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March 27, 2008

Peninsula Quakes fans, time to report for training

Specifically, CalTrain-ing.

A number of Quakes supporters in San Francisco and the Peninsula are lobbying CalTrain for special service to and from Quakes games. If you think you would use CalTrain to travel to Quakes games, please let them know that you'd appreciate a change to the train schedule on game days to accommodate fans.

Posted by Jay at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)

Ryan Cochrane, Ian Russell, and a marketing idea

It's still kind of hard to believe, but we're officially one week away from the Quakes' triumphant return to the playing field. In fact, the new MLS season starts Saturday. Time flies.

But the team has one more game before the big opener, and that's this weekend when the Quakes take on the Timbers at the University of Portland. Quakes defender Ryan Cochrane grew up in the land of Powell's Books and microbreweries, and the Oregonian catches up with Cochrane in their story, "Trading Texas Heat for West Coast Cool." Here's a taste:

As a freshman at national powerhouse Santa Clara, Cochrane drew the attention of Dominic Kinnear, then coach of the original San Jose Earthquakes, whose first — and lasting — impression of Cochrane was of the defender flattening an opponent with a strong midfield tackle.

"When I saw it happen," said Kinnear, also Cochrane's coach with the Dynamos, "I thought, 'He'll be a good one.' "

Speaking of Pacific Northwest native sons, Ian Russell, who used to flash a "What's Up West Seattle?" t-shirt after scoring goals for the Quakes, is interviewed on MLSinSeattle.com, the site run by the owners of the 2009 Seattle MLS expansion team. Russell answers a number of questions, with perhaps the most pressing ones being about the Quakes' roster:

Since opening training nearly two months ago, what’s it been like in terms of evaluating players? For us it’s been difficult because we have to look at a lot of players. The old teams, like when I was with San Jose and we were successful and winning championships, we were only looking for 1-2 players for a certain position. For this team, we’re looking for every position, either to start or add depth, so we’ve brought in tons of players. We give them a chance, but we want the right players. With 14 players, we’re not saying we just need to sign four more guys. We’d rather go into the season with 15 players than have three guys that won’t contribute, and we have guys in the reserve team. We want to make the right decisions.

Kansas City signed a designated player just about two weeks before opening day. What’s the mood when you know your coach is still shopping for talent, yet you know it might come at the cost of your playing time or position?
The league wants us to fill out the roster and we will in time. But in Europe they are still playing and have to wait until some players who are out of contract. We might get some guys in May that might be our marquee guys. It’s just tough for right now. The most important thing for Frank is that he wants a good locker room, guys that get along and play well together.

Speaking of Seattle, the team is taking a vote on the new team's name and the polls opened today. The three names being suggested by the club are "Seattle Alliance," "Seattle FC," and "Seattle Republic," but they are taking write-in votes and "Seattle Sounders" is expected to make a strong showing. In fact, SSV has been contacted by several Sounders fans in the hopes that SSV members, who fought to retain the name, colors, and records of the Earthquakes, would want to help them retain the decades-old tradition of Seattle Sounders soccer. If you do, feel free to click the link above and cast your ballot.

Finally, we promised a marketing idea for you. Are you ready? Scottish premier league side Gretna has run out of money, and last night they released 22 players. One name in the list caught our eye: David Bingham. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

Is this a great marketing opportunity or what? We can see it now: press releases trumpeting the signing of the UK's David Bingham, with strategically-placed blotches of ink to cover the "ing" in his last name. A few mispronunciations in the TV and radio ads and the celebrity watchers will come out in force! Now, if we can just get his wife to change her name to something like "Push Space," we'll really be cooking.

Posted by Jay at 11:46 AM | Comments (4)

March 25, 2008

For your viewing pleasure, the Carolina Challenge Cup



SSV president Don Gagliardi traveled to South Carolina to watch the Quakes in the Carolina Challenge Cup and, as you can tell, he had a great time. (That's him with Quakes forward Gavin Glinton and the eponymous cup, above.)

