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Chivas Guadalajara Feels at Home

June 10, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


In continuation of their preseason work ahead of Liga MX's 2013 Apertura Tournament, Chivas Guadalajara began Monday morning their fourth day of work with a triple training session at The Home Depot Center's Field 6, home of Chivas USA.

With mixed trainings at a golf course, beach and soccer field, the team led by Benjamin Galindo has enjoyed their four days in California and has met up on various occasions with sister club Chivas USA, experience that has always been joyful to defender Hector Reynoso.

"It's always nice to see them; Mario de Luna, Chore, all the players that have been over there," Reynoso said. "I've already met the rest of the team and it's good to exchange experiences that we've had, see each other work and share what each of us have been through."

The Red-and-White has already undergone 13 days of preseason where the integration, tuning and intensity in the training sessions are key in order for the team to be successful in the next tournament and what better way than to use world class training fields like those at The Home Depot Center to help the team in their way to success.

"We've had 13 days of working hard, and to be honest, every day we understand each other more and what the coach wants from us. Each training session has more work in it and more force and that's good for us, and these fields help our preparation so that we can start off on the right foot from the first game," Hector Reynoso said about the LA training fields.

Sunday, June 16 will be a special day for Chivas Guadalajara, where the two Chivas brothers will meet in a private friendly scrimmage. But for Hector Reynoso, this will be a meet that they must win without caring who the opponent is.

"We want to create the habit of being winners and this Sunday, we have that opportunity, Chivas USA will be a dificult opponent who is allready in their season but, we are going to fight to come away with a win on Sunday." Reynoso concluded.

Chivas will continue their preseason work in Los Angeles until Monday, June 17, after which the team will return to Guadalajara.

MLS Announces Six Chivas USA Nominees

Major League Soccer announced on Monday Chivas USA's six nominees for fan voting for the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in Kansas City. Goalkeeper Dan Kennedy; defenders Mario de Luna and Bobby Burling; midfielders Edgar "Chore" Mejia and Eric Avila; and forward Tristan Bowen are among the 115 players who were nominated by a panel of media members.

Kennedy last season made his All-Star debut, playing the entire second half in goal in the MLS' 3-2 win over Chelsea FC at PPL Park in Chester, PA. Both Avila and Burling, in their sixth and eighth seasons in the League, respectively, have yet to be selected in their careers to be part of the All-Star Game, but look upon the mere act of being among the nominees as validation for their work and performance in MLS.

"Being nominated is always an accomplishment," said Avila. "Just to be recognized, especially with all my teammates. Obviously it's always a goal to be part of [the All-Star Game], it would be really nice to go out there and be selected. It's something I've always wanted to be a part of since I've been in the League."

For Mejia and De Luna, 2013 marks the first season for the Chivas Guadalajara products' in MLS. The duo has provided leadership and experience for the Rojiblancos' young team and have adapted to the League's competition and style of play.

"It speaks well about the team, and personally I'm happy with the nomination," said Mejia. "I've worked hard to adapt as best possible, both on and off the pitch and prepare myself mentally for each game to leave it all out on the field and be effective. I'm proud of the nomination and I'm definitely committed to my team and the League to continue working the right way."

Fans can vote online HERE and can also vote by sending a player's last name via text message to 22442. Twitter voting will be available from June 20-21. This year's July 31 All-Star Game will feature a match-up between the MLS' best and AS Roma at Sporting Park beginning at 6 p.m. (PT).

From three to four

Chivas USA kicked off the Major League Soccer season taking the rest of the teams by surprise by playing with an atypical defensive line of three to the common US system. Known by its implementation within the Holland National Team, this defensive line uses, to succeed, a zone defense and speed in the transition from attacking to defending and vice versa.

This tactic seemed to be fruitful during the first weeks of the season as the Red-and-White were able to score multiple goals against their opponents. Captain and goalkeeper Dan Kennedy expressed how "the novelty [of the system] and how at the beginning of the season our physical level was a little bit higher than the other teams" were some of the keys to that premature success.

Chivas are yet to earn their first shutout in the 2013 MLS season. In May alone, the Goats recorded a negative goal difference of -12 (13 against vs. one in favor) in four league games, which the system is to partially blame for. Having three men in the back-line left the defense unprotected on multiple occasions; a tiny individual mistake in a one-on-one challenge would leave the entire team exposed and create a scoring opportunity for the opponent.

With the club's technical changes that took place less than two weeks ago, the group has been working hard to overcome the bad luck that has been upon them the past month and a half. Under the new coach's direction, the team has returned to a more traditional system of four men in the backline. The goal is "to have the defensive security and also be more effective in the buildup," explained Interim Coach and Youth Academy Director Sacha van der Most.

To build this new mentality, the team has gone back to basics in the last two weeks of training, analyzing each principle of the game within the individual roles; the group and the different lines, to finish functioning as a whole defensively and on how to put those concepts in place working together.

