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Goal.com Feature: V Is For Victorine
The portion of their hearts allotted to Sashas by Chivas USA fans doubled after Saturday’s performance by newcomer Sasha Victorine.
Sep 29, 2008 10:12:08 AM
By Zac Lee Rigg
LOS ANGELES -- Sacha (with a “c”) Kljestan has long been a hero of the Chivas USA faithful, and he notched an assist in Saturday’s vital 2-1 win against the Kansas City Wizards.
But it was a different Sasha, one with an "s," not a "c," who stole the show. Sasha Victorine, the former LA Galaxy player, assisted on the first goal and launched a screamer from outside the box to score the game winner.
Victorine is also an ex-Wizard, so to play his first start against his recently departed club meant it was a “big, emotional game.”
"Preki came up to me before the game and said 'You don't have anything to prove tonight' and that made me relax a little bit," Victorine said. "Obviously you've got a lot of emotion when you go out there and you're playing against your old team."
He may not have had a point to prove to Preki, but Vicorine did have something to say to the club that let him go so easily. He felt he still had something to offer, and is glad Preki thinks the same thing.
“I still feel like I can score goals and get assists and help teams win games,” he said. “That’s the point I wanted to prove to those guys because letting me go, I think, will hurt them.”
Scoring the match-winner, however, may have been more directly hurtful than he was envisioning, especially as he doesn’t seem to hold a grudge. He may disagree with the KC management, but he can see how he didn’t fit into their vision for the club.
“They’re trying to find an identity,” he explained. “They like to go young and they want guys who are fast and athletic. Sometimes that doesn’t build a great team. You have to have guys who go out there and fight and battle every game, especially in this league.”
Preki obviously agrees with that philosophy, and has built a team with a blend of veteran battlers and young finesse. He was quite pleased at how well Victorine slotted in next to Jesse Marsch in place of the suspended Paulo Nagamura, and especially at how well he fit in with the team aesthetic.
"He fits good in our system,” Preki said in the post-game press conference. “He plays the ball on the ground. He sees things around him. He's a smart soccer player. He can score goals. He's good on set pieces. You could see in the 72nd minute he starts cramping, but he stuck to it."
“I think my game fits well because I like to play one-two touch,” Victorine said. “Connect passes, get the ball moving, help get our outsides back forward and make teams work to get the ball. That works well for me, and also I like to make runs through, and try to time them well so I’m making them in dangerous situations.”
Equally as important, says the manager, is that Victorine, “has a good mentality that fits our group.”
That group is slowly regaining fitness and form. Nagamura will be available next weekend against DC United, returning from a yellow card accumulation suspension. Marsch is back from a jaw injury, and Kljestan is settling back in after a series of international duty absences.
Victorine may be asked to plug other midfield holes, and has the versatility to help a team that has frequently struggled this season just to field a lineup. The playoff run of this team will hinge largely on how fit they can keep the squad in the final run-in.
The move is also a homecoming of sorts for Victorine. He played for Home Depot Center rivals LA from 2000-2004, and is having to adjust to a new locker room. The area, however, is old hat. His parents live in Corona and can see him live every game once again and his wife’s family is in the area. He’s already accustomed to the glorious Southern California climate.
“You can’t beat the weather out here tonight to play in,” he said.
He’s not in Kansas anymore.
Zac Lee Rigg covers the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA for Goal.com.
LOS ANGELES -- Sacha (with a “c”) Kljestan has long been a hero of the Chivas USA faithful, and he notched an assist in Saturday’s vital 2-1 win against the Kansas City Wizards.
But it was a different Sasha, one with an "s," not a "c," who stole the show. Sasha Victorine, the former LA Galaxy player, assisted on the first goal and launched a screamer from outside the box to score the game winner.
Victorine is also an ex-Wizard, so to play his first start against his recently departed club meant it was a “big, emotional game.”
"Preki came up to me before the game and said 'You don't have anything to prove tonight' and that made me relax a little bit," Victorine said. "Obviously you've got a lot of emotion when you go out there and you're playing against your old team."
He may not have had a point to prove to Preki, but Vicorine did have something to say to the club that let him go so easily. He felt he still had something to offer, and is glad Preki thinks the same thing.
“I still feel like I can score goals and get assists and help teams win games,” he said. “That’s the point I wanted to prove to those guys because letting me go, I think, will hurt them.”
Scoring the match-winner, however, may have been more directly hurtful than he was envisioning, especially as he doesn’t seem to hold a grudge. He may disagree with the KC management, but he can see how he didn’t fit into their vision for the club.
“They’re trying to find an identity,” he explained. “They like to go young and they want guys who are fast and athletic. Sometimes that doesn’t build a great team. You have to have guys who go out there and fight and battle every game, especially in this league.”
Preki obviously agrees with that philosophy, and has built a team with a blend of veteran battlers and young finesse. He was quite pleased at how well Victorine slotted in next to Jesse Marsch in place of the suspended Paulo Nagamura, and especially at how well he fit in with the team aesthetic.
"He fits good in our system,” Preki said in the post-game press conference. “He plays the ball on the ground. He sees things around him. He's a smart soccer player. He can score goals. He's good on set pieces. You could see in the 72nd minute he starts cramping, but he stuck to it."
“I think my game fits well because I like to play one-two touch,” Victorine said. “Connect passes, get the ball moving, help get our outsides back forward and make teams work to get the ball. That works well for me, and also I like to make runs through, and try to time them well so I’m making them in dangerous situations.”
Equally as important, says the manager, is that Victorine, “has a good mentality that fits our group.”
That group is slowly regaining fitness and form. Nagamura will be available next weekend against DC United, returning from a yellow card accumulation suspension. Marsch is back from a jaw injury, and Kljestan is settling back in after a series of international duty absences.
Victorine may be asked to plug other midfield holes, and has the versatility to help a team that has frequently struggled this season just to field a lineup. The playoff run of this team will hinge largely on how fit they can keep the squad in the final run-in.
The move is also a homecoming of sorts for Victorine. He played for Home Depot Center rivals LA from 2000-2004, and is having to adjust to a new locker room. The area, however, is old hat. His parents live in Corona and can see him live every game once again and his wife’s family is in the area. He’s already accustomed to the glorious Southern California climate.
“You can’t beat the weather out here tonight to play in,” he said.
He’s not in Kansas anymore.
Zac Lee Rigg covers the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA for Goal.com.
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