The San Jose Earthquakes no doubt are sliding into this Saturday’s California Clasico – their biggest of the season so far, at the relatively cavernous Stanford Stadium – with nerves rubbed raw (10:30 pm ET, Univision and Facebook in the US, MLS LIVE in Canada).
There’s the fact, of course, that they let their bitterly hated rivals, the LA Galaxy, take home a whopping 4-2 win during the last edition, May 27 at Avaya Stadium. More dramatically, though, is the fact that they’re facing this rematch fresh off the departure of head coach, Dom Kinnear, a club icon.
So there’s basically one man who’s got a real chance to save the day and apply some salve – Chris Wondolowski. At the club level, the 34-year-old’s mythos is both deserved, and perhaps a little underrated, even. Death, taxes and Wondo banging in goals by any means necessary – in San Jose, these are three dependable things in life.
Yet when I met up with him at Quakes training before the last Clasico, as ever, he demurred from any self-aggrandizing. At that point, he felt heartened by a turnaround in the team’s attitude on the field and in the locker room, but preferred – even as a captain – not to take particular credit.
“I think there are so many other people who have done these things, and I appreciate them,” he said in his trademark rapid-fire cadence. “I love this club, and appreciate everything they’ve done, and I hope to be here longer.”
Halfway through his ninth consecutive season with the Quakes (and his 10th with them overall), Wondoloski’s accomplishment and repute for club fairly dwarf those for country. (The criticism at the international level remains overly harsh, also.) A born-and-raised Bay Area kid, he’s proven the reliable backbone for a team that’s weathered some bumpy stretches.
Just take the last Cali Clasico, an outing most Quakes fans would probably rather soon forget. You could critique a lot of the performance that led to the home side let a potential win, or even a draw, slip through their fingers. Wondo, though, did his part early on, opening the scoring off a Danny Hoesen cross.
Even so, when considering successes, he prefers to speak of the collective.
“I think that we want to bring a winning mentality and I hope to lead both on and off the field,” he said. “We have a solid group. We brought in a lot of great guys to make a difference this year, and they’ve done a great job.”
There’s no question of his dedication to club, either. One only needs to see the video floating around social media from Monday's Quakes training in which he reacted to the exit of Kinnear, his longtime coach.
“I owe Dom [for] where I am today,” he said, his voice wavering as though on the verge of tears.
But if anyone can reverse a glum mood for the hometown crowd, it’s Wondo – even if it’s just through playing for the squad, rather than individual glory. During this past weekend, for instance, during the team’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake, he skillfully exploited space while Hoesen and Marco Ureña took star scoring turns on the night.
That’s likely to wind up as Wondo’s legacy for the Quakes – a local guy made good, a star who shone when the team passed over flashy foreign DPs, and someone who will reluctantly take the spotlight, but never hog it. Or, really, analyze any of this too much.
How does he want to be remembered in San Jose? “Just a competitor that played the game the right way. Someone you always want to be as a teammate. Someone that always takes pride,” he said. “That’s always been one of my biggest compliments – ‘I’ve always enjoyed you as a teammate.’ That’s something I always want to be remembered as.”