Yes, that is a Charleston Battery scarf that he's wearing. He's not switching allegiances, though. "I'm wearing a Battery supporters' group (Regiment) scarf which I traded for a 1906 Ultras scarf with Battery fan Mikey Mouse (his BigSoccer handle)," he explains.

Not a bad little trophy for a pre-season tournament. And, of course, any trophy is better than no trophies.

Posted by Jay at 09:37 AM | Comments (2)

March 24, 2008

Carolina Challenge Cup wrap up

The Carolina Challenge Cup is over, and if it's any indication of what's to come in the regular season, the Quakes are going to surprise a lot of people.

If you missed it, the Quakes became the first team ever to win all their games in the tournament by shutting out the MetroStars Toros Rojos de Nueva York, 3-0. That score line doesn't flatter the Quakes at all — they really were that dominating.

Here at the blog, we thought that match might represent a bigger challenge than that posed by either a USL team (Charleston) or last season's cellar-dwelling Toronto FC. After all, New York is the only team with two official Designated Players in Juan Pablo Angel and Claudio Reyna. The Quakes scored early and often, though, starting with a Kei Kamara header in the first minute of the match. There were times that the side on the field even bore a passing resemblance (pun intended) to the previous Yallop-era teams. We still wonder where all the goals are going to come from, but on Saturday night the answer to that question was Kai Kamara, Gavin Glinton, and New York defender Eric Brunner who knocked the ball into his own net.

Meanwhile, MLSnet is chock full of Quakes goodness these days. There's an in-depth profile of defender James Riley from writer Andrew Hush as well as a season preview with a projected starting 11 from Jeff Carlisle. Opening day is on its way!

Finally, we have something fowl to report. The Quakes are joining with KFC to create the Colonel's Corner, a corner section in both Buck Shaw and the McAfee Coliseum where you can get a ticket for, ahem, a poultry $15. Wing it on down to your local KFC to purchase your tix and we will promise, as always, to keep you abreast of any new developments.

Posted by Jay at 03:53 PM | Comments (2)

March 22, 2008

Seattle paper previews season for Quakes; Quakes gear to arrive Monday?

As the Quakes look to wrap up play tonight in the Carolina Challenge Cup (5:15 p.m. on USLLive.com), the Seattle Post-Intelligencer checks in with their San Jose Earthquakes season preview. Reporter Pat Martin speaks with Coach Frank Yallop and defender Nick Garcia in evaluating the team's chances for success in 2008.

"I think there is pressure on all of us because we want to start the season off well and make the playoffs like every other team in this league," said Yallop... "We don't want to just sit here and settle for second best. We are trying to prepare the team to win every match we play."

Ah! That's the Earthquakes attitude we've been missing for two seasons. Anyway, despite the reporter's repeated misspelling of Ryan Cochrane's last name in the story, it's a good read.

We have two other stories to pass along today. First, MLSnet.com's Steve Davis looks at San Jose's midfield in his "Five-a-side" column. (Someone needs to tell him that Ramiro Corrales spent plenty of time in central midfield during his previous tenure with the Quakes. It's not really much of an experiment playing him there now.) Also, the Pocono Record includes a quote from Frank Yallop in their article on soccer tennis.

Finally, we hear that the Soccer Pro stores in San Jose, Dublin, Pleasant Hill and Modesto expect to receive their first shipment of home and away replica Earthquakes jerseys sometime on Monday. Tell them the blog sent you...

Posted by Jay at 12:09 PM | Comments (3)

March 21, 2008

Carolina Challenge Cup, plus David Beckham saves MLS

We have two items of interest today. The first is one we missed yesterday — Soccer America's match report from Wednesday's victory over the Charleston Battery to clinch the Carolina Challenge Cup.

Also in today's news, an interview with David Beckham will be broadcast on "60 Minutes" Sunday night, and mixed in with what we're sure will be fascinating questions about Posh, his tattoos, and being perhaps the most famous athlete on Earth is this fact, as reported by The Canadian Press:

David Beckham has an option to buy an MLS franchise when his five-year Los Angeles Galaxy contract expires after the 2011 season, according to a CBS "60 Minutes" profile scheduled to air Sunday... the option was granted to the 32-year-old midfielder and his manager, Simon Fuller.

