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Chivas USA, Seattle Locker Rooms Differ Vastly After Match
The difference between the two locker rooms after Chivas USA held on to a slender 1-0 over the Seattle Sounders was palpable.
Jun 7, 2009 4:45:05 AM
CARSON, Calif.--The atmospheres of the two locker rooms after Chivas USA beat Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 could not have been more disparate.
The Sounders were abject. Head coach Sigi Schmid hunched in a corner muttering to technical advisers and designated player Freddie Ljungberg, refusing to look at reporters when hastily and grumpily answering questions.
“I thought we played well, I thought we were the better team,” he complained. “It's a situation where we had enough chances to win the game, and we didn't. We didn't finish them, and they had a chance, they finished it, and game over.”
Then, glancing at the stat sheet for the night, he added, “It's hard to understand how we can commit 12 fouls and get five yellow cards. The other team commits 19 fouls and gets two yellows.”
The players were similarly distressed. Most stared across the room stonily while dressing. The stifled silence hung in the air, as players quickly tried to shuffle out and leave the stadium.
Nate Jaqua, whose red card in the 89th minute effectively ended the game, struggled to come up with any answers for the loss.
“It was a tough one for us,” he said. “We came out with the right attitude and were doing well but were unable to find the back of the net. It's frustrating.”
When asked to rate his performance, despite some good holdup work throughout the match, he said, “Not great. I'm a forward, so putting the ball in the back of the net is what it comes down to. We didn't have that final pass, that final shot on goal.”
A few yards down the hall, however, and the air in the Chivas USA locker room was light and bouncy. Grins and handshakes littered the chirpy chitchat as players congratulated each other on the win.
Mariano Trujillo joked about being able to defend himself if Ljungberg confronted him in the parking lot, after being involved in some shoving with the Swede during the match.
With adjoining lockers, youngsters Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayen swapped banter as well as deodorant. Flores, who started his fist game of the season, kept his reaction simple. “It feels good to win again,” he said, before chucking a piece of gum to Mayen as the two departed.
Also back in the thick of things was Claudio Suarez. The 40-year-old Mexican legend looked as pleased as the kids half his age gaining first starts. However, his experience gave him a little more philosophical view on missing most of the season thus far.
“With my experience I knew I had to be patient and support my teammates,” the defender said. He saw the pitch only because of a head injury to Shavar Thomas. “It's great that the coach can have that problem. In every team with good players that are playing well, it means that the team grows. The internal competition between us makes us demand more of each other.”
Michael Lahoud was last to emerge from the showers. The rookie from Wake Forest started as a holding midfielder in place of the suspended Jesse Marsch and enjoyed a rather good game for his first professional start.
As a couple cameras lined up to film his reaction he joked that his mother was going to call him and complain about his unshaven face. 35-year-old Zach Thornton walked by and solemnly said, pointing, “Shirt on,” to which Lahoud smiled. “I better heed to the advice of my elders,” he said as he pulled a polo shirt over his head.
“We were confident that the tide would turn for us,” the midfielder said about giving up silly points in the dying moments of the last two home games. “In the past couple games we've had some bad bounces go against us, some unfortunate things happen at the end of games. We really stressed upon closing out the game, finishing off the game, and being really tight defensively. I think we did a good job of that.”
Lahoud revealed that the team had started talking over what it needed to do at half time before Preki arrived in the locker room. At that point Chivas had its slender one goal lead but was being pummeled by the Seattle attack.
“We talked about it before Preki came in and said, 'Relax. It's the same game we've been playing since the start of the season. Just relax.' I think we finally found our groove.”
Turns out, the groove is pretty upbeat when Chivas wins.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com’s MLS page.
The Sounders were abject. Head coach Sigi Schmid hunched in a corner muttering to technical advisers and designated player Freddie Ljungberg, refusing to look at reporters when hastily and grumpily answering questions.
“I thought we played well, I thought we were the better team,” he complained. “It's a situation where we had enough chances to win the game, and we didn't. We didn't finish them, and they had a chance, they finished it, and game over.”
Then, glancing at the stat sheet for the night, he added, “It's hard to understand how we can commit 12 fouls and get five yellow cards. The other team commits 19 fouls and gets two yellows.”
The players were similarly distressed. Most stared across the room stonily while dressing. The stifled silence hung in the air, as players quickly tried to shuffle out and leave the stadium.
Nate Jaqua, whose red card in the 89th minute effectively ended the game, struggled to come up with any answers for the loss.
“It was a tough one for us,” he said. “We came out with the right attitude and were doing well but were unable to find the back of the net. It's frustrating.”
When asked to rate his performance, despite some good holdup work throughout the match, he said, “Not great. I'm a forward, so putting the ball in the back of the net is what it comes down to. We didn't have that final pass, that final shot on goal.”
A few yards down the hall, however, and the air in the Chivas USA locker room was light and bouncy. Grins and handshakes littered the chirpy chitchat as players congratulated each other on the win.
Mariano Trujillo joked about being able to defend himself if Ljungberg confronted him in the parking lot, after being involved in some shoving with the Swede during the match.
With adjoining lockers, youngsters Jorge Flores and Gerson Mayen swapped banter as well as deodorant. Flores, who started his fist game of the season, kept his reaction simple. “It feels good to win again,” he said, before chucking a piece of gum to Mayen as the two departed.
Also back in the thick of things was Claudio Suarez. The 40-year-old Mexican legend looked as pleased as the kids half his age gaining first starts. However, his experience gave him a little more philosophical view on missing most of the season thus far.
“With my experience I knew I had to be patient and support my teammates,” the defender said. He saw the pitch only because of a head injury to Shavar Thomas. “It's great that the coach can have that problem. In every team with good players that are playing well, it means that the team grows. The internal competition between us makes us demand more of each other.”
Michael Lahoud was last to emerge from the showers. The rookie from Wake Forest started as a holding midfielder in place of the suspended Jesse Marsch and enjoyed a rather good game for his first professional start.
As a couple cameras lined up to film his reaction he joked that his mother was going to call him and complain about his unshaven face. 35-year-old Zach Thornton walked by and solemnly said, pointing, “Shirt on,” to which Lahoud smiled. “I better heed to the advice of my elders,” he said as he pulled a polo shirt over his head.
“We were confident that the tide would turn for us,” the midfielder said about giving up silly points in the dying moments of the last two home games. “In the past couple games we've had some bad bounces go against us, some unfortunate things happen at the end of games. We really stressed upon closing out the game, finishing off the game, and being really tight defensively. I think we did a good job of that.”
Lahoud revealed that the team had started talking over what it needed to do at half time before Preki arrived in the locker room. At that point Chivas had its slender one goal lead but was being pummeled by the Seattle attack.
“We talked about it before Preki came in and said, 'Relax. It's the same game we've been playing since the start of the season. Just relax.' I think we finally found our groove.”
Turns out, the groove is pretty upbeat when Chivas wins.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
For more on Major League Soccer, visit Goal.com’s MLS page.
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