Chivas no longer pushover
Cambia, todo cambia. Everything changes. Possibly too late to salvage Club Deportivo Chivas USA's first season in Major League Soccer, however.
Chivas USA was conceived as a team that would combine the best of both North American worlds -- Anglo and Mexican -- but instead produced a less-than-mediocre soccer team that is in last place in the standings and has yet to defeat an established MLS team.
Reinforcements are on the way for Chivas USA (2-14-3), though they will not be eligible for tonight's game against the Revolution (10-2-5) in Carson, Calif. Midfielder Juan Pablo ''Loquito" Garcia joined Chivas USA after Mexico's national team was eliminated from the Gold Cup this week but will not be available until the Aug. 15 date set by FIFA for transfers. Goalkeeper Sergio Garcia and Francisco Palencia, who have been with Chivas's parent club in Guadalajara, and Hector ''Pirata" Castro, formerly of Morelia, are also awaiting official approval.
But Chivas USA is not helpless. It broke out of a slump with a 5-1 win over Real Salt Lake July 9 and took a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Eagles in a US Open Cup match four days later.
''The only thing they haven't improved on is results," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said yesterday. ''The way they are playing, the whole team is better than it was at the start."
At the start of the season, Chivas USA attempted to present an attacking formation, but soon reverted to a defensive scheme, disrupted only by an 88th-minute Clint Dempsey goal in a 1-0 loss to the Revolution April 30. After former coach Thomas Rongen compiled a 1-8-1 record, he was replaced by Hans Westerhof, who only recently seems to be finding ways to improve the team.
''When we played them at home, they had to tough it out, they were struggling for points, and they sat back and tried to hit us on the break," Nicol said. ''This game is going to be completely different. They have completely changed the way they are playing. Instead of sitting back, we expect them to try and outplay us.
''The only thing they are missing is winning games. We know better than anyone else what can happen if you are playing good football but can't put the ball in the net, or lose a goal at the wrong time. That is what has happened to them. But if you stick at it and start to win some games, you never know how it will end up."
Jorge Vergara, the Jalisco, Mexico-based multimillionaire president of CD Chivas, has pushed most of the right buttons on a fast rise to wealth. Vergara extended his winning touch into soccer, investing in Chivas and CD Saprissa in Costa Rica, both clubs winning league championships last season and Saprissa taking the continental Champions League title.
Chivas USA entered the MLS as an expansion team, and convinced only two players from the parent club to move to Los Angeles -- midfielder Ramon Ramirez, 35, and goalkeeper Martin ''El Pulpo" Zuniga, both nearing retirement. Palencia remained in Guadalajara, leading Chivas to the Mexican title and the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores. Chivas USA defeated Real Salt Lake (1-0) May 7, then went winless until this month.
There are an estimated 1 million-plus followers of Chivas in Southern California, but those fans have mostly been avoiding the ersatz version of the team at the 27,000-capacity
The Revolution traveled to Los Angeles without Nicol, who was scouting the Gold Cup semifinals (US-Honduras and Colombia-Panama) at Giants Stadium last night. US players Dempsey, Pat Noonan, and Steve Ralston are expected to rejoin the Revolution for a Wednesday match against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Gillette Stadium. ''I don't think they are fresh," Nicol said of the national team players. ''It is great for them to be with the US team. But it is tough with all the travel -- being away, coming back, being away, and not getting a break." . . . MLS leading scorer Taylor Twellman, who had three goals in the Revolution's 3-2 win over FC Dallas last Saturday, was named league player of the week.
