Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 3, Seattle Sounders FC 0
Monday, July 28, 2014
MLS Regular Season
CenturyLink Field – Seattle, Wash.
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
(On the game…) “The team played well. It was a good performance on the road and a good performance if you were at home. Our guys played well tonight. They looked sharp.”
(On Marcelo Sarvas’ play…) “He played well. He played a good 90 minutes on both sides of the ball. It was a really good performance.”
(On what he said at halftime…) “Win the game. Our objective is to win the game and we did a pretty smart job in the second half. It could’ve been a little bit better, but good enough to get the win.”
(On why they dominated so much in the first half…) “We played well. We looked sharp and, you know, it’s mid-year right now. Everyone is still finding themselves. We’re just beginning to get our team on the field. After a half a season of misery, having to deal with the injuries and the absences and all that, hopefully we’ll get a little bit more of a solidified unit.”
(On the return of Omar Gonzalez…) “Omar hasn’t played with us for three months so it was great to get him back on the field.”
(On Robbie Rogers and Dan Gargan’s play…) “They played well. Our entire team played well tonight. It was a good performance and it was nice to get that group on the field. It was probably the first time they’ve played together this year.”
(On if the slow schedule at the beginning of the year helps with getting momentum now…) “The schedule at the beginning of the year helps nobody. It was a terrible schedule and made it very awkward and difficult to get our team moving in the right direction. That’s all part of it as well. We’re trying to catch up now. We’re only 18 games in at this point in the season and we’d like to have a few more. We have a real challenge ahead of us going into the second half of the season.”
(On the intelligence of his team’s play…) “We didn’t have to be pretty in the second half. Our goal is to win the game and I thought they played a smart game. Getting a clean sheet was important.”
(On if Chad Marshall playing would’ve made a difference for Seattle…) “Everybody misses players. It’s all part of it. He certainly is a good player. Would he have made a difference in the game? I don’t know.”
(On the team’s play as of late…) “I think over the last 10 games, we’re like 6-1-3 or something. It’s not like we’re playing bad.”
(On if the result against Manchester United may have motivated the team…) “It has nothing to do with anything. It’s just an exhibition. We could’ve cared less whether we won or lost that game. It’s an exhibition. It’s good for Manchester United. It’s good for the Galaxy. It’s good for the fans that came to the game, and that’s the most important thing. If you read anything more into exhibitions, then you probably don’t know what you’re watching. Having said that, if we play them 10 times, there’s a good chance they’ll beat us 10 times so let’s be fair about that.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER LANDON DONOVAN
(On whether this win was the one they needed to kick start the season…) “Let’s not be so dramatic about it. It’s just one win and when I look at the standings, Seattle are still far ahead, so we have a long way to go, but more than the win or the score line, I think the way we played was important. We always say that when we play that way, we’re hard to beat, and so I thought we were excellent tonight. We probably should have scored a couple more goals and when you look around the field, you can say every guy really competed and we were a real team tonight and that felt good.”
(On how the team came out of the gate really strong…) “We had a really good week of training. Obviously we were a little disappointed with what happened on Wednesday and the Saturday before, and it was important for us to play well tonight, to start well. I think our attitude was great. Obviously having Omar [Gonzalez] back was important, but more than anything, it was just competing. When we compete like that, we have talented enough players where we’re generally better than the other team we’re playing, and that showed through tonight.”
(On the way they played wide tonight…) “We had been playing in a diamond, which was putting a lot more numbers centrally. This week, it was very straightforward. You were playing against one guy and at the end of the night, you want to look at our lineup and theirs and say who won each matchup and I think tonight there’s at least nine or 10 check marks in our column, probably 11, and that was important. We were able to open the field, we moved well, we passed well, and when we do that, we create a lot of chances. We have a lot of talented players and tonight was very enjoyable for us.”
(On him and Marcelo Sarvas playing a hand in all three goals scored…) “Marcelo was excellent tonight. He has a little more freedom when [Juninho] is in there to roam forward and there was a lot of space in the midfield. I think those two completely overran [Osvaldo] Alonso and [Gonzalo] Pineda and I think they were excellent in there. When you take control of the midfield like that, it helps you get control of the game. They were excellent. When we won the ball, they went forward, Marcelo went forward, he got some shots off, some good passes, and it was a good night for him.”
(On how he felt playing out wide, instead of more centrally…) “It was more about my demeanor and my attitude than anything. I had a good week in training. I felt like I hadn’t played well lately and that bothered me. I got myself to the point in early May where I was playing very well, and I was at the top of my game, and then the last month or so has been difficult for a lot of reasons and I think my performance dropped off, so I wanted to get back to getting to the top of my game and I felt that way tonight.”
(On how having the first team lineup together helped…) “Of course it helps. When you have guys out or injured for a long time, it hurts. Getting Robbie Rogers back helped a lot; obviously having Omar [Gonzalez] back helps a lot. We were able to really do what we wanted to do, so it was very helpful.”
