The Earthquakes will have a break from MLS action with Saturday's friendly against C.F. Pachuca, but the club has a rich competitive history with Los Tuzos that stems from a memorable CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal bout in 2002.
Saturday will be the first match between the two club’s since San Jose’s 1-0 CCL home leg win on April 24, 2002 at Spartan Stadium.
San Jose entered the home leg of the CCL Quarterfinals needing three goals to advance on aggregate after falling 3-0 in the first leg at Estadio Hidalgo. Frank Yallop’s side jumped out of the gates firing, outshooting Pachuca 21-4 through the full 90 minutes and 18-0 in the final 45 minutes. The Quakes finally broke through in the 61st minute thanks to club Hall of Famer Ramiro Corrales, slotting away an incoming service from midfielder Luchi Gonzalez.
Two-time MLS Cup winner and current Quakes assistant coach Ian Russell played 90 minutes in the match and reflected on the abundance of opportunities in front of goal.
“I remember we dominated that game in front of goal,” Russell recalls. “The hard part was that we had to make up a number of goals to get back into it. It was tough for us in that first leg because it was basically preseason for us.
“They were an excellent team. With the Mexican teams, everyone is super comfortable on the ball and super technical. I remember they flooded the midfield. It’s different from MLS because we’re fast, physical and athletic while their strength is the technical side of the ball.”
This weekend’s friendly will be much different than the club’s competitive CCL quarterfinal match 14 years ago, but Russell and the coaching staff will still be well prepared for the talented Liga MX side.
“Pachuca is very good technically so we need to make sure when we get the ball, we keep it,” Russell said. “We need to make them defend us instead of trying to defend them the whole game. They don’t lose the ball very cheaply, but when they do, we need to keep it and be dangerous in front of goal.”