Interesting, huh? Are we talking expansion franchise or is it possible that Beckham could one day own the Galaxy itself, thereby ridding MLS of AEG except for the portion of Houston that they still own? (And to think some people scoffed when Beckham said he was coming here to benefit American soccer!)

Posted by Jay at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008

Carolina Challenge Cup, Roma, and O'Brien

Now that the various bashes, benders, and blowouts held in celebration of last night's capture of the Carolina Challenge Cup have died down, we'll pause for a moment to reflect on the glorious victory.

There. Feels good, doesn't it, even if it is a pre-season tournament? Hey, somebody had to win it — it may as well have been us.

There's an extended match report on MLSnet.com and another on Charleston.com. A user named Mikey also has a gallery of photos from the cup over on SmugMug.com.

Meanwhile, SI.com reports that no new progress has been made on the rumored acquisition of A.S. Roma by Quakes investor John Fisher. Interestingly, however, they note that Italian daily sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport "is today reporting that Fisher's plans for Roma include the development of a new stadium to replace the Stadio Olimpico."

Apparently, soccer stadiums are like potato chips — you can't build just one.

Finally, we have a video from Channel 5's St. Patrick's Day broadcast featuring momentary Time magazine honoree Ronnie O'Brien.

Posted by Jay at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008

The Quakes win the cup! The Quakes win the cup!

That was the call from ESPN broadcaster Jack Edwards when San Jose won MLS Cup in 2001, and those words echo today, however distantly, with the news that the team has defeated the Charleston Battery 2-1 to clinch their second-ever Carolina Challenge Cup.

The goals came from Ramiro Corrales and Kei Kamara after the team went down 1-0. A comeback win to take the cup... hmm, that sounds a little bit like 2001, too.

We'll have links to the relevant news stories tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to pop that bottle of pre-season champagne!

Posted by Jay at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)

Quakes take on Battery tonight

The Quakes' quest to bring home the Carolina Challenge Cup continues tonight when they take on the Charleston Battery. The game starts at 5:15 Pacific and can be watched online here. The Quakes won their first game in the tournament, 1-0 over Toronto FC in a game that was shortened due to a lightning storm. Go Quakes!

Today, MLSnet.com features a nice profile of Quakes' forward Gavin Glinton. If you've ever looked at Glinton's career stats and figured he was a marginal player because he bounced around between MLS and the USL, you may be interested in knowing that the only reason that happened was bad luck — two broken ankles in two successive years! Now that he's recuperated fully, he's looking forward to a productive year in San Jose.

We had two other links to pass along today. Thanks to reader Kevin (AKA Zungazan) for passing along a link to blogger Melissa's season preview over on theoffside.com. Melissa likens the Quakes to the Scoobies — does she mean the Buffy-Willow-Xander Scoobies or the Fred-Daphne-Velma Scoobies? We're betting it's the former, so does that mean our team features Gavin the Galaxy Slayer? Hmmm...

Finally, the Cary News has more information on Chris Carrieri's retirement.

Posted by Jay at 08:30 AM | Comments (1)

March 18, 2008

Soccer America: Yallop in no hurry to fill roster

There's one more story from today's news. Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney spoke with Frank Yallop and reports that the coach is in no hurry to fill the team's roster.

"We could sign players, but I want to make sure they're good signings and what we actually need," says Yallop, who has former San Jose and D.C. United striker Jamil Walker with the team for the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston. "We have enough players to field a team. We will fill the roster as we move along."

Yes, that's the other news. In addition to Trinidand & Tobago striker Conrad Smith, Yallop has invited former Quake Jamil Walker to try out for the team. Walker, who is recovering from a severe Achilles tendon injury, was recently cut by DC United.

Oh, and there's one other thing: the Washington Post's Steven Goff says that the Quakes may be looking at Argentine forward Facundo Sava, who Wikipedia says is 34.

