The future looks bright for teenage starlets Gilbert Fuentes and Jacob Akanyirige, who made their San Jose Earthquakes debuts against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. Only a week after making their professional debuts for USL affiliate Reno 1868, the sixteen-year-olds donned San Jose kits for the first time, appearing as late substitutes as the Quakes held United to a scoreless draw in a midseason friendly.
“It’s definitely breathtaking, just being here,” Fuentes told reporters. “Making [my debut] against United makes it especially special because it’s my father’s favorite team.”
The wide midfielder, the youngest-ever player to appear for the Quakes, replaced Magnus Eriksson with five minutes on the clock and was immediately drawn into the play, which helped settle his nerves. “Waiting there as Magnus was walking off, I was really nervous,” Fuentes said. “I got that first touch and it just went away.”
Akanyirige was introduced shortly thereafter, another milestone in his rapid rise from the youth ranks. “A few years ago I wasn’t even playing academy yet, I was playing club soccer,” he said. “I never would have imagined this.”
The defender was awed by United’s level of play but held his own. “Their level and style of play was just amazing. I’ve obviously seen it before but being there on the pitch, it was just amazing to see.
“The way they move around the field, communicate, pass the ball, it was fantastic to watch.”
Goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and Matt Bersano and midfielders Eric Calvillo and Luis Felipe also debuted for the Quakes.
Said Stahre: “It was important for me to give them minutes in this game playing against one of the biggest clubs in the world. It was more for the future. It was also a signal to the fans that we have young players behind the first team.”
The friendly also offered short-term relief for an ailing Quakes team, winless in twelve, as summer signing Guram Kashia debuted at center-back. The defender played the first half and was efficient at the back, helping earn San Jose’s first clean sheet of the season. “I will take that credit,” he laughed.
“We played reasonable football, soccer, especially in the second half,” he added. “We held the ball, we took control of the game, we created some chances and could have made a goal. In the first half, it was a tough game for defensive football, we had a lot of challenges, especially one-against-one in the middle of the pitch, which is always difficult against a team like Manchester United. When you have such great individuals such as Sanchez, it was tough, but we handled it really well. We had great shape and discipline.”
Stahre offered praise for Kashia, saying: “(We) just wanted to get him fit as soon as possible. He has been out for a season now for more than a normal amount, so it was important for him to play forty-five minutes. We’ll see if he’s ready to play. He was absolutely solid. He’s a guy with a lot of experience. I think he handled it in a good way.”
Although the MLS playoffs appear out of reach at this stage of the season, the Georgian international still hopes to lift San Jose from the bottom of the table. “This team cannot be in last place, we have enough talent to have twenty points more, at least fifteen points more, to be in the middle of the league,” he said.
“We had so many individual errors, we didn’t really [give] so many goals from the team performance, we [give] some goals from individual mistakes. We have to reduce those, that’s something to do with organization. I know you Americans love attractive football, to see as many goals as the game can bring, but as a football player you need to think further than that. Maybe those kind of things bring San Jose out of last place. You sit back, wait your chance, and kill the game. You cannot force it.”
Despite their woeful record, the Quakes were praised by United coach Jose Mourinho. “I think it’s always nice for them to play against a team like Manchester United, even if it’s not the first team, even if it’s a group of players with Manchester United shirts, I think it always motivates them,” the Portuguese manager said. “They were enthusiastic, they played seriously. You can see on the yellow cards and tactical fouls they made to stop counter-attacks, they did it the way it has to be. I thank them for that because it was competitive.”
