CARSON, Calif. - By all accounts, Amado Guevara was a likable fellow. After joining Chivas USA in November, he assimilated quickly and became fast friends with several of his new teammates.
"In terms of a personal relationship," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said, "I enjoyed getting to know Amado and his wife."
On the field, though, Guevara did not fit well at all. He was ineffective in four games and came up short in Chivas USA's biggest game of the season, a 3-1 loss to the Galaxy on Saturday. Consequently, Guevara is gone. The club tried to deal him to Toronto but when Guevara balked at heading north it did not matter.
"I told him at this point in time we're going into a different direction," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "That's what we feel like as a group here; as an organization it's the best thing at this moment."
Players' reaction varied from "surprised" to "shocked", but in the end they sided with the club.
"He's a very likeable guy. Everyone is feeling sorry, feeling impacted by him leaving," Jonathan Bornstein said. "Ultimately it doesn't come down to what we want as players. It's up to the coaching staff and the administration. It's a choice they made. I'm sad to see him leave. I think he's a great player but ultimately it's not my decision."
Though Guevara had a somewhat checkered reputation for his off-field antics prior to arriving at Chivas USA, his now-former teammates seemed genuinely disappointed to lose what Marsch called a "good guy to have in the locker room" after just four games.
"I don't know what the reputation is," said Ante Razov, who spent some time with Guevara with the MetroStars. "Amado is a good guy. He's very likable and a good person."
Had he been the team psychologist, perhaps he'd still be employed. Instead, as the club's highest-paid player, Guevara was under perhaps more scrutiny than most. He had very pedestrian efforts in his first three games, then further displeased the coaching staff with a poor performance against the Galaxy.
"It's early in the season and we're trying to find our way a little bit but when you are a big-time player like Amado and you make a lot of money, you are always in a tough situation because everybody is expecting so much out of you," Marsch said. "It's kind of unfair to him in some ways but that's the nature of the business."
For the newcomers, the move lets them know how serious the coaching staff is with the ability of players to work hard every day at training and perform on the field when given the opportunity.
"Everyone was a little bit surprised but at the end of the day you've got to play," rookie John Cunliffe said. "Nobody is bigger than the club so I think that's a message the coach is trying to send out. Everyone has to keep working hard on the field to keep their spot on the team."
A 12-year veteran, Marsch said he's seen stunning moves like this happen before. Though the young players are going through it for one of the first times in their respective careers, what should be remembered as well is any club needs to continually look to improve.
"A lot of young guys were kind of shocked because they hadn't seen that before. It's the nature of the business," Marsch said. "I always feel like no matter how good your team is, you should always be looking to improve it. Even when you're happy with your team, you can't just sit back. You should always be looking to make your team stronger."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
