It has evolved into the most passionate rivalry in Major League Soccer. The meetings between the San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy have everything that a classic rivalry needs to survive. Geographical proximity, nail biting finishes in important games, epic comebacks, controversial referee decisions, heroes and villains have all been in large supply over the nine years of the rivalry. But now, as the two clubs prepare for the first installment of the 2005 rivalry on Saturday at The Home Depot Center at 7 p.m. PT (tape delay at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports Net, live on 1590 AM KLIV), the enmity between the teams is at an all-time high.
Landon Donovan, who led San Jose to the 2001 MLS Cup over the Galaxy and the 2003 MLS Cup title will be playing on Saturday. But, instead of suiting up in the white Quakes uniform that he wore for four seasons while stymieing the Galaxy, Donovan will be wearing the green and gold of the Galaxy. The U.S. national team star joined Los Angeles in the offseason, and is re-teamed up with former Quakes Todd Dunivant and Steve Cronin, who also help to give this rivalry its unique nature.
"I think we have more Galaxy players than they have Galaxy players at this point when you look at number of years played there," Earthquakes forward Brian Ching, himself a former Galaxy player said.
The 2005 Quakes boast six former Los Angeles players, not including President & General Manager Alexi Lalas, who played in 2001-2003 with the Galaxy.
"It definitely makes it feel like a big game," Earthquakes captain Wade Barrett said about the burgeoning rivalry. "Every game counts the same, but the rivalry does make it feel like a big game. I know the crowd is going to be into it, they are going to be up for it and it makes it a really intense game."
Former Galaxy players Alejandro Moreno, Chris Aloisi and Danny Califf will be available to play Saturday against their former team, but San Jose leading scorer Brian Ching, midfielder Brian Mullan and defender Craig Waibel will all miss the match vs. their old employers due to injury.
"I think it is disappointing that me, Brian [Mullan] and Craig [Waibel] will be out because we wanted to play against the Galaxy this year," Ching said. "I know that we wanted to play in this rivalry game, especially because Landon [Donovan] is there now. If we could get a win there, it would be huge for us, it would make a statement this year."
It certainly would be a statement for the Quakes, who enter the match extremely short-handed after losing four starters to serious injuries in one week. Waibel went down in a scrimmage against Santa Clara University on May 10 with a torn right LCL injury and is expected to miss four to five months. Waibel's injury was a harbinger of things to come, as veteran defender Troy Dayak left the May 14 tie vs. FC Dallas with a torn left ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Also in the Dallas game, Quakes leading scorer Ching left the game with a hamstring injury, and Mullan had to depart due to an ankle injury.
"That is very tough to handle," Barrett said. "You don't want those injuries over the course of an entire season, and for us it has happened in the course of a week. That is very tough to deal with. You can't replace those guys, they all bring their own individual things to the game, which we are really going to miss."
The Quakes renew their rivalry against a revamped Galaxy team that is currently at the top of the Western Conference led by Donovan, Jovan Kirvoski and MLS veteran Cobi Jones.
"We haven't had a whole lot of success there when we don't play teams not called LA," Earthquakes goalkeeper Pat Onstad said. "It is an important game for us, they are good at home and that is what you want to be on your home field. It is important for us, because I think we finally have a team that can go in there and do well at keeping possession and try to make them chase a little bit. In the past I think we have been doing the chasing around the field against them, and in the 70th minute we were pretty much done. Hopefully we can keep possession and have a good performance on Saturday."
With Ching, Mullan, Dayak and Waibel all out of the lineup, the Earthquakes will look to former Galaxy forward Moreno to step in on the front line and continue to score goals. Ian Russell is likely to start in place of Mullan in the midfield, while second-year pro Ryan Cochrane will get another chance to prove himself in Dayak's absence.
"As deep as we are, any team that loses four starters, is affected," Onstad said. "That is a big change. You have to look at the guys that came in against Dallas and did a fantastic job. I think we were a little unfortunate not to get three points on Saturday, I thought Scott Garlick had a great game. If we can perform that way down in L.A. then we can give ourselves a good opportunity to get some points down there."
Ricardo Clark started his first game at right back on May 14 for the Quakes in place Waibel, and the defense looked strong when Cochrane teamed with Eddie Robinson in the center of the defense.
"I think we have good players to come in, that is why we have good players throughout our roster." Barrett said. "I think you saw that this weekend when those guys went out, we had good performances by the guys that came in. Ryan [Cochrane] did a great job in the back, Alejandro [Moreno] is a good guy up top and Ian [Russell] did a good job on the wing, so we have guys to step into those spots."
The short-handed Quakes will step into the always raucous Home Depot Center looking to not only right themselves, but further the greatest rivalry in MLS, because a loss to L.A. always hurts just a little bit more.
"It is for sure a big game for us," Barrett said. "For us this is a good opportunity to continue the momentum we've had over the last couple weeks. Hopefully, we can get three points on the road, because of course against L.A. it would mean a little bit more."
Quakes midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who helped send the rivalry into a overdrive with his brilliant game-winning strike in the 2001 MLS Cup Championship that gave San Jose the trophy over the Galaxy, is excited about clashing with LA, and his old teammate Donovan.
"I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait for the game on Saturday," De Rosario said. "It is always fun playing there, because of the rivalry we have and the passion is very intense, so I am looking forward to going down to LA and getting three points."