Posted by Jay at 09:21 AM | Comments (3)

SI.com: Fisher to buy Roma?

We already knew that John Fisher, the billionaire investor in the Earthquakes, became a rabid soccer fan at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. We already knew that he had purchased three percent of Celtic. If there was any doubt that he's the coolest owner in MLS, SI.com reports today that Fisher is eyeing a purchase of A.S. Roma, the storied Italian side that last won Serie A in 2001. The team, which is captained by World Cup-winner Francesco Totti, is denying that the team will be sold, but time will tell.

In other news, Elliott Almond of the Mercury News spoke with MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis, who believes that one of the Quakes' biggest challenges will be building team chemistry.

"You're trying to develop team chemistry from scratch, with a new collection of players," Ivan Gazidis said Monday during a conference call. "The difficulty of doing that, regardless of the quality of players you have, is sometimes underestimated."

Finally, the Quakes have hired Jed Mettee as the team's director of broadcasting and communications, a role similar to what he held with the Quakes from 2001 to 2005. Our congratulations to him.

Posted by Jay at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2008

Weekend recap

A fine, sunny St. Patrick's Day greets us with news from far and wide about Quakes past, present, and future.

We'll start with the future. San Jose's lone pick of the SuperDraft, Shea Salinas, has signed a contract and will be competing for playing time on the right side of midfield. Elliott Almond of the Mercury News has the story. Salinas has great speed and has shown a lot of promise in the pre-season with his willingness to take on defenders, so we look forward to watching him develop over the next few years.

As for the present, there's one piece of the picture that's missing right now, writes Jeff Carlisle for MLSnet.com: more talent at forward.

At present, heading into the Carolina Challenge Cup this weekend, the Quakes roster contains only two out-and-out forwards in Gavin Glinton and Kei Kamara.

As a result, the opening weeks of training camp have seen San Jose burn through contestants faster than Donald Trump on "The Apprentice." Argentine winger Federico Arias has already come and gone, with "The Torpedo" sunk by what Doyle described as a lack of fitness. One-time Japanese international Takayuki Suzuki, as well as Swedish striker Martin Aslund have also been cast aside, despite each player scoring in friendlies against collegiate opposition.

Carlisle writes that the Quakes still have a few leads on potential strikers, so let's hope the Quakes have a lucky four-leaf clover somewhere that will come through for them.

Now for the Quakes' past, both recent and distant. The Canadian media has several accounts of San Jose's lightning-shortened 1-0 victory over Toronto FC in the opener of the Carolina Challenge Cup, including stories from the CBC and the National Post.

Finally, the word out of Carolina is that 2001 Quakes first-round draft pick Chris Carrieri is retiring from professional soccer at age 27 to pursue a career in IT.

Posted by Jay at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2008

Quakes lead Toronto 1-0 in 75th minute...

...and that's all there is to tell right now. The game was stopped at that point due to nearby lightning, and the video available online went black some time ago and hasn't returned.

Instead of a full narrative match report, we will offer you this haiku:

Can't clear the corner
No matter how hard we try
Hernandez heads home

Jason scored in the 21st minute.

Posted by Jay at 05:24 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

Carolina Cup matches to be broadcast online

Thanks to a tip from a reader, we are pleased to let you know that the Quakes' matches in the Carolina Cup will be broadcast online.

Here's San Jose's complete schedule:

Saturday, March 15 - Earthquakes vs. Toronto FC at 3:00 p.m. Pacific
Wednesday, March 19 - Earthquakes vs. Battery at 5:15 p.m. Pacific
Saturday, March 22 - Earthquakes vs. Red Bulls at 5:15 p.m. Pacific

Go Quakes!

Posted by Jay at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Quakes name former Kiwi international as goalkeeper coach

The Quakes have just announced the hiring of former New Zealand international Jason Batty as goalkeeper coach. Batty, who Wikipedia tells us is 36, earned 44 caps for the Kiwis from 1995-2003.

