The San Jose Earthquakes travel to Los Angeles to face the LA Galaxy in their penultimate match of preseason on Saturday. The match is Mikael Stahre’s final opportunity to test his team’s strength against Major League Soccer competitors and this is what we’ll be watching:
Will Godoy’s return improve buildup?
A curious tidbit of Mikael Stahre’s coaching methodology was revealed in a recent Quakes-Axis video in which he demonstrated tactics on a small lawn adjacent to the team’s training room. Typically, the lawn has hosted pre-game barbecues with team families but Stahre has repurposed it as a mini-pitch for tactical demos. Before the team’s 4-0 friendly victory over Reno 1868 last week, he had his team stand in formation and rapidly toss the ball back-and-forth to imitate patterns of build-up play.
Their buildup in the subsequent match was somewhat less fluid than the drill. Center-back tandem Harold Cummings and Yeferson Quintana appeared disjointed at times and uncomfortable on the ball and Fatai Alashe’s distribution was also lacking in the midfield.
Stahre defended his center-backs in his post-match press conference but admitted that their buildup was hindered by the absence of midfielder Anibal Godoy, who was in Panama to handle his visa. Godoy has rejoined the Quakes squad for the Galaxy match and his return will help determine whether the Quakes will have the technical quality to build out of the back during the season.
The High-Press
Stahre has also implemented a high-pressing system in preseason and it worked like a charm against Reno, contributing directly to their opening goal.
“[The high press is] one of the many staples of how we want to build,” captain Chris Wondolowski told Quakes Talk. “We talk about building a house and one of the many frames, the main beam, is pressing: when to press and when to set our line. It’s going to spur our offense. I think we have the talent to build out of the back, spread it open and possess it, but I think that we’re most dangerous when we win the ball forty yards from goal and go from there. That’s something we’re going to continue to work on.”
Saturday’s match will offer a glimpse of the system’s effectiveness against MLS opposition and one notable concern is Vako’s reluctance to track back on the left wing, which can imbalance San Jose’s defense. For the high-press to work, the Quakes also need to be comfortable stepping off the pace. “Sometimes you have to press high, sometimes you have to stay back a little bit,” Stahre told Quakes Talk. “You can’t full-court press for two-times-forty-five minutes, it’s impossible.”
Eriksson’s Role
Magnus Eriksson showed his taste for goal with two strikes against Reno last weekend, but otherwise struggled at times to fit into Stahre’s system offensively. Whereas Vako excelled in the pocket on the left wing, Eriksson looked a little lost on the right and seldom connected with fullback Nick Lima. The DP dropped deeper and deeper to see the ball in the first half and, perhaps as a result, was moved into a central role in the second period. However, the rotating cast of substitutes prevented Eriksson from establishing a foothold in the middle and his role will be crucial to San Jose’s success versus the Galaxy.
