Matchday 29: Chivas USA at FC Dallas
October 11th, 2007 . 10:29 am . By: Jason Benfield
Chivas’ success is borne through great defense and opportunistic offense. There are no stars on the backline, but they are extremely well organized and rely on the leadership provided at center back and in the defensive midfield. They have given up the second fewest goals and Guzan has the second best GAA in the league. The organization in the back allows the side to attack with the rest of the players in the midfield. Although the team has taken the third fewest shots in the league, they are third in the league in goals scored. This is mainly due to the Crafty, opportunistic play of Razov. There has not been a lot of talk over the course of the season about Razov for MVP, but the best player on one of the top teams in the league deserves more acclaim. THE GOALIESGuzan has been fantastic for Chivas USA all season. The terrific youngster has the size and athleticism to be a major player for MLS and US National team for years to come. Guzan is a very good shot stopper and does not concede bad goals often. Dallas will most likely start Burse, who got the surprise nod over Sala against Columbus. Sala has never quite recovered from injury the second half of the season, while Burse was fantastic in the SuperLiga and did a great job saving Dallas against Columbus last weekend. He has great athleticism. His positioning is not great, but his instincts are tremendous. Advantage: Chivas USA. Both keepers are young, but Guzan has more MLS starts and is a more polished goalie. THE DEFENSEThe Chivas defense is a great answer about how the sum can be greater than the parts. They lack athleticism and speed, but are very well organized and play well as a unit. Bornstein is the most talented player on the left. He can be beat down the wing, but is great at getting forward and passes well out of the back. Zotinca is on the right, and like most of the backline makes up for lack of speed with a tremendous positioning sense. He can also provide some good passing when moving forward up the wing and joining the attack. Thomas and Suarez pair together in the middle. Suarez has a ton of experience with the Mexican national team and does a great job organizing the backline. He is very strong in the air and is dangerous on set pieces in the attack. Thomas provides a physical element to the defense and has enough speed to cover for Suarez. Dallas at full strength might be more talented and faster than the Chivas defense, but they perform worse as a whole because of their lack of organization. Gbandi remains in the doghouse, so Wagenfuhr starts on the left, and really isn’t a MLS quality defender. Goodson is probably out, so Serioux will drop back on the backline. He has played better at defensive midfield this year; both he and Goodson do not mark tightly. They like to drift and cover, which gets them in trouble when they pair at the back. Pitch will start as the other central defender, and is not MLS quality in the back. Moor is a solid player on the right. Advantage: Chivas USA. The numbers don’t lie; Chivas’ defense is better, and Dallas isn’t at full strength. THE MIDFIELDThe midfield is the strength of the Chivas team. Nagamur and Marsh pair as holding midfield. Nagamura has scored two great goals this season, but is not typically an option going forward. He does the dirty work, and is adequate at passing the ball to the attacking unit. Marsh is the organizer and has had a great season. He is really the heart and soul of this Chivas team, and his leadership, knowledge, and direction have been vital to the unit. He pulls everything together in the unit and makes it click. Mendoza is a future Mexican international and has been solid on the left. He is not the fastest guy, but is quick with the ball at his feet and a dangerous passer from the wing. He runs non-stop and provides a lot of energy. Kljestan is on the right. He started the season off with a bang, then picked up some injuries and slumped again, and is ending the season with a strong run of play. He is good at joining the attack, although he is better suited to play in the middle. He is always in the right place at the right time, and can burn a team like Dallas that goes ball hunting and leaves space in the middle and far side. Ricchetti is out, so Dax and Toja should pair in the defensive midfield with Denilson and Alvarez playing in front of them. The Designated Player signing played pretty well against Columbus, and hopefully his play will continue to improve. You get the sense that was his last chance to do well in order to be included in the playoff picture, and he probably passed his test. Ricchetti will be missed; he is the organizer of the FCD midfield, and the team probably game up so many shots against Columbus because of his missing presence. Toja is the spark for Dallas in the middle. He has not been as effective as early in the season and needs to get his top form back if the Hoops are to make a run in the playoffs. Dax will need to provide grit and energy for the Dallas midfield to be effective. He will also need to do the dirty work in the midfield, something that is sometimes lacking from his game. There is a chance we could see Wallace instead of McCarty. Alvarez scored a very nice goal against Columbus to continue his breakout season. Advantage: Chivas USA. THE ATTACKThe top pair for Chivas are Galindo and Razov. They have both been rested recently (Razov with a nagging injury and Galindo through suspension), but will probably play against Dallas. Galindo provides speed at the top. He had a great start to the season but hasn’t been as effective recently. Razov has been fantastic. His passing has improved significantly, and he has been selfless this season, allowing Galindo to take the limelight while he continues to score important goals and do what it takes for his team to win. Cunliffe and Merlin are the backups, and both players had good games against RSL last weekend. Ruiz is still suspended for Dallas, so Thompson and Oduro are likely to pair up top. Abe scored two classic “Abe” goals last weekend – not the prettiest things, but they came through hustle and being in the right place at the right time. His insertion in the lineup allows Denilson to play; Ruiz and Denilson together are too static to be effective. Oduro against had a solid game as well against Columbus. He was patient on the first goal on the wing and is getting better every week, although he did miss a sitter. Cooper only went 70 minutes in a reserve game this past week, so he is probably not quite ready to start yet. Advantage: Chivas USA. POSSIBLE LINEUPSFC Dallas There is a chance that Dallas will go with the 4-2-2-2; this would put Oduro and Thompson up top, Alvarez and Denilson as the next tow, and Dax and Toja as central holding players.