“Jason was a top-level professional goalkeeper who has a wealth of international experience,” said General Manager John Doyle. “He has worked with a number of strong goalkeepers around the country and he is a great addition to our staff.”

Batty leaves a position as Director of Goalkeeping for Texas Premier SC. Prior to that, he was assistant coach and goalkeeper coach for Dartmouth College.

His playing days featured stints with England's Norwich City, Irish side Bohemian F.C., and other sides in Singapore, New Zealand, and the U.S.

Batty featured in the New Zealand team that competed at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Guadalajara. The Kiwis competed in the same group as the U.S., Brazil, and Germany, but failed to get beyond the group stage.

Batty's hiring completes the Quakes' coaching staff. Batty will take his place along with head coach Frank Yallop, assistant Ian Russell, and technical advisor Ronnie Ekelund.

Posted by Jay at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)

KCBS interviews SSV's Gagliardi for stadium story

San Francisco's KCBS (that's 740 on your AM dial), an all-news station, covered Tuesday's San Jose City Council vote with a story by reporter Mike Colgan. Colgan even interviewed SSV president Don Gagliardi on some of the economic benefits a new stadium would bring.

You can find the story, which includes a link to an MP3 of the report that aired yesterday, here.

Posted by Jay at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2008

Media covers council approval of cost/benefit analysis

Scientific studies have shown that different parts of the brain are used for different functions. Creative acts like writing use different neurons than those used for technical tasks like math.

This is the only explanation we can come up with when we see stories like the Mercury News' coverage of the cost/benefit analysis for the Airport West/iStar project, which was unanimously approved by the city council yesterday. While the paper can be lauded for getting the bottom line right — the stadium would generate over $62 million per year in economic activity in San Jose — they miss the mark on the project's impact on the general fund by focusing on one small aspect of the overall project.

It is well known that residential development does not generate enough revenues in taxes and other fees to pay for the increased burden on city services like police and fire, so yes, the construction of 1,300 residential units on the iStar property will be a net loss to the city's general fund. This loss is far outweighed by the development of the blighted Airport West property with hotels, retail, and office facilities, not to mention the fact that selling Airport West will relieve the city from making $7 million in annual payments it currently makes on its purchase of that site. Plus, the proposal is structured so that the current industrial and retail capacity of the iStar property will be re-assigned to other Edenvale properties&#nbsp;— the city is not losing any of its potential assets here.

This is why the city's cost/benefit analysis states clearly that the annual net fiscal impact to the city's general fund is a gain of between $1.8 and $2.8 million. Complaining that one part of the plan will negatively impact the city's general fund is like complaining that you're losing money by paying into your 401K. It's not a loss — it's an investment that will pay you back many times over in the future. We really don't think it's that difficult to understand. Fortunately, the mayor and city council understand this.

* * *

In other news, insidebayarea.com has an interesting story on Mani Hernandez, a former star at San Jose State who also played for the NASL Quakes and the 1972 U.S. Olympic team.

Posted by Jay at 08:34 AM | Comments (3)

March 11, 2008

San Jose City Council approves cost/benefit analysis for stadium

This afternoon, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to accept two reports on the economic impact of the proposed Airport West and iStar properties project (PDF summary here), better known to Quakes fans as the soccer stadium project. The reports had been approved by the city's Community and Economic Development Committee last week.

SSV board members Don Gagliardi and Colin McCarthy were on hand to tell the council of their support for the project, but we suspect that the numbers in the report spoke even louder than our esteemed colleagues.

For example, the report estimates the following:

We're particularly pleased to see a professional analysis provide a figure of $62.3 million for the annual economic impact of the soccer stadium. Many of you will recall the Visitor Projection Report which SSV published in March, 2007. That report, a project that was spearheaded by SSV board member Ned Zuparko, estimated the annual economic impact of soccer-related events at the new stadium at $65 million. Excuse us if we crow a little for being a paltry four percent off the expert assessment, especially after our numbers were ridiculed by John Ryan of the Mercury News.

We'd ask Ryan for an apology but sometimes being right is its own reward — especially if it means getting the stadium that we've advocated for the past three-and-a-half years.

