realty appointments and car and furniture deliveries, for example -- made the first week trying, they're mostly out of the way at this point.
Midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, the runner-up in MLS Honda MVP voting last season, is glad to be able to get on the field and get past the headaches that have accompanied the move to Houston. With three young children, De Rosario and his wife Brandy have had to find new doctors and new schools that they're comfortable with, and they've had to fill out all of the accompanying paperwork.
"I think the guys are focused, and we can put all of that stuff behind us now that we know what's going on and know what's happening our situation," he said. "In San Jose it wasn't really that kind of atmosphere. It was more of a 'Are we going? Are we leaving?' So now that we finally have a home, we can focus on our job on the field.
"Once you're on the field, it's what you love. The outside stuff, you can't let it affect you, especially as a professional."
De Rosario had a breakout year in 2005, scoring nine goals and 13 assists, leading the league in the latter category and the Earthquakes in both. After playing a total of just 39 minutes in the first three games of the season, De Rosario found a home in the Quakes' midfield, displaying an ability to lead the attack that few had seen from him before.
With the Canadian international leading the way, the Earthquakes ran away with the Western Conference, compiling an 18-4-10 record and amassing 64 points, the second-highest total in league history. The club set a record for fewest losses in a season and became the first team to go undefeated at home during an entire season.
De Rosario doesn't plan to try to recreate his individual 2005 performance this year, and head coach Dominic Kinnear said he doesn't plan to try to recreate the team's performance. Kinnear would gladly trade a handful of wins for an MLS Cup title.
"No way am I going to try to go out there and play to be the MVP," De Rosario said. "I'm trying to go out there to help my team out and do what we have to do to win. That was my same objective last year, and I'm going to take on the same frame of mind this year."
Said Kinnear: "To say we'll have a repeat performance is difficult. We set a couple of records along the way with our record at home and losses for a season, so it was really an impressive run. Unfortunately, as you know, only one team came out on top at the end and it wasn't us. We still look at it as a very good season but short of our expectations."
Kinnear has been happy with the first week of preseason but noted that it's difficult to tell at this early stage what the team will look like when the season starts in April. While forward Brian Ching and goalkeeper Zach Wells are with the U.S. national team and will join the club soon, MLS veterans Mark Chung (retired) and Danny Califf (transferred to Norway) are out of the mix for good.
Kinnear said he's comfortable with the squad he has, but said he's also looking to add some international players. In the same breath, Kinnear stressed it is "totally premature" to speculate about who those players could be.
"We're ... quietly looking at players from outside of the country to come in and contribute. We're hoping to get something done," he said. "We're happy with the players that we have now, but you're always looking to improve because you feel you've lost a little bit with the players that have gone."
The club will host invitation-only tryouts this weekend, but Kinnear said he has no preconceived notions about adding any of the players who audition to his roster. The goal, Kinnear said, is to see if there are any talented players in the Houston area that the coaching staff might not have seen already. Even if some players do impress, he said, "They've got to be better than the guys who are here."
Just a week into preseason, the players and coaches of Houston 1836 are itching for April 2, when the team plays its first match, a home game against the Colorado Rapids at Robertson Stadium. With its cozy dimensions, the stadium should provide a significant home-field advantage, at least according to De Rosario.
"I think within the whole team, our guys are definitely looking forward to playing in Houston and playing at Robertson Stadium," De Rosario said. "I think we're all going to enjoy playing in there at the opener. I can't wait to see that stadium packed."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
