My Valeri Paragraph
...and that's why Diego Valeri is the reigning Major League Soccer MVP. He is the definition of a game changer. All night long he looked relatively tangled up, could never find the flow of his natural game that has made him such an impactful player in MLS, to which I credit the San Jose defense, but when he had his one moment to change the game, that's exactly what he did. He put the ball where Tarbell had zero chance of getting it on a free kick, gave the Timbers the 0-1 lead and the win. His moment of brilliance is precisely what the Earthquakes are lacking right now, and when juxtaposed directly, it makes the Quakes' lack thereof all the more glaring. For so long we've become accustomed to someone scoring the late goal for San Jose, someone stepping up, and/or into the role of hero. So far in 2017, we've had Jahmir Hyka do it once, to equalize late against Houston. It's time for someone to step up.
In Search of the Positive
The Quakes backline had a quality outing, something they were not quite desperately in need of, but it makes you feel better moving forward. The caveat is that it means Florian Jungwirth being permanently placed at centerback. With the World Cup looming, it seems likely that Cummings (along with Godoy) will be out for a stretch, and Jungwirth partnered with Affolter/Quintana/Ockford will be a theme moving forward. I know this is not Jungwirth's natural position, but it appears to be the one he is best at in the context of this team. It also allows for the continued development of Jackson Yueill, which will see its bumps along the way, but it feels like he is quickly getting more comfortable in the midfield. Shea Salinas also had his best performance (defensively) of the year. He was more conservative, and tracked back more quickly, plus his approaches and angles when in the defensive third looked much more natural than they had in games past. Salinas has lasted this long in MLS for a reason, and it's not just his speed. He's smart, he's adaptable, and he's getting more and more comfortable at that position given time to learn. The tough part about moving Jungwirth, or developing Yueill, or watching Salinas morph into a left back is that these things haven't happened within the context of wins. Until that starts happening, the work in progress remains work in progress.
The Grind Continues
May 12th at Minnesota
May 16th at Vancouver
May 19th home vs DC
May 25th at Zlatan
June 2nd at Chicago
June 9th home vs LAFC
Four of the next five are on the road, and then on June 9th, they'll host LAFC, which won't be a cakewalk, either. The good thing is that most of these games aren't against the best MLS has to offer. Minnesota and Vancouver, in terms of points per game, both come in behind the Timbers, even though they are above the red line for now. LAFC, hot start noted, as well as their lack of depth, which tends to rear its ugly head in this league come summertime, historically. =
Mikael Stahre is receiving a baptism by fire in his first few months at the helm, and winning on the road is a tall task in Major League Soccer. The good news is that despite the rough start, San Jose is only six points back of the red line. A course correction is in order, and the sooner the better. Also, take a look at our schedule in the second half of the season. It is home matches, and not much on the road. We're down, we're not out. Go Quakes.
