The San Jose Earthquakes open their 2018 season against the Montreal Impact at Avaya Stadium on Saturday night. Here’s what to watch for:
Almeyda’s Man-Marking
In 2018, San Jose allowed seventy-one goals in thirty-four games — the worst defensive record in the history of the franchise.
This year, new head coach Matias Almeyda has adopted an unconventional approach to improve the team’s defense. The Argentine head coach has his players man-marking across the field, an aggressive strategy that demands energy and discipline to maintain effectively for ninety-minutes.
For the players, it’s a major adjustment from their cagey, compact defensive setup in previous years. “I say that installing a new system in a team that was used to playing in a different style is not easy,” said Almeyda. “It takes time.”
Will the man-marking tactics be ready for opening night? The team’s 2-2 preseason draw with the Seattle Sounders on last weekend offered multiple clues.
The system worked well for the first half hour but began to show signs of strain as the players grew tired from chasing. The team’s defensive cover became increasingly suspect, which left wide spaces for Seattle to exploit. Defensive midfielder Judson was a crucial stopgap, but he was asked to cover too much ground. Eventually, Seattle winger Jordan Morris eventually got in behind the Brazilian down the right to cross for Seattle’s first goal. Against Montreal, the Quakes should be more judicious in order to avoid getting caught out in this way.
The setup also relies heavily on the team’s one-versus-one defending. Though San Jose showed marked improvement over last season in this regard, Nick Lima was beaten down the left in a moment of wrong-footedness in the buildup to Seattle’s second goal. San Jose’s defensive success against Montreal will hinge in large part on their ability to avoid these errors.
New Mentality
Although they finished rock bottom of the table, the Quakes didn’t lack skill in 2018.
“Last year, I said that this was the most talented team that I have ever played for, and that was true,” Shea Salinas told reporters this winter.
How, then, does he rationalize their failure?
“There’s more to winning games than just talent,” the defender said.
Salinas was referring to the team’s self-destructive mentality. Last season, San Jose dropped twenty-six points from winning positions, more than any other team. While the Quakes were once revered for their “Never Say Die” attitude, they simply lost belief in themselves in 2018.
“Last year there were times when we thought we were the victims, and we weren’t able to dig deep or just keep doing what we were doing,” defender Nick Lima said earlier in preseason.
This year, however, there are signs that mindset is changing. After an intense preseason training camp in Cancun, Almeyda has seemed to instill in his team a newfound hunger.
“The attitude has been very well among everyone,” midfielder Anibal Godoy said after the team’s 3-0 preseason victory over LAFC. “That was one of the main focuses, developing that mentality of wanting to change the situation we had last year. I think we’ve done that.”
In their come-from-behind draw with Sounders, San Jose showed this new grit. Despite going behind 2-0 early in the second half, captain Chris Wondolowski scored two goals in the space of four minutes to turn it around. Which brings us, of course, to…
Wondo’s Record
Wondo’s brace against Seattle proved just how close he is to breaking Major League Soccer’s all-time goalscoring record. The forward needs only two goals to surpass Landon Donovan’s mark of 145, which puts MLS bookkeepers on high alert.
Especially since striker Danny Hoesen won’t be ready to face Montreal after a delay in receiving his green card, Wondo has a great opportunity to get the job done early on this season.
“Personally, I’d love to see him get the record,” said Salinas. “Two goals, I expect him to get it early. We’re excited to celebrate for him.”
