Razov post-Santos

Ante Razov has been on a tear as of late and it's no different in SuperLiga.

Two for Chivas' show

I tried to get a story on Brad Guzan and Ante Razov up on MLSnet.com before the first Super Clasico of the season, but it got squeezed out because I had written so many other stories on the match, it just got bumped.

So I tweaked it some and filed it again. After all, it's about arguably Chivas USA's two most central figures in their entire history of the Super Clasico


Guzan and Razov have had their ups and downs against the Galaxy.

Brad Guzan lost his first eight games against the Galaxy before posting consecutive shutouts a year ago. He might have had a bad defense in front of him - make that, a bad team in front of him - but the numbers still stand.

Ante Razov, meanwhile, scored both goals in Chivas USA's 2-1 win over the Galaxy in June 2006, Chivas' first-ever series win. In total, Razov has five goals against the Galaxy.

This season, both also played central roles. Razov had a goal and tied the game briefly at 2-2 before the Galaxy pulled away. Guzan had a terrible game but it was indicative of his early-season struggles. Guzan posted a pair of shutouts in his last three games, all at Home Depot Center.

Both players are in much better form now than they were in late April, so it seems Chivas USA has that much going for them.

Razov reacts

I tried to get some audio up of Ante Razov following Saturday night's match but the internet was giving me problems.

Anyway, a bit later than I'd wanted to but here's audio of the post-game interview from Ante Razov.

Rating Razov

So Fortune figures Ante Razov is overpaid, citing his salary relative to his low playing time this year. They're looking at minutes, though, and don't mention that in the 582 he's spent on the field, Razov has a goal and two assists.
Really, in the last game versus Chicago, his old team, Razov's pinpoint passes picked apart the Fire and contributed a huge amount to the win by Chivas USA. Yes, Razov's not as fast as he once was, and he was injured to start the year, but he's cagey, smart and can strike the ball well for a goal or a pass. Youth is no guarantee of fitness, either - witness that Razov has played more minutes than the much-younger Maykel Galindo. Along with another former Fire alumn, Jesse Marsch, Razov has been a big part of Chivas USA's turn-around these past two years.
Overpaid - or just tagged so by a surface evaluation that doesn't rate true value?

Stories part 2, sort of

Here's a thing I wrote about Chivas USA's thoughts on David Beckham and Landon Donovan.

I had written another story about Ante Razov and Brad Guzan but for some reason it never made it to print. Oh well. The best quote I had was from the Razov interview I'd linked to earlier.

Here's what he said when I asked him about getting booed and jeered by Galaxy fans.

"I get that everywhere I go. That comes from fear. They must fear something I do to them. They don't boo bad players usually. They boo guys who they fear might do damage to their team. I take it as a compliment."

Love to hate

Ante Razov brings out the boos. It seems like fans either love him or hate him. Galaxy fans seemingly love to hate Razov. He's actually given the Galaxy fits over the years. He's still the Fire's all-time leading scorer against the Galaxy and has scored more Clasico goals than any other player, at least in their regular season matchups.

Here's audio of our chat from Wednesday. I included some of what he said in a story I filed to MLSnet.com this morning. I'll post that link when the story is published.

Ante's tale

Ante Razov was on the TV show Extra on Monday. Television crews came out to training about a month or so ago to shoot a segment on him for one of their "Most Eligible Bachelors" segments and it aired on Monday.

That's not why we chased him down yesterday. Actually, I talked to him on Saturday (not about his bachelor status) and Ivan Orozco of the Daily News was among those who chatted with him on Tuesday (like me, he talked to him about his knee).

Promising return

Ante Razov is not going to play on Saturday but don't count him out of the postseason just yet.

All-Time Ante

I remember Luis and I recently debating the all-time MLS goals scored mark by Jaime Moreno. Luis pointed out that at the torrid pace Taylor Twellman has been on, he should eclipse the mark rather easily.

I argued that Ante Razov was being overlooked as a contender to overtake Jaime's record in this season alone.

After scoring two goals versus Kansas City, Ante is only one behind Jaime.

The inevitable

It happens. Even for the fittest soccer player, the day eventually comes when you realize you can't eat everything you used to, you don't react the way you once did, and it's getting harder and harder to find that proverbial lost step. Stiffness, a slower metabolism, and all the other ravages of age take their toll. Injuries just speed that process along and suddenly, retirement is around the corner.

However, there are ways of fighting back, and Ante Razov is one who refuses to go gently into that goodnight of leaving the pro game. Who better to learn every trick to prolonging competitive usefullness from than Preki, the longevity legend?