(On whether their system really is as simple as putting the right 11 guys out there at the right time…) “Well tonight it was, because it was straight up 4-4-2 against 4-4-2. When you play different teams – you know, next week we play Portland, and they play a different style, so the numbers don’t match up as well. But tonight, it was ‘am I going to get the best of DeAndre [Yedlin]? Is Robbie Rogers going to get the best of [Marco] Pappa or [Lamar] Neagle? Is Omar going to get the best of Clint [Dempsey] or Obafemi [Martins]?’ It was very simple, so that’s what our mindset was. Obviously there are other things that come into it; you have to play well and pass well and take your chances when they come, but at the end of the day, I think just from a competitive standpoint, we were very good.”
(On their defense, especially in the first half…) “Seattle has scored a ton of goals this year; they are a very, very good team. They have excellent players. Clint is one of the best, if not the best, player in the league and Obafemi has been great this year, so to keep them shut out is an excellent accomplishment. To keep them from having really any super dangerous chances is excellent, and I thought those guys were great tonight.”
(On the intensity of the match tonight…) “It’s enjoyable. It’s competitive, and our team wasn’t going to back down and we don’t want guys to back down. We don’t want to be stupid, but we want to be competitive and Seattle is the same way. Sigi [Schmid] is an excellent coach and he always has them ready to go. All that stuff happens after the game. You shake hands and you move on, but it was a good game, it was a competitive game, but a clean game.”
(On whether it’s too simplistic to attribute his dip in performance to not making the USMNT…) “Of course. I mean, it’s not too simplistic. That’s not an easy thing for any player to handle, but mentally it’s my job to do what’s right for this team and to be at my best. I felt really good this week. I feel like I’m starting to play well again. I really pushed myself to be playing well in April and May of this year, and I was, and then I just dropped off a little bit. It’s important for me to get back to that. Again, this is only one night and it’s got to continue. That’s what’s expected of me, and that’s what I expect of myself.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ
(On his return to MLS play…) “It’s been maybe like three months since I’ve worn the Galaxy jersey and been out there with my teammates and so coming out here tonight in beautiful Seattle, in front of so many fans, was just a great feeling. Specifically getting three points and doing it in the fashion that we did was just amazing.”
(On this being a complete performance from the LA Galaxy…) “I don’t want to look too much into the past, we have a lot of new players here and I just think that we put in a really good team performance in today. I thought that we didn’t give them time to feel comfortable; I think that we put a lot of pressure on them and we played our way. In the first half we really played well, I mean in the second goal we must have struck 20-25 passes before we got the goal and that’s just beautiful when you’re doing that so hopefully we can be consistent and do this the next game too.”
(On the team’s great performance in the back line…) “I think we still need a little bit of work, going forward I think there’s some things that we need to work on but tonight I thought we did well. Seattle didn’t have much going; I don’t think they got a shot until maybe the 70th minute or something, so if we can keep on doing that, we’re going to be in a good spot.”
(On the team’s possession in the midfield…) “Like I said before, tonight was a really good team performance, I thought our movement was great off the ball; when someone had the ball guys were moving in to good spots and we were moving it quickly. When you have Gyasi [Zardes] making long runs and Robbie [Keane] coming in the middle it makes it really tough for us center backs and [defensive midfielders] to defend that so we keep that going. I can see us climbing the ladder here and putting some pressure on these teams.”
(On bouncing back from a 7-0 loss to Manchester United on Wednesday…) “Losing the game against [Manchester United], you know, I wish that I could have played in that game but I knew how important tonight was. Tonight’s [game] was very important here in Seattle, the first of three games and we knew that we needed to come here and get a result so we had to come in here, just roll up our sleeves and be ready to work hard and that’s what we did. I thought that everyone was very committed, everyone was ready to put in a tough 90 minutes and it showed, I thought that we played great.”
(On the shutout…) “That meant everything to us. There was a couple of times when even Robbie [Keane] and Landon [Donovan] were saying ‘we don’t give up a goal.’ And that just goes to show how committed we were to really making a statement and showing that this is the second half of the season and we’re ready. And so we were up 3-0, but we didn’t want to give any goals.”
SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
(Opening Statement…) "It's just one of those things. We didn't connect passes early in the game—they put a lot of pressure on us. We lost confidence in our passing early out of the back. We lost confidence in that, so we are lumping up 50-50 balls. We lost a majority of the duels in the game. As a result of that, they had more (goals). So today they were better."
(On Chad Marshall's injury…) "It certainly hurt us. Chad got rear-ended on Saturday, so that's why we held him out of practice on Sunday. We thought he was feeling better today, then he sneezed this morning and his whole back [got spasms] so he couldn't play. Chad's a big part of our defense, but Dylan Remick hasn't played in a long time, so it was a big game for him to get back into the game, so it made it a little bit harder…. [Jalil] Anibaba would have started and Marshall would have been in the middle. He is going to see someone tomorrow and we hope it's not long term."