The next step for the Airport West/iStar project is an additional study, due to be completed by June. We will, of course, keep you informed of future developments.

Posted by Jay at 06:06 PM | Comments (0)

K.C. Star focuses on Garcia trade

Today, Kansas City Star writer Pete Grathoff takes a look at what happens when a player is traded — in this case, new Quake and former Wizard Nick Garcia.

Garcia joined the Wizards in 2000 after being drafted out of Indiana University and spent his entire professional career in Kansas City, up until the day he was traded. Grathoff reports that Garcia's conversation with wife MeLinda went something like this:

“We’re moving to San Jose,” Nick said.

“No, seriously, how was your meeting?”

“We’re traded,” he said.

Melinda was dumbfounded: “You’re lying.”

“I cleaned out my locker.”

Melinda started crying. “That’s how I deal with things,” she said.

They seem to be excited about the move now but, as anyone who has ever been transferred across the country for work would tell you, there are a lot of loose ends to tie up and decisions to be made. Kudos to Grathoff for presenting a side of sports that few fans see.

(Oh, and Nick, if MeLinda decides to move her dentistry practice out here, let us know and we'll help spread the word. We're pretty sure that the readers of the blog, beautiful people that they are, have a gorgeous set of chompers that require regular care.)

Posted by Jay at 03:01 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2008

Quakes try pair from T and T

It's been a quiet few days for the Quakes as they prepare to head east for the Carolina Challenge Cup. The annual pre-season tourney starts Saturday, with San Jose taking on Toronto, to be followed by matches next Wednesday against the USL's Charleston Battery and wrapping up on March 22 against los Toros Rojos of New York.

Meanwhile, some news has surfaced regarding two players who will be joining the Quakes on trial, both from the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad Express reports that Conrad Smith and Hayden Tinto, both of whom play for T&T side Caledonia AIA, are hoping to earn an MLS contract before the start of the season. According to the article, Smith left the islands two weeks ago and Tinto will be departing soon.

Speaking of departures, it was reported over the weekend that reporter Barry Witt is no longer with the Mercury News. While we will not celebrate anyone losing his job, we will say that Witt's repeated inability to acknowledge anything positive regarding either the Earthquakes or owner Lew Wolff will not be missed.

Posted by Jay at 08:16 AM | Comments (1)

March 07, 2008

More on Ronnie O'Brien plus a Santa Clara improvement update

When he traded Ronnie O'Brien to the Quakes for cash and a draft pick, Toronto GM Mo Johnston used the midfielder's health as an excuse for the deal. As we noted last week, he told Canadian sports site Goal.com that he thought "we were on the brink of maybe something happening to him. It's a big, big gamble."

When we first linked to that story last week, we commented that it sounded an awful lot like a GM searching for a way to justify letting a popular player leave his team. After reading Jeff Carlisle's story on SJEarthquakes.com, we're even more convinced of that.

O'Brien's season finally ended in September when he underwent arthroscopic surgery, but it wasn't until another operation three months later that a bone spur was found to be the root cause of his discomfort. With that ailment now taken care of, O'Brien believes that he is ready to regain his form of 2005 when he was named to the league's Best XI for the second year running.

"I'm back to feeling like I did before," said O'Brien. "I'm back running around with no problems, and I'm striking the ball the way I want to. It's just a case of maintaining it now so that it doesn't happen again."

Hmm, maybe Johnston was right and O'Brien is on the brink of something — something like returning to full health for the first time in a year. Time will tell...

* * *

Yesterday over on BigSoccer, user athletics68 posted photos showing the progress being made on renovations to Buck Shaw Stadium as well as the new, artificial surface practice field.

To sum up, the practice field is almost finished and the field has been leveled and graded, so it's almost ready for new sod to be placed. Check out the link for photos.

