Forced from their southern California home by the smoke from wildfires, Chivas USA has been practicing in Kansas City since Thursday.
"The pollution in Los Angeles, there are fires around and we had a couple of players that had a tough time breathing. So I decided I come here a day early," said Chivas coach Preki.
The smoke led to players having eye irritations as well as respiratory difficulties while trying to practice at The Home Depot Center. Chivas practiced at the Wizards practice facility in Swope Park.
The general feeling among the club is that it's not much of a disruption to the Chivas schedule in advance of Saturday's first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals against the host Wizards. But the impact of the fires that have displaced more than a million people from their homes is certainly in the team's thoughts.
"It's definitely a tragedy out in Los Angeles right now especially with the fires," said Chivas goalkeeper Brad Guzan. "For all the people that have lost their homes, have their lost their personal belongings, it's devastating."
Chivas had to scramble a bit, moving up their travel plans to head to Kansas City on Thursday afternoon. The fires apparently haven't directly affected any of the Chivas organization as of yet.
"I think for the most part everyone has dodged it," Guzan said. "The smoke and the ash is kind over the entire Los Angeles area, especially San Diego as well. I think there are some of guys who live down in Orange County but I think they're all right."
Chivas plans to play the second game at The Home Depot Center, hoping that the smoke has cleared out in time. The matter at hand is facing the Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium.
"We have to make sure that we're ready to play, it's going to be a battle for 90 minutes," Guzan said. "We understand the importance of [Saturday's] game; we'll put all the stuff behind us and make sure we're ready.
Thomas Foote is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
