SAN JOSE, Calif. – For San Jose Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear, there’s never a bad time for the Earthquakes to face the LA Galaxy in another edition of the California Clasico.
“I think it’s always a good time to play LA,” Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com Tuesday after training. “It brings out the best in both teams; they’re always emotional games. If you’re in a downer and you play your rival, you’re up for it. If you’re playing well when you play your rival, you’re up for it. So I think it’s always fun.”
Saturday’s meeting (10 pm ET; Univision, Facebook.com in US | MLS LIVE in Canada) holds the promise of a taut battle. Riding back-to-back road victories, the Galaxy come north as one of only three MLS squads with winning records away from home this season. The Quakes, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last eight games at Avaya Stadium, including a 3-0-3 mark in 2017.
For San Jose, the meeting will represent an opportunity to consolidate the gains made last weekend, when the Quakes capped their three-game week with an impressive 1-0 victory against previously unbeaten FC Dallas. That came on the heels of a 1-1 home tie with Orlando and a 3-0 defeat in Colorado, leading some to perhaps wonder if San Jose knows which team will show up from week to week.
“The thing about MLS – you ask any coach, what’s the one thing you strive for, and it’s consistency,” Kinnear said. “With the travel, with the elements, it’s very, very hard to attain that. … I like the way our group is. We responded great to a tough week, in a very tough place against one of the best teams in MLS. So that always gives you a lot of encouragement.”
Although it might still be strange for Quakes fans to see the Galaxy without Bruce Arena on the sidelines – this will be the clubs’ first meeting since Arena left to take over the US national team in November – those in attendance should still recognize hallmarks from that administration, according to San Jose captain Chris Wondolowski.
“I still feel they have some of the same characteristics that’s been their backbone and spine for the last few years, in the sense that they keep a very strong defense but they want to possess and open up” Wondolowski told MLSsoccer.com. “They let their front six or so have the freedom to go and make plays. It’s difficult to defend and it’s pretty effective, when utilized right.”
As Kinnear put it: “They look a lot like [they did under] Bruce, winning two games on the road the way they have – sitting in, defending well, breaking well.”
Several of the players who have helped key San Jose’s resurgence this year – such as Albanian midfielder Jahmir Hyka, German defender Florian Jungwirth and forwards Danny Hoesen of the Netherlands and Marco Ureña of Costa Rica – are set to participate in a California Clasico for the first time.
Do Kinnear or Wondolowski feel the need to have a brief chat by way of explaining the nature of these two teams’ intrastate feud?
“I don’t say it’s a completely different environment or vibe when you’re walking up to the stadium, but when the game starts, it is,” Kinnear said. “I think they’ll get enough information from the players that have been around here for a while that they’ll know how important it is, how different the view is, especially from the fan aspect. We haven’t had much of a game here where the opposing fans are going to make a ton of noise. So yeah, I think they’ll catch on pretty quick.”
