Team Focus: Chivas Hoping to be Surprise Package in Final MLS Campaign
Bobby Burling’s last gasp winner against the Chicago Fire was a fitting way to start the new season for Chivas USA. It was the type of chaos the LA-based club has become renowned for in their decade as an MLS franchise. One could be forgiven for feeling a twinge of nostalgia.
Of course, this looks likely to be Chivas USA’s last season as an MLS club, after the league bought the franchise back from owners Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes for a reported fee of $70 million. Don Garber and co. are now are looking to sell on the club to someone who will build a new stadium for the Los Angeles club.
The club will be rebranded for next season, with Los Angeles Soccer Club the speculated new name (trademark applications have already been lodged by the league).
But while the club still exists in its current form things are getting better on the pitch, demonstrated by Sunday’s win over the Fire. A forgettable first half saw few chances between the two sides. It was only in the second half that the contest burst into life, with strikes from Erick Torres and Thomas McNamara giving Chivas USA a two-goal lead.
The Chicago Fire then pegged the home side back to 2-2 through goals from Benji Joya and Quincy Amarikwa, before Bobby Burling headed home the winner two minutes from time.
Chivas USA look a much-improved team, although after last season it’s not exactly a high bar. In fact, it’s probably the lowest bar in the history of MLS. The club’s off-season may actually have been more eventful than Toronto FC’s (now used as the yardstick of off-season upheaval).
Wilmer Carbrera has opted for a combination of youth and experience in his squad this season. In came Mauro Rosales from the Seattle Sounders and Andrew Jean-Baptiste from the Portland Timbers, adding to the experience the club already had in Dan Kennedy and Carlos Bocanegra.
The club has also added Argentine imports Agustin Pelletieri and Leandro Barrera to the roster, giving Carbrera’s team a much better pedigree than the one that started the 2013 season with Jose Luis Sanchez Sola. But it was Rosales who made the biggest impact of the new signings. While the Argentine might be coming into the twilight of his career he is still one of the most innately creative players in MLS.
He played 3 key passes for Chivas USA against the Fire, more than any of his teammates. He was also his side’s second most prolific passer, making 40 passes. But Rosales is the attacking third risk-taker Chivas USA were lacking last season. He only completed 70 per cent of his passes against the Fire but also put on an assist and 21 crosses, more than three times as many as Leandro Barrera (the second highest Chivas USA crosser) and the joint-most of any MLS player on the opening weekend.
Rosales wasn’t the only addition to play well against Chicago. Barrera put on an assist of his own for McNamara to find the net. As season openers go it was pretty encouraging from Carbara’s side. Chivas USA struggled in attack last season, averaging just 9.8 shots on goal per game, the lowest of the league’s 19 teams. Against Chicago the LA club had 14 shots on goal, with seven on target (their average last season was just 3.3 per game).
Essentially, Chivas USA improved on every average recorded last season. Having averaged just 44.5 per cent of possession in 2013 they claimed 55 per cent of the ball against the Fire. Over 34 games the club scored just 30 goals in total last season, so their three-goal display on Sunday was a marked jump in form.
Even when improvement was marginal it was still there, with their pass success rate up from 73.3 per cent to 74 per cent. “There is a real sense that there is something special within our grasp,” said Carbrera after the game. “There’s a real chance for us to be a surprise story.”
As a club there’s no doubt Chivas USA will be regarded as a failure when all the boxes are packed and piled high at the end of the season, but that doesn’t mean their final season can’t be a success. Or at least some fun.
Can Chivas make this season a success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
