Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 2, Chicago Fire 0
Friday, March 6 – 7:00 p.m. PT
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On starting Jose Villarreal:
“Obviously he played well, and obviously got the winning goal for a really big game. He is a good player; he dedicates himself to being a good professional. He’s got the talent to be a real good player, so I’m really pleased with his game today. He is a player with a lot of talent. Maybe his best position would be as a second forward. Perhaps where Robbie Keane plays, but he’s not going to get on the field because of that. We have a lot of forwards, and we asked him to make this transition to midfield, and it’s a bit challenging, but he has worked real hard to get fit. I thought tonight he showed that, and he did in his last couple of preseason games. So we’re pretty excited about his development.”
On relying on Stefan Ishizaki with the absence of Landon Donovan:
“I don’t even give any of that a thought. We’re building a team for this year, and it has nothing to do with Landon not being here. It has to do with the players that are here and getting better and making our team better. Landon is obviously respected, and we appreciate everything he has done, but that is over. [Stefan] Ishizaki is in his second year in this league, he is much more comfortable. He is a very good player, and we expect him to have a really good year this year, as he did last year.”
On defensive line:
“It’s a pretty experienced group. All of our players, beside the group the group that started tonight, you saw A.J. [DeLaGarza] coming on, we have Tommy Meyer, and Todd Dunivant, we have good experienced players that can play multiple positions in the back line and they have played together for a while. So they are pretty consistent and obviously talented. Omar is a tremendous talent, Leonardo is probably a little bit of an unsung hero, he’s played very well for us, and he is going to have an outstanding season.”
On the league starting:
“It was great. I think the league had to go on, and start on schedule this year. I don’t think we could have received the type of support we need if there we had a strike and the season was delayed. I think it’s important that we got the season started on time, and obviously we are real happy to be able to play.”
On the team:
“It’s the same thing for the most part, they’re an experienced group, & they know how to play and at home we obviously played well. But it’s an experienced group of players on the field and they’ve tasted a lot of success and they understand what they need to do to win games. We’ve been through it before, and I thought the first half we played well, especially the last 15 minutes of the half. So I think it was just a matter of time to get a goal, and I think Chicago started off the second half much better. They put us under some pressure, so obviously Jose’s goal was big. We thought that we put them in a position where they tire out a little bit because they had to do a lot of defending in the first half. Our guys kept their concentration and had the kind of discipline they needed to have. When they got the first goal, I thought they felt pretty comfortable that they would be able to get a second one, and get three points.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER BAGGIO HUSIDIC
On the team:
“I think it’s early on in the season, but just to get a win, we didn’t do that last year. So I think we still have a lot of things to work on, but we progress throughout the season. I’m fully healthy now. Bruce [Arena] does a good job bringing in guys that fit in with the team. I think this year, we’ll be a big target on our back. You can’t replace Landon [Donovan]. Hopefully he’ll be around a bit more than he has during vacation. But we’ll look to replace in other words.”
On Donovan:
“Yeah, it was weird when he came in with a suit for the rings and the banner… It’s a little weird. There are other guys that bring different characteristics and different sides to football. So we’ve just got to find the right match.”
On the defensive line:
“We were pretty solid tonight, I don’t know if [Brian] Rowe had any saves, which is a compliment to all of the players. I think we were pretty disciplined, and we took it pretty personal to defend and keep a clean sheet.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JOSE VILLARREAL
On his goal:
“It feels good to help out the team in any way, and I got that one in, and Robbie [Keane] got his so I’m really happy. Honestly, I was just hoping [Lovel] Palmer would let that slide, they kind of had a miscommunication with the other center back so luckily it was perfect for me.”
On new position in the midfield:
“Bruce [Arena] has been speaking to me pretty closely, so I’m just following orders and trying to progress every day. I have just got to sprint longer. I was communicating well with Robbie Rogers out there, and I think we did pretty well. Defensively, I thought I was getting into a good spot, so going forward it’s just going to get better every time. I was focused, and I had everyone supporting me from the team, so I was happy.”
On 2014:
“2014 is over, and we’ve got to focus on 2015. We’ve just got to get better every game, and we’re going to have a tough match against Portland so we’ve got to get better. I was just happy I came back in time for that championship. I’m talking closely to Bruce [Arena] so he is giving me advice, and I’m just trying to get better. The goal helped me out a lot, so that’s good.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ
On getting an assist:
“Anytime I can be involved in the attack, it takes me back to my old days and I always have fun doing it. I always try and be the first line of attack, get the ball quickly to the midfielder, if I can skip the midfielders and go straight to the forwards, or send it out wide to [Stefan Ishizaki] like I did tonight. I don’t always want to play safe, and that is something that I am going to try and do this year and continually, get better at it. I’m happy tonight it worked out, and above all else, I’m happy that we got the win. I was trying to put it right in front of [Baggio Husidic], and just drop it in there, but he happened to knock it down so it worked out.”
