There’s been a change in the San Jose Earthquakes from the resilient and entertaining side that reached the MLS is Back Tournament quarterfinals.
For head coach Matias Almeyda, there's no doubt it's a change for the worse.
“I notice a big change after the long stop [after MLS is Back in Orlando] among the players and everyone, including myself,” Almeyda said in a virtual press conference that took place more than an hour after a 5-1 defeat to LAFC Wednesday. “The only way to get out of it is by working and unfortunately when you play every three days, time for work [practice] is brief.”
Almeyda said he’s not searching out excuses, but in addition to matches coming thick and fast during Phase 1 of the restart of the season, the California wildfires have affected his team’s ability to regularly train.
It’s in stark contrast to the MLS is Back Tournament where they Quakes were together 24/7.
“Training session days are fewer," Almeyda said. "The search as to who I can count on and who I can’t count on for next season I have to see that on the field. There’s uncertainty that one day you train, the next day you don’t train because of the smoke [wildfires]. One day you play and the next day you can’t … It’s not an excuse. It’s a reality.
"Why is it a reality? Because for this team to be competitive it has to play at 200 percent concentration and commitment and to have the same spirit to play the way they did in Orlando, where we lived for 40 days with passion and love. There is a short amount of time to work and correct mistakes. And from here until the end of the season will be a difficult period. We’ll fight to change it, but many times talking about reality helps.”
The ultra-competitive Almeyda could hate to lose more than he loves to win. He said he came to San Jose to win a championship, like he did at Chivas Guadalajara, Banfield and River Plate.
“When I came here it’s because I believe in a project of one day being champion,” Almeyda said. “I haven’t come on vacation. I’ve come to work. And I like to win. It makes me very angry to lose, and it makes me very angry to lose the way we lost today.”
Although Almeyda isn’t a fan of the quick turnaround in games, veteran Shea Salinas thinks it’s a positive coming off the latest thumping to LAFC.
“We have a game in two days at home against Colorado, which is a good team,” Salinas said. “I think what we need to learn the most is how to bounce back from a game like this. We’ve done it before actually. Last season we lost to LA 4-1 and the next game we won 3-1 against Portland at home. So let’s go do that again.”