(On the weaknesses of the defense…) "They were a better team. Landon [Donovan] found space on DeAndre [Yedlin] on that side, but it wasn't just him. Every player found space; all of their players had too much space. We weren't tight enough. When you give a good player that much space, they are going to show how good they are."
(On coming back next week…) "Play better. Pretty simple."
SOUNDERS FC FORWARD TRISTAN BOWEN
(Thoughts on the game…) “I thought we were a bit lackadaisical in the first half for whatever reason. The LA Galaxy is a good team and they came out and pounced on us early on. They had a few chances and they put all of them away. I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot today.”
(On what made the Galaxy effective…) “They just sat back and did what the Galaxy normally do. They countered and we really didn’t put enough pressure on them in the first half so a lot of what they did was working. Credit to the Galaxy for putting their chances away but it one of those things where we didn’t do our job to the best of our ability and they took advantage of it and that’s what good teams do.”
(On Sounders FC rebounding from loss…) “We just have to keep our heads up. It’s one game and it was against a good team. So we just have to keep our heads up and understand that’s not who we are but it also reminds that anything can happen if we don’t come out and do our job.”
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER JALIL ANIBABA
(Thoughts on the game…) “I thought we came out a little flat. They took advantage of their chances pretty well and we weren’t sharp early, which obviously hurts us and the score was a little too steep of a task to comeback from.”
(On what made LA Galaxy effective…) “I think they were more aggressive than us, beating us on 50/50 balls and that translated all over the pitch, but like I said that it was just a matter of them being a little sharper than us early on and we dug ourselves a hole.”
(On Sounders FC rebounding from the loss…) “Whenever you take a loss what you want to do is get back on the pitch as soon as possible and luckily we have a game on Saturday, so we’ll get a couple days of training in, recover, and get back after it.”
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER ZACH SCOTT
(On the team’s result…) “One of the worst 45 [minutes] I can even remember playing. I think from top to bottom there wasn’t a single guy who could say they played anywhere near their potential, but all I can do is look at myself from a personal standpoint and as a leader on this team and a veteran guy regardless of who’s on the field you need to be able to hold the team together and specifically the defense. Letting in three goals is just ridiculous. I’m embarrassed.”
(On recovering from loss…) “All we can really do is look at video, figure out what LA did well because, credit to them, we played poorly but they really took it to us. Their high pressure caused a lot of mistakes all around the field. They definitely played a good game but we’ll look at the video tomorrow and there’s a quick turnaround to a Saturday game so we’ve got to get on the horse and get back at it. We’ve been here before; we got slaughtered in New England and came back and put a pretty good streak together, so like coach said we’ve got to look at our body of work. Do we think we’re the team we were today? No, but you’re only as good as your last game and I think we’re all ready to get back on the field. I’d play another 90 right now.”
SOUNDERS FC GOALKEEPER STEFAN FREI
(On playing without Chad Marshall…) “Yeah, we had to make a couple of adjustments but I think we struggled with our possession today more, especially in midfield. They are very good on the counter and we gave them some opportunities to counter with some poor possession and they made us pay for it early on. Tough game for us at home.”
(On losing at home…) “It hurts to lose at home; we were on a good streak there but like it happened before we got on that streak […] in New England with that tough loss there and now obviously it hurts with a tough loss and on top of that at home but we’ve got to show our character and bounce back. A lot of games coming up really quickly and we need to dig deep and have a good week of practice—not even a whole week—but get better and hopefully we can get on another streak.”
SOUNDERS FC FORWARD CHAD BARRETT
(On the result…) “You know when you come in—you don’t really think you’re going to come in at halftime. It hasn’t happened all year. Unfortunately Lamar went down with an injury and I had to come in. [I] provided a spark but it was a little hard that late—being 3-0 down is a hard situation to come into. All you really want to do is try and be a little bit of an igniting switch. Unfortunately I didn’t really get anything going.”
(On the causes for the loss…) “I think that’s what it was. It wasn’t as bad as New England but it was something similar, it felt like. It seemed like we were a little bit tired, a little bit dead which is really inexcusable when you have more than two weeks off so it’s a little frustrating. Obviously losing Chad [Marshall] at the beginning of the game was a huge blow. Everybody thought he was going to play; he’s a huge product of the way we play, the commander in our back line. But you have to make changes. People should be able to fill in and for this reason, that or another we were out of sorts and we couldn’t figure it out. It’s not up to the coaches. It’s not up to anybody else but the players on the field to try and figure it out collectively and we couldn’t do that. Credit to LA. They really came out with a good game plan and really pressed us. It wasn’t by the counter attack we thought it might be. I thought they dominated the first half throughout. I thought it was hard for us to string five passes together in the first 40 minutes, so credit to them. It’s a tough loss, sucks to lose to such a good team especially at home.”
