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!

Depth up top

As promised, here is a link to the feature I wrote on Roberto Nurse, Chivas USA's latest signing.

Of course, I forgot to take my camera down from the press box to the mixed zone so I didn't get a chance to snap a shot of him.

On Sunday, I expect Nurse to start. I think that by throwing him out there against New England you not only give him another chance to acclimate himself to the league, you give either Atiba Harris or Ante Razov a rest, and we saw how a well-rested Razov changed the game on Wednesday.

Harris has done okay. During Chivas' three-match win streak earlier this season, Harris was a man possessed. He's settled down somewhat and still sometimes runs a bit reckless. If he were a little more aware of certain things, he'd be pretty useful. As it stands, though, he has his hits and misses.

It'll be interesting to see how the forward line sorts itself out once Papi gets back. Maykel Galindo has been gone for basically the entire season. Once Preki looks at his lineup and sees Ante Razov, Maykel Galindo, Atiba Harris, Roberto Nurse, Justin Braun and Alecko Eskandarian there, he may salivate.

Noor-say

If you want to say Roberto Nurse's last name correctly, it's like this: noor-say. In Spanish, of course, every syllable is prounounced so you don't get silent a -gh thrown into the middle of the word or a silent letter at the end. Thus, in an English word like Nurse when prouncouned in Spanish is noor-say.

Roberto noor-say is of course Chivas USA's latest signing. And he's not your typical Mexican soccer player either.

First of all, it's not common for Mexicans to have an English last name. Former President Vicente Fox was an exception, as is Roberto Nurse. You typically find that more Central Americans have English surnames, such as Costa Rican World Cup vets Harold Wallace and Mauricio Wright or Hondurans such as Carlo Costly and George Welcome.

Part of Nurse's own heritage is Central American - his dad was born in Panama. Nurse also speaks English; the only other Mexican-born Chivas USA player who spoke English before he arrived with the club was Francisco Palencia, and that guy was definitely another unique character.

Anyway, Nurse tore apart the Primera A in Mexico, the second division. But that's not what he aspired to do, to be a second division player. In fact, when I asked him about his options in Mexico, he said he felt that he was stuck in a league that nobody cared about.

I just filed a story on Nurse for MLSnet.com, so you'll have to wait until it's published to read more about him. But if you speak Spanish, here's the audio of my interview with Roberto Nurse. The voice asking questions before me is the esteemed Rigo Cervantez. Rigo rules!

Nursing the offense

Roberto Nurse is signed, sealed and delivered. All the necessary paperwork is complete and Nurse will be available for selection for Chivas USA tonight against Santos, a source told me.

Nurse has been training with the team for several weeks now and impressed the coaching staff, who somehow were able to find a way to keep him on the roster.

A forward by trade, Nurse will help in one of Chivas USA's biggest areas of need. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Nurse get the start for Chivas USA tonight. Already thin by injuries to Alecko Eskandarian and Maykel Galindo, the club lost Justin Braun to injury against the Galaxy as Braun did not dress on Sunday.

Nurse becomes just the third Mexican-born player on Chivas USA, joining Claudio Suarez and Francisco Mendoza. Here's his bio from mediotiempo. No, Nurse is not your typical Mexican last name, but Roberto Nurse is not your typical Mexican. His dad was born in Panama.

He scored one goal in the Mexican First Division in stints with three teams. Hopefully I'll get the chance to talk to him after the match and if so look out for the interview here later on.