Posted by Jay at 06:19 AM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2008

Merc: "Quakes plan OK'd over objections"

We hesitate to mention this because it's completely irrelevant now, but the Mercury News has published Barry Witt's story on Tuesday's Santa Clara City Council meeting. The meeting saw the council unanimously approve the team's permit for use of Buck Shaw Stadium for the next three years, thanks in part to the Earthquakes' comprehensive parking and traffic management plan.

The Quakes' temporary residence at Buck Shaw is a win-win for the team and the university. While the Quakes get a place to play which is only a few hundred yards away from the proposed site of their future permanent home, the university will benefit from a number of improvements to the stadium and other athletic facilities. These improvements, which will be funded entirely by the Quakes, are rumored to be in the neighborhood of $3 million.

There's no mention of those benefits in Witt's story, however. Instead he devotes considerable space to one of the three people who spoke against the proposal and gathered 63 signatures on a petition opposing it. Maybe it's just us, but that hardly seems like a significant number in a city of 109,000.

Witt also failed to mention that one of the plan's critics conceded that, while she was concerned it might not be good for her neighborhood, it was good for Santa Clara as a whole.

We're glad Witt was there, though, if only to hear the comment that SSV president Don Gagliardi made to the council. "The Mercury News says that the universe of people who care about soccer is very small, so if that's true there won't be any issues with traffic anyway."

(Oh, Mercury News, one other thing. The council meeting happened Tuesday night and today is Thursday. Way to stay current.)

Posted by Jay at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)

Quakes permit for Buck Shaw approved

Late last night, the Santa Clara City Council unanimously approved the special use permit for the use of Buck Shaw Stadium as the Earthquakes' home stadium for the next three years.

We want to thank everyone who attended the meeting. It turned out to last a lot longer than we originally anticipated, thanks in part to an item on the agenda about a proposed ballot measure for the 49ers stadium project which generated a lot of comments from the public. (Ironically, no one in the gallery wore Niners gear, compared to the 40-50 people there who were supporting the Quakes.)

Only a few citizens addressed the council with their concerns about Buck Shaw, and they focused primarily on traffic and parking issues. Since the permit was unanimously approved, it is clear that the Santa Clara City Council felt that these concerns were already appropriately addressed in the Quakes' traffic and parking mitigation plans. Kudos to the Quakes as well as Santa Clara's city staff for the work done studying the issue, as seen here in the report delivered to the city council (PDF, 80+ pages).

* * *

Meanwhile, there are a couple other Quakes-related items in the news today. Mercury News reporter Elliott Almond spoke with Quakes GM John Doyle about why the team didn't select anyone in the waiver draft.

'We don't want to give away cap room or allocation room for somebody that isn't going to be an upgrade for what we already have," Doyle said. "That says a lot for the players we have."

Almond also states that the Quakes spent much less than $300,000, an amount that was reported by Grahame Jones of the L.A. Times, to acquire midfielder Ronnie O'Brien from Toronto.

The Chronicle's Tom FitzGerald also spoke with Doyle about potential upgrades:

"We're pretty happy with the core of players we have now, although we'd like to add one or two elite players," (Doyle) said.
* * *

All-time Quakes scoring leader Ronald Cerritos can't be considered an elite player any more, but he's found a new team: USL Divison 2 expansion side Real Maryland F.C. Cerritos has some interesting things to say about the emerging depth and quality in American soccer, even at that level:

‘‘I’m telling you, it’s about the same level,” he said. ‘‘Physically, all the players in the United States are stronger, faster, athletic. My first year, when I was 20 years old coming to this country, players from my country were technically very good. But we’re slow. We’re slow against these guys, and that’s the truth.”

That's a pretty solid endorsement of American talent, especially coming from a three-time All Star who bagged 70 goals and 56 assists in MLS.

Posted by Jay at 06:59 AM | Comments (1)

March 03, 2008

Ekelund signing official

As was first reported here last week, Ronnie Ekelund is now an official member of the San Jose Earthquakes coaching staff. His official title is Technical Advisor.

Here's the press release from the Quakes:

San Jose Earthquakes Name Ronnie Ekelund Technical Advisor

San Jose, Calif.- The San Jose Earthquakes have agreed to terms with Ronnie Ekelund to become the technical advisor of the San Jose Earthquakes for the 2008 season. The Glostrup, Denmark native will play a key role in the team’s daily training sessions.

