Highlights:
Notable: The Fire’s 11 game undefeated record to start the season is the longest in club history and the second longest in league history. The title holder: the Galaxy, which posted 12 wins in 1996 (my, my, is that a long time ago now).
Bonus quotes
*Here’s Fire Coach Dennis Hamlett on the pivotal last call and his reaction to Preki calling it a dive:
“That’s his opinion. It was a PK. I saw the ball being played in, Brian (McBride) going up and being pushed from the back. … You can’t just take a free shot at a guy in the box. You have to play the ball.
*Here’s Paulo Nagamura on his bomb of a goal:
“That was an opportunity that came to me. I got the ball in the middle and there was nobody around me and I saw that I could drive forward and so I kept going and nobody came to me. It was a chance to hit a ball and I hit it pretty well.”
*On whether his goal celebration was a copy of the goal-scoring routine of Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o:
“Actually, I did that a few weeks ago. He may be watching MLS games.”
*Here’s Preki on the continuing unnecessary flurry of yellow cards that referees are prone to in MLS this season, especially on Jesse March’s first, which became much more relevant when he received the second (that no-one questioned) and are undermining the contests:
“Just before Jesse got his second yellow card (Fire midfielder John) Thorrington makes the foul in the middle of the field against Jesse, the referee reaches in his pocket to give him a second yellow card and he changes his mind. We can see it clearly from the bench. And then the tackle by Jesse gives him a second yellow. That’s nuts. That’s like a comedy hour because if you look at the replay it’s a devastating call to a group that played its heart out.”
*Here’s Mexican Mariano Trujillo on the massive cheers heard after Blanco, a former player with huge CD Guadalajara rivals Club America, scored at Home Depot Center:
“We know that there’s a lot of fans for Blanco here in L.A. It’s just like a little bit sad that we’re playing at home and they’re cheering. But we’re getting used to these games.”
BTW, how will Chivas USA mark the loss (and their fifth anniversary)? By going to Disneyland! On Friday the players will: participate in a cavalcade along Main Street USA and take a team photo in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle (if Sacha shows up in a tinkerbell outfit flying over the castle we’ll be sure and bring it to you).
Thanks again to Phil Collin for the bulk of those quotes.
Sweet dreams boys and girls.