"We have started to work differently, trying to learn the ideas brought by [José Luis Real Casillas]," commented defender Walter VÃ-lchez. "He comes with clear ideas that are being captured in a good way. We are trying to see what he wants and I think that so far, without having played an official game, they are showing results on the field."

This system not only seeks to find stability inside the pitch with the First Team, but despite age or location, to create some sort of unison among all the groups in the Red-and-White institution.

"The line of four is very similar to what [Chivas] Guadalajara is doing right now. Besides there's a direct line of what the youth is doing and the First Team is doing."

The fusion and agreement in the foundation allow and facilitate the incorporation of players within the club when the First Team struggled with injuries, disciplinary action or player transactions. Moreover, due to a very busy schedule with MLS, Open Cup and international fixtures, the team can be reinforced by taking advantage of the great investment made in the development of the youth throughout the years.

The Goats will test this new strategy when they visit the Carolina RailHawks in the fourth round of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, June 12 at 4:15 PM (PT). If victorious, they will move on to face the winner of the Real Salt Lake (MLS) vs. Charleston Battery (USL PRO) match in the Quarterfinals.

"We've had a good week of training under our new coach and the formation looks solid so I'm excited to put it to the test on Wednesday. If we take [the match] seriously and execute our game plan, we should come up on top," concluded Kennedy.

Chivas USA arrive in North Carolina

Chivas USA landed in Raleigh-Durham International Airport just after 4:30 p.m. (ET) and immediately left for the team's hotel in Cary, NC, ahead of their Fourth Round game against the Carolina RailHawks in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup scheduled for Wednesday, June 12 at 4:15 p.m. (PT) at Wakemed Soccer Park.

Upon their arrival at the hotel, Chivas headed to their rooms to get ready for a short activation session to stretch their bodies after spending more than five hours in a plane.

The session began passing a small ball around the ballroom to elevate their cardiovascular fitness before heading into some stretching. The short workout ended with a team building and critical thinking exercise called "handcuffs". Paired up, each player was wearing a string attached to their wrist and was linked to their partner. The objective of the exercise was to detach themselves from one another without taking their handcuffs off. After several attempts, tons of thinking and laughs, the players were given the key to their escape.

If the Goats come out victorious on Wednesday night, they will advance to the Quarterfinal where they will visit the winner of the Real Salt Lake vs. Charleston Battery game on Wednesday, June 26.

Meanwhile, back at home...

Remaining Goats Continue Their Daily Duties at Home

A small group of Chivas USA players who did not make the Monday morning trip to North Carolina took to The Home Depot Center's Field 6 for a training session starting at approximately 11 a.m. The squad first completed about 20 minutes of warm-ups in the gym and continued doing so on the pitch, as they ran through short conditioning and agility drills.

The tempo of the session was then elevated when the players competed in a version of torito that consisted of two players battling for possession in the middle of the pack while being supported by those on the outskirts of the drill with one-touch distribution.

Afterwards, the group completed a three-on-two drill inside the box with the objective of finishing the threat. The three attacking players would begin with one member inside the arc with a teammate on each wing. The two defensive players - with a goalkeeper in goal - looked to prevent the ball from being distributed cleanly inside the box and not allow the attackers to get off a shot. The drill then consisted of a three-on-three matchup with the same objectives on both sides of the ball.

The session then concluded with a team jog around the pitch before breaking out into a group stretch.

Time to win and move on

In Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action, it's a win or lose situation; the team that earns a win moves on to the next round. As Chivas USA prepare to face the Carolina RailHawks this Wednesday, June 12 at WakeMed Soccer Park, there's one player in the current squad that knows what the Red-and-White will be going up against, and that's midfielder Laurent Courtois.

In last year's Open Cup run, the Goats faced the RailHawks, also in the Fourth Round, and defeated the NASL-side in a dramatic 2-1 victory on June 5, 2012, with Courtois in the starting line-up. A little over a year later, Courtois is ready to earn a spot in the Chivas line-up, and once again, lead his team to victory.

"We're really excited. At this point in the competition, we want the game to be won and move on to the next level but we don't underestimate this team [Carolina RailHawks]. We played them last year and they're pretty solid, so we expect a tough game over there. We've had a couple of days of preparation and hopefully we'll be ready to compete," Courtois told cdchivasusa.com prior to travelling to North Carolina.

In comparison to last year's roster, several Red-and-White players will be facing the RailHawks for the first time. For someone like Courtois, who has already faced the RailHawks and has experience in Open cup action, he knows what it will take in order for the Goats to earn a win this Wednesday in North Carolina.

"It's very different. You can't have those feelings that, in a few games, you can reach something huge. The tournament [U.S. Open Cup] is between Major League Soccer games, so it's kind of different to prepare mentally. When you reach this point of the competition, you get excited and focus on what can be done and hopefully we get the result that we deserve," Courtois finalized.

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