“Ronnie brings a lot of international experience to the Earthquakes and he will be a valuable asset to the coaching staff and players,” stated John Doyle, General Manager of Soccer Operations for the San Jose Earthquakes.

Ekelund spent four seasons as a player with the Earthquakes from 2001-04, helping San Jose capture two MLS Cup Championships with his sublime passing skills and leadership. He finished his MLS career with 11 goals and 16 assists in 91 games.

Ekelund left the Quakes after the 2004 season and played one year with the California Cougars of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Ekelund was a MISL All-Star during the 2005-06 season.

Prior to arriving in MLS, Ekelund enjoyed a long career in European soccer. He played for Brondby (Denmark), Barcelona (Spain), Southampton (England), Manchester City (England), Coventry City (England) and Odense (Denmark). Overall, he appeared in 135 games and scored 22 goals during his time in Europe after turning pro at age 15 with Brondby. Ekelund also played for Denmark at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

That's the news. We have been unable to confirm that San Jose's Two Ronnies, Ekelund and O'Brien, will be performing in a British sketch comedy TV show.

Posted by Jay at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

Aussies score twice in 1-1 draw with Mexico

Despite the result, we're guessing that everybody had a pretty good time at yesterday's 1-1 draw between los equipos Olipmicos del Mexico y Australia at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. The game was sold out and, unlike last year's Mexico/Ecuador match, this game was held on a weekend, which means there was much more time to tailgate.

San Mateo County Times correspondent Anna Belle Peevey reports the parking lot in her story about game day, which also features some good shots of the sellout crowd.

As for the match itself, Mexico's problems on offense continue, as was predicted before the match by Sports Illustrated's Luis Bueno. Mexico only got on the scoreboard thanks to an Aussie own goal and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Match reports are available from the Mercury News, S.F. Chronicle, Sydney Morning Herald, and other outlets.

Our favorite story of the day, though, comes from Merc columnist Ann Killion, who looks at the overflowing parking lot at the coliseum and asks, "How can the new San Jose Earthquakes tap into that incredible fan base?" To answer that question, she turned to an expert on the subject:

Freddy Adames is a member of the advocacy group Soccer Silicon Valley and is working with the Earthquakes to forge ties with the Hispanic community. He sat Sunday in a suite high above the noisy, pulsating red-and-green sea of fans who watched their beloved Tricolores draw with Australia 1-1 and asked, "How do they translate this experience to the Earthquakes?"

We're pleased to see both SSV in general and Freddy Adames in particular get some recognition. Freddy joined SSV's board of directors two years ago and has generously donated his time and talents to help SSV and the Quakes with outreach into the local Latino community. Yesterday was a great example, as he hosted a group of VIPs in a suite donated by the Quakes. Guests included Olivia Mendiola, CEO of the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA); Xavier Campos of MACSA; Mario Gonzales, manager of MACSA's futsal program; Teresa Alvarado, executive director of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (HFSV); former NASL Earthquake Easy Perez; former Clash forward Paco Uribe; Viridiana Sanchez of the Mexican Consulate; Nicolas Roncagliolo of the Peruvian Consulate; Overfelt High School boys soccer coach Luis Ruelas; Marcela Davison-Aviles, president and CEO of the Mexican Heritage Corp.; and Marcos Gutierrez and Celina Rodriquez of the Hispanic media.

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Speaking of SSV, we had our Annual Meeting on Saturday. There's no real news on the stadium front at this point, but we'll pass anything along as soon as we get it. The majority of the event involved a presentation of the programs of the new SSV Community Foundation by SSVCF president Don Gagliardi. Don has great plans for this organization and was eager to fill in everyone on the amazing things he wants the soccer community to achieve. Take a look at the link above for details and contact Don if you'd like to be involved. Donations are also welcome and can be made online.

Posted by Jay at 07:05 AM | Comments (2)