After earning 178 caps for Mexico, winning two Primera Division championships, and playing over two decades as a professional, it's clear that Chivas USA defender Claudio Suarez has enjoyed a career most players only dream of. But in one respect, he's just like any other performer who has ever laced up cleats: He wants to finish on his own terms.
That wouldn't have been the case had Suarez retired after the 2009 season, a campaign in which "El Emperador" never really got going. A testy contract negotiation saw Suarez announce his retirement and then change his mind two weeks later hinted at an uneasy relationship between player and club. Then after missing nearly all of preseason, a series of minor ailments saw Suarez start just one match and log a total of 111 minutes.
"It was a difficult year, because I'm a player that has been playing almost constantly, and from the start things were going badly," said Suarez via e-mail. "I needed to do some extra work, and then because of some injuries and decisions by the coaches, my participation was limited. Now, it's clear to me that I want to play, and put a good end to my career. More than anything, that's my motivation to play one more year."
Suarez made his first appearance at Chivas' training camp on Monday, albeit with a heavy heart. His mother, Francisca, passed away two weeks ago, leaving Suarez to make the understandable decision to attend to family matters first, even as training camp was opening.
But such a heavy loss hasn't dimmed Suarez's fire, and now the Chivas icon is more determined than ever to show that at age 41, he can still compete in a league where physicality often reigns supreme. And while the team will spend the next leg of training camp in Guadalajara starting on Thursday, Suarez will remain in Los Angeles in a bid to get fit.
"I've been working out, and little by little I'm getting there," said Suarez. "We still have more than a month before the season starts, and I'm sure that in 15-20 days I'll get to an optimal level where I can start to compete for a spot."
While Suarez's presence and leadership abilities are immense, if he can't keep up physically, a tricky situation could develop for first-year head coach Martin Vasquez. After all, how do you tell a legend that his time is up? Vasquez doesn't anticipate any problems, but isn't making any guarantees either.
"If [Suarez] can get at that top level, he can help us," said Vasquez. "But he's not going to help us with his name. He's going to help us if he can contribute on the field. There's no compromises right now. Right now, we have that agreement. If we think he has lost more than a step, and it's too difficult for him to keep up with the pace, then we make that decision."
That's a possibility that Suarez seems willing to accept. He added that the communication from Vasquez and the rest of his staff is "a little more clear this year", and that he'll be content no matter what his role is.
"I have to work as hard as a rookie, I have to show that my experience gives me an advantage over the others," said Suarez. "This would be my last year as a professional, so I know that I'm in the final stretch and I want to do it well. The team is more important than me, so I also have to help out the young guys, make sure that it's a healthy competition, and help the team develop."
Quakes on the clock: There was a time when the first overall pick in MLS SuperDraft was like sitting on a pile of gold. But these days, the real goldmine is the top spot in the allocation order for returning MLS and U.S. national team players.
It's an asset that has changed hands a couple of times already this year. Philadelphia Union originally had the first selection, but then traded it to D.C. United for the considerable haul of midfielder Fred, United's first-round draft pick, and allocation money. The Black-and-Red ultimately used the spot to sign goalkeeper Troy Perkins. Philly then jumped back to the top of the heap when they sent some allocation money to New York so they could sign U.S. international defender Michael Orozco.
So now the top spot is in the hands of the San Jose Earthquakes, who can only hope it will pay off for them more than it has in the past. In 2008, the Quakes used their spot in line to take former Colorado and New York forward Peguero Jean-Philippe on loan. But the Haitian international re-injured his surgically repaired knee just three games into his San Jose career and never played for the club again.
In the process, the Quakes missed out on the chance to select Brian McBride. While McBride's intention was to only play for Chicago, San Jose could have used forward Chad Barrett and the first-round draft pick that Toronto was able to obtain from the Fire.
Last season, the Quakes once again had the top spot, and used it to acquire former D.C. United winger Bobby Convey. The U.S. international struggled mightily in his first season back in MLS, recording just a solitary goal and two assists, although an up-tick in form late in the campaign has the team hopeful the investment will eventually pay off.
That said, such experiences have manager Frank Yallop taking more of a go-slow approach this time around.
"It's a hard one, because I think we've got a good team, but you don't know until you get going," said Yallop. "We feel that we've got to give those guys every opportunity to play well. If something comes along and says 'Take him,' we would do that."
Yallop indicated that the Quakes are likely to keep the spot for themselves rather than trade it away, and could have used it on former Columbus Crew forward Stern John. But after already signing Brazilian forward Eduardo, Yallop indicated he's comfortable with a corps of forwards that includes Ryan Johnson, Cornell Glen, Arturo Alvarez, and Chris Wondolowski.
"We've got enough guys I think to put the ball in the net," said Yallop. "But any of those other spots, other than goalkeeper, we'll think about.
Galaxy ailing: Los Angeles' training camp has only been open for a few weeks, but the injured list is already beginning to pile up. Clint Mathis will be on the shelf for 4-6 weeks following surgery last Friday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, while Alecko Eskandarian is still battling to overcome the latest in a long line of concussions.
"[Mathis' injury] has nothing to do with age," said Galaxy manager Bruce Arena to the blog 100 Percent Soccer. "Clint has a history with knees. You never like to see an injury, but if there's going to be one, the best time to do it is now because he has plenty of time to rehabilitate and be ready for the first part of the season."
Eskandarian's case is more sobering, as the 2004 MLS Cup MVP has seen his career repeatedly derailed by head injuries. As is usually the case with such ailments, the timetable is uncertain.
"I wouldn't say his career [is done]," said Arena. "But his ability to play in the short term is going to be delayed for sure."
Jeff
Carlisle is a regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, and covers
the San Jose Earthquakes for Center Line Soccer and MLSnet.com. Jeff can
be reached at eljefe1@yahoo.com.
Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not
necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
