With a playoff spot in hand, Chivas USA have four games remaining in which to try and secure the Western Conference crown and prime for the playoffs.
But with their postseason ticket already booked, don't expect Chivas USA to deviate from their look to this point. While it may seem natural for veteran players to rest up for the postseason, top players will continue to see prime minutes even in matches that won't determine the team's playoff existence.
"There are no plans to rest anybody," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "We're going to keep the best group we have on the field as many minutes as we can."
Two of Chivas USA's most vital cogs are veterans who have had injury spells in the past. Forward Ante Razov, 33, broke down at the end of the 2006 campaign and did not play in the club's final game, a 2-0 loss in the second leg of the conference semifinal series against Houston.
Claudio Suarez, 38, had an array of injuries that kept him off the field for stretches of time from 2003-05.
Both players have also missed games with injuries recently. Razov did not accompany Chivas USA to Colorado on Sept. 16 as he missed the game with an abdominal strain. Suarez also did not play at the Rapids that day and also missed the club's 3-0 win against New York on Sept. 9.
Preki, though, has had an eye on the veterans' playing time, Razov said.
"Preki is managing our minutes pretty well so we're doing all right," he said. "Our goal is still to get top spot in the conference and possibly the Supporters' Shield."
A year ago, Razov logged a career-high 2,485 minutes and had 14 goals. But he scored 12 goals by July and was an injury concern from September on. This season hasn't had the same pace for Razov. He cracked the 2,000-minute mark for the seventh time in his career but has hit his stride well in August, as Razov has five goals and three assists since Aug. 18.
At least one player is seemingly unconcerned about Razov's injury potential.
"I've played with Ante a bunch of years and typically come playoff time he's ready to go regardless of his age and any of that other stuff," midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "The amount of goals he's scored in big games is probably more than any other player in this league whether it's Clasicos or playoffs or whatever. I know Landon (Donovan) has always been real good in playoffs but so has Ante."
Marsch also falls into the same category as Suarez and Razov: a vital 30-something member of the club. Though Marsch, 33, has not had the same injury history as his teammates, the veteran is nonetheless the third-oldest player behind Suarez and Preston Burpo.
Preki, however, has done well with handling minutes and keeping close tabs on his players' health, Marsch said.
"Preki has been real good all year at kind of having an open dialogue with guys and understanding," Marsch said. "There have been some games where he wanted to rest me but I said that I didn't need a rest. He's been really good to work with in terms of that."
Resting players unnecessarily can hurt a team regardless of potential injury risks, Marsch said.
"If guys have got injuries, you don't want them to push it and play with injuries but the thing you want to be real careful of is kind of putting it on cruise control and relaxing just because you are in first place," he said. "That is a problem with the American mentality I think and we want to make sure we don't have that. We want to make sure that we keep going so that we're still playing good when the games really matter."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