Chivas USA
WHEN DALLAS ATTACKSDallas can really hurt Chivas if they get the ball wide on the wings. Zotinca and Bornstein are both converted attacking players, and don’t defend individually very well. Alvarez and Denilson will be tricky for Bornstein or Zotinca to handle, and Oduro has the speed to get past either of them. It is imperative that Dallas get the ball wide and then work it inside, because Dallas will not be effective going straight down the middle against Nagamura and Marsh. WHEN CHIVAS USA ATTACKSRazov and Galindo will give Dallas fits in the attack. Galindo has more speed than anyone on the backline, and Razov will make the Dallas defense pay for lax marking. Kljestan could have a very strong game against the Dallas left back. Dallas will struggle to contain Chivas, and will need a huge game for Burse. FINAL ANALYSISEach team will vary the attack by building down the wing or springing a long ball over the top. Unfortunately for Dallas, Chivas have the personnel, formation, and tactics to carry out this strategy better. The Dallas defense played well the last time out against Chivas, but they were missing Razov and Kljestan, two important cogs in the attack. The Dallas defense simply can’t be counted on to shut down any of the quality attacking sides in the league. The hope for FCD fans has to be that Sala was the cause of the poor defensive performances, but I don’t think it will turn out that way… Chivas USA 2, FCD 1 10 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
According to news reports from Cali Galindo is sitting this one out
chivas looks like they have a strong team…
hopefuly our team will do ok.
by the way..
i hope you are wrong!!
[...] coming out of the Chivas USA camp. As much as that impacts tonight’s game against FC Dallas (great preview), there’s the longer term to consider – as in what this does to Chivas’ MLS Cup [...]
Mendoza is a future international benchwarmer because the younger and faster Andres Guardado has a bank vault lockdown hold on that left mid spot for Mexico. He walked into Deportivo la Coruna as the starter there and has been the only consistent attacker for that team.
too bad cuz Mendoza is a good player.
A well earned point tonight. Dallas controlled most of the posession, just didn’t have the build up leading to quality scoring chances. Alvarez’s effort of the post was, dare I say, brilliant.
Nice to see Cooper back.
So was the referee tonight the MLS version of Joey Crawford? How do you give Rhine STRAIGHT RED for arguing a dive? What a spare.
McCarty should be asking for a trade immediately. Dallas can replace him with another washed up international
This was the best game of the year for our midfiled. Alvarez, Toja and Serioux were outstanding on BOTH sides of the ball and that was the difference. Cooper is a long way from form or fitness and we probably win the game if Dom or Richardinho play 90 but Steve has to try to get Kenny back in if he’s going to be any help in the PO’s.
There was great EFFORT from everyone and it’s great to see are this time of the year. Add Richetti, Ryiz and Goodson to the mix and we are suddenly a dangerous team at the end of the year.
looks to me like a few people knew they were playing on live TV last night.
except Denilson…..
Looks like a few people know that they are playing for their jobs next year.
I don’t know if it’s position, fitness, or just finally finding form, but Serioux has really looked good lately in that D-Mid anchor role. I like him much better there than on the back line. Speaking of the back line, with Clarence, Yi, and Wagner out through injury, Rhine out through red card, Gbandi out through Morrow, and Wallace deemed a mid, who’s left? This certainly won’t improve the communication issues that seem to have plagued this group all year.