On the team’s experience:
“I think experience definitely carried us through. Chicago’s first half didn’t have much, they just sat back and let us have most of the ball and we were unlucky to not be able to finish a couple of close chances. I would have liked to see us a bit more aggressive, and create more chances and getting in front of the goal more. I thought the second half they came out with more energy and put a little more pressure on us, but we found a way to get goals and that’s always good for us. If we want to keep on moving forward, and being consistent throughout the year, we’ve got to be good defensively, keep the shutout, and I think if we do that, we have the players up top that can create opportunities and finish them off.”
On the defensive line confidence:
“Well again, it’s just the first game, but I tonight I thought we were solid and didn’t allow very much. If we want to be another contender this year, I know it’s still early, but what I’m getting at is one of our goals is to be a consistent team, to be good the whole season. If we want to do that then we have to have a confident, good backline. That doesn’t start with us, it starts in the forwards, and down to us, down to the goalkeeper. So I think it’s a team effort and I think the effort was there tonight. We want to be a stingy defense. I think last year, we were that way too where we didn’t allow much, but they would get a chance and get that one goal. That’s how I felt it was last year, and that’s the way I don’t want it to be this year. We don’t want to allow many chances, and teams are going to get a chance, that’s the way the game goes. But we just have to make sure that when they do get chances that we’re alert and we protect our keeper as much as possible.”
CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On tonight’s game:
“I thought in the first half we were pretty poor. It seemed like the occasion kind of got to us a little bit but I told the guys at half time the good news is its nil-nil. They had a few good chances in the first half but I thought right before they scored we started coming into the game. Started to move the ball quite well but we were unfortunate with the rebound in the first goal and obviously a great finish for the second with Robbie Keane scoring. It is a tough place to come and play and win and do anything but I just felt there were moments throughout the game, we don’t get a penalty call which I felt was a penalty but I have to look at it again but it felt like it was from where I was sitting and then a minute later they go down the other end and score.”
On what he takes away from this game:
“I thought we didn’t give up, we kept going, we tried to play and push on a little bit in the second half. We are a new team and we have some guys out that are going to help us when they do get healthy and come back. I thought spirit wise it was good. Our performance football wise wasn’t good especially in the first half. We had spells that were really good but not enough in the game to warrant a win.”
On moving forward:
“You come into this game, you can’t ask for a harder game to start your season out. For me it was tough to really get a real sense of where we are at because it is the first game against the champions and we were sort of at half strength with some guys out. My big thing is making sure that we regroup and get ready for the home opener next weekend and come out with a victory in that one.”
CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER SHAUN MALONEY
On the result:
“We played a really good side tonight; we played the champions, and I think that showed. [The Galaxy] dominated the game for large parts. I think there were parts of the game where we started to get a little more of the possession and a little bit more control of the game, but the Galaxy are champions for a reason. We have some work to do to get up to that standard.”
On MLS and Chicago Fire debut:
“After defeat, you’re very disappointed. Before the match, I said it was a great match to play. I think in all these types of matches, they’re brilliant to play if you win, but the manner in which we got beat at times tonight, it was just very disappointing.”
On team cohesion:
“We’ll improve going forward as a team. I think it showed tonight that we have a lot of new players. I think there’s still lots of work to be done on the training ground to get organized as a team, but I don’t think any of us can shy away from that. There were small parts tonight where we showed that we can compete with the champions, and with more hard work we can match them for far longer periods.”
CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
On the result:
“The first game of the year is always tough to come here. This is three years in-a-row we’ve started the season in LA, and twice now we’ve played the Galaxy; whether it’s the first game, midseason or the last game, they’re a good team. They’re a strong attacking team and put us under pressure in the first half. I thought in the second half we were better, but they get fortunate on [the first goal] and take the air out of the game, and they’re not going to lose a lead at home.”
On the first goal:
“I was getting back in for the cross; I don’t know that Lovel is there. I was just focusing on the ball and trying to hook it the other way. Unfortunately, it hits Lovel and sits right there for [Jose] Villarreal.”
Positives going forward:
The end of the game was good. We had guys on the field who were comfortable and were moving the ball around. It’s always easier at 2-0, but the things that we did towards the end of the game were good. It’s a long season and you have to keep grinding. No team comes in at the beginning of a season in mid-season form; that just doesn’t happen. We just have to keep working on the things we want to do a push on.”
