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February 18, 2008
Weekend wrap-up
We've been seeing the words "frigid Kezar Stadium" in the press accounts of Saturday's scoreless draw between the Quakes and Dynamo, and all we can say is that those people are lucky they didn't attend any California Victory matches last May or June. The temperature at those games was about the same as we saw Saturday night, but Quakes fans didn't get to experience the misty fog or bone-chilling winds that Victory fans endured.
Victory fans also endured a sieve-like defense, and it's looking like that is something that Quakes fans will avoid as well. In two matches against the defending champs — who, we will admit, are now missing the departed Joseph Ngwenya and Nate Jaqua — San Jose only allowed one goal, and that came on a scramble in the box after a botched set-piece. That's impressive for a team that's been together all of two weeks.
Where the Quakes' goals will come from remains a bit of a mystery, but Jeff Carlisle has a clue in his story on MLSnet.com:
After the game, general manager John Doyle disclosed that the Quakes are close to signing Argentinean forward Federico Arias. The 28-year-old has played with Rosario Central and Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, and also endured a forgettable five-month stint in 2003 with then-English Premier League side Southampton in which he failed to make a first-team appearance. Arias is expected to sign once he successfully passes a physical.
Thanks to his spell at Southampton, there's a fair bit of info about Arias available online. This BBC story from 2003 tells us that his nickname Arias' nickname is Torpedo, he has "explosive" speed over 20 meters, he can play on either flank, and Saints scout Terry Cooper said, "He has two excellent feet. I watched him three times and could not tell which was his best. He is a great crosser of the ball too. He gets his head up and picks people out."
You can also read about Arias' arrival and departure from Southampton on the team's own site.
According to Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America, the Quakes have a second trialist in camp from Argentina: Marco Marlon. We're having a harder time tracking down info on him so if you've got anything, please pass it along.
There's also a match report in the Mercury News and one in the Chronicle, although writer Tom FitzGerald commits the sin of asking Quakes coach Frank Yallop about David Beckham. (Let it go, Tom — if you play your cards right, you'll get to talk to Becks himself soon enough.)
Jonah Freedman also covers the game in his blog for Sports Illustrated, and also throws in this little nugget about the Earthquakes' plans to host Galaxy matches in the Oakland McAfee Coliseum:
Sources within the Galaxy organization are seething over what they see as an unfair homefield advantage for their Northern California rivals -- at full soccer capacity, McAfee can hold around 45,000 fans.
We think the last people to complain about anything being unfair are the Galaxy brass, but maybe that's just us. (No, we're pretty sure it's not just us, actually.)
Finally, Embele Awipi talks to returning hometown hero Ramiro Corrales in his weekly column for the Salinas Californian. Corrales is also interviewed by Awipi in the Center Line Soccer video you see below. (If you don't see it, try this link to Google Video.) Center Line Soccer's Harvey Rañola also does a great job of capturing some highlights from the match, and there's also a short interview with members of the 1906 Ultras, a Quakes supporters' group.
Posted by Jay at February 18, 2008 08:42 AM