Chivas USA/Earthquakes rb

Chivas USA versus the new and improved Quakes in a major clash for points for two playoff desperate teams.

I ran into Sacha Kljestan's dad, Slavko, in the elevator. He looked at the Free Kick magazine, where his son is the coverboy and said, "Who is that guy?" The younger guy with him (a friend of Sacha?) said dryly, "Yeah, he must have an ugly dad."
I cracked up a little at that. Slavko shook his head at the magazine. "He needs a haircut, don't you think?" He turned to me.
By then, the elevator had opened and the pair had stepped out. "You tell him that," I said before the doors closed.
Quakes
* 1 - Joe Cannon (GK)
* 2 - Eric Denton
* 3 - Nick Garcia
* 4 - James Riley
* 6 - Darren Huckerby
* 7 - Ronnie O'Brien
* 10 - Francisco Lima
* 12 - Ramiro Corrales 14 out
* 17 - Arturo Alvarez
* 21 - Jason Hernandez
* 33 - Scott Sealy
Chivas USA
* 28 - Zach Thornton (GK)
* 3 - Jim Curtin
* 4 - Shavar Thomas
* 5 - Paulo Nagamura
* 6 - Francisco Mendoza
* 9 - Ante Razov
* 13 - Jonathan Bornstein
* 16 - Sacha Kljestan
* 19 - Jorge Flores
* 24 - Atiba Harris
* 37 - Kraig Chiles


Kickoff!
5 - Chivas USA have a corner. They take it short and get a throw. Quakes clear the danger.
7 - Ante caught offside. The Quakes have a pretty impressive traveling contingent sitting in the regular Riot Squad section. that's good to see. They're loud too, spurring the Union Ultras and the Legion to try to drown them out.
12 - Corrales is down. Apparently he stepped on Atiba Harris trying to make a tackle and his left ankle turned. He limps off after at least three minutes.
15 - Kelly Gray comes in for Corrales.
19 - Eeeek moment for the Quakes. Razov hit a long pass to Harris, but Garcia got there first. His backpass to Cannon almost didn't make it and Cannon had to run outside his box to play the ball.
20 - Chivas USA corner. It's cleared.
23 - The Quakes had the ball in the Chivas USA box and Alvarez was trying to turn but Curtin cleared the ball way out first.
Bad news for Ramiro Corrales. It's actually his knee that's the problem. He has a left knee MCL sprain.
25 - Harris is offside, again.
27 - Sealy gets undercut going for a header, and topples acrobatically. It's interesting that sometimes the most spectacular falls are where the player bounces back but just fine, and the ones that look like no big deal are often the worst.
29 - Razov earns a free kick right at the arc. Joe got burned by 'Te FK the last time the teams played here.
30 - 'Te went near post - and barely missed wide right.
34 - Jase Hernandez just had a nifty take-away tackle on his old teammate, 'Te.
37 - Riley gets a yellow for his takle on Flores.
39 - Bornstein heads a dangerous long ball out.
40 - Atiba Harris is down. It looked on the replay like Garcia caught him on the ankle as he was clearing a pass.
42 - Someone asked about the formation for CHivas - looks like a 4-4-2, with Flores breaking forward on the attack.
44 - Denton slidetackles a dangerous ball out.
45 - Sach with a shot off a feed from 'Te! Joe saves it.
45 - Too often, games where a lot is on the line end up like this - tightly contested affairs where not a lot happens - 000hhhh, Flores fights his way into the box, great job there, lays off a perfect little pass to 'Tiba - ugh, he shoots way wide.
46 - Chivas USA right off the bat with a chance, but a Quakes defender clears the cross into the box.
48 - Chivas USA moving the ball well around the perimeter of the Quakes' box. Joe finally claims an errant pass.
50 - Chiles cross in front of goal - no one. Oooh, deep Quakes pass nearly gets through while Zach is off his line.
52 - O'Brien with an outside shot. I could see that one coming. He dips his head slightly before he shoots.
'Te on the counter! Tries to finesse the ball low into the corner and misses wide.
53 - Shaver Thomas gets a yellow card for a tackle.
55 - Denten with a foul on Chiles deep. Chiles sends in the FK like a cross, but the Quakes clear. It gets served back in - over the line. Goal kick.
56 - Some in the pressbox think this is Huckerby's worst game since he joined the league. He's done little of note.
57 - Hernandez is given a yellow for a clumsy shoulder challenge. It's a FK in a dangerous spot, but Sacha doesn't do much with it. High over the bar.
60 - Alecko Eskandarin is in for Chiles.
63 - 'Te tumbles, but kicks out at Hernandez at the same time - gets called for the foul. Sach had a nice play to get 'Te the ball, but Hernandez was all over it.
66 - Bornstein rampages up for a shot - wide.
67 - Joe comes out for a cross - oddly, he hesitated a bit and made it more scary for his defender than it should have been.
68 - Attendance is announced as 12,209.
69 - Kelly Gray high on a FK, but it deflected and the Quakes have a corner. It's taken short, put out and another corner follows.
70 - Zach punches this one out, heaving his bulk through the crowd in the box.
73 - Offside! No goal for Alecko there.
75 - Quake corner - headed wide.
77 - Ooh! Joe saves a touch Harris shot, give ups the rebound, Mendoza chases it down and slips a pass to 'Te, who shoots wide of the far post.
81 - Quake FK - Zach catches.
84 - Ned Grabavoy comes in for Sealy.
89 - Crappy backpass gives Ante a chance in the box - Quake defense barely recovers.
90 + O'Brien gets a yellow for a bad tackle.
Quake corner. Alvarez header - over the bar.
Deep Quake throw. Huckerby fights his way into the box, but Zack saves the shot.
Final whistle
No late game heroics. The teams split the points.

Marsch out

The injury list for Chivas USA grows longer as Jesse Marsch was ruled out 6-8 weeks with a fractured jaw.

Others such as Claudio Suarez and Jonathan Bornstein may be ready by next week's match against San Jose, but Marsch won't be one of them. In fact, the 6-8 week range puts him as possibly returning by late September, best-case scenario.

I'm still trying to figure out how there was no call made on the play. I didn't see the elbow but players around the play did and although they couldn't tell if it was intentional or not, an elbow was thrown. Usually referees are cautious about elbows being tossed around and will err on the side of caution in terms of calling a foul but nothing was called. I don't know if it was intentional or just a dumb boneheaded rookie mistake - ala Stephen Lenhart against Colorado a few weeks back - but I'm guessing if it was the former we'll see a suspension of some sort handed down.

Post-clasico

I was a bleaty little journalist in the presser post game. "Anyone got a battery?" I couldn't run my camera, so I only have audio of Preki, who went first. But Becks and Cobi took long enough to come out that I was able to get the situation resolved.