SAN JOSE, Calif. — According to San Jose Earthquakes boss Matias Almeyda, this is just the beginning: “My project is four years long. Some of you (media members) are going to have to deal with me for four years, until the end,” the Argentine quipped with the lone smile of a 15-minute press conference on Saturday.
Just a handful of minutes earlier, with a knee dug deep into Avaya Stadium’s turf and a hand directly over his face, ‘El Pelado’ tried to swallow a fourth consecutive lopsided defeat. This time, it came at the hands of LAFC and Carlos Vela, a force that belittled San Jose on and off the field with captivating goals and a raucous traveling support.
If the juxtaposition of LAFC’s thriving fanbase to San Jose’s wasn’t enough, the results only reaffirmed the organization’s fragility that has had them flirting with irrelevancy more often that not.
“After five goals, we were playing like kids who are a bunch of losers,” said Guram Kashia.
A 5-0 drubbing is the latest result of 2019 for Almeyda and his side, who remain the laughing stock of the league and seem to have no leads to a possible solution. Four games into the much-anticipated season under Almeyda, and the Quakes have conceded 14 goals, scoring only two along the way. League legend and fighting spirit of the Black-and-Blue, Chris Wondolowski, has yet to record a shot on target. Almeyda, for a second time in three weeks, admitted he is “taking too long” to find his starting cast and, therefore, the responsibility of such a poor start rests on him.
Does it, though?
The Quakes are only one of two teams in the league without a Designated Player earning over the $1.5 million threshold. Unlike what he was given by Jorge Vergara at Chivas when he first arrived in 2015, the Argentine was limited to four new players of his liking and a large pool of inherited players ahead of his MLS debut. Deep down inside, Almeyda, knows his organization’s structure and strategy will have to change and adapt to the league’s contemporary expectations.
“In reality, yes,” Almeyda said about wanting to replicate a blueprint similar to LAFC’s during his stay in San Jose. “I had a lot of offers before I came here, and I choose to come here. A lot of people told me that I was crazy for coming to a club who finished last last season, a club that hasn’t invested like other clubs. But my project is deeper than that.”
“If we would have won today, my mentality would have remained the same,” he added. “I do see realities though, a lot of realities. In soccer, for changes to come, one needs to be realistic and make decisions.”
Certain decision are being made, however. Proof of that was Almeyda’s command for his team to spend Friday night at a local hotel, mimicking a ritual that is common for soccer teams south of the border. And after the game, the former midfielder and his staff took upwards of 30 minutes addressing his entire roster.
“We talked about how much we need to change,” said converted right back Tommy Thompson. “I mean there’s a lot wrong, the game plan we had was not executed and it wasn’t good enough for us, it wasn’t good enough for Matias, it wasn’t good enough for our fans. But like I said we’re going to continue doing everything we can to change it.”
As the odds continue accumulating, the overall sentiment in San Jose is that change will not happen overnight. Almeyda, himself, was not hesitant in admitting that his institution is not at the level of teams like Atlanta United, LA Galaxy, and LAFC. “We are not on par with them,” Almeyda said regarding Atlanta, Galaxy, and LAFC. “We are much lower. For that reason we want a collective style of play, not an individual one. We don’t have a Carlos Vela who is going to score three goals like today.”
Almeyda does remains “optimistic” that one day his team will have a Vela of their own. But for now, he feels he and his coaching staff are left with no other option than to be a self-critical group of hard workers, leaving the possibilities of true, top-down investments in doubt; on cue with the Black-and-Blue’s script.
“This is a process,” Almeyda stressed. “And to invest, we don’t have to invest just to invest. If anything, we need to invest with clarity and towards a system of training and playing. That’s why projects exist.”
