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Purdy, a Leader with El Salvador

June 21, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS) - Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Chivas USA defender Steven Purdy will be joining El Salvador's National Team tomorrow ahead of their participation in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where they will first face Trinidad & Tobago at the Red Bull Arena on July 8 at 4 p.m. (PT). The Salvadoran team, who has been training in El Salvador for a couple of weeks, will be traveling to the United States in early July.

Purdy, who has already been capped by El Salvador on 13 occasions, was recently a member of La Selecta as they faced Venezuela in a 2-1 loss on May 22 to prepare for the Gold Cup tournament. The brief stay with the national squad allowed the player to familiarize himself with the new coaching staff and faces, and to get ready for this new challenge.

"The very good thing about the Venezuela game is that I was able to come in and I was able to meet the new coach and see how he wants to play," described Purdy his latest experience. "Not only that but we also had a good game. So I already have a feeling of what the coach wants and that's very important for this next transition."

The defender also knows how important it is for his personal and club career with Chivas USA to be called up by the national team, especially when it is to represent El Salvador in a tournament as competitive and relevant as the Gold Cup.

"Whenever you are representing a country it's a great way to progress in your personal career," expressed Purdy. "It's especially important with a tournament as competitive as this one. This is my chance as a player to show myself and to show that I can compete with great teams like USA, Mexico and other teams in this region."

After opening up the tournament against the Socca Warriors on July 8, El Salvador will face Honduras on the 12th, and then close out their Group B action against Haiti three days later. The top two teams of each group will then advance to the Quarterfinal Round in Atlanta and Baltimore. Purdy knows El Salvador has to use their strengths and their own game to be successful in this tournament.

"These are a lot of teams that have a lot of athleticism and players that are a little bit taller than maybe what we are used to," said the defender. "I think the preparation will be very important but also being able to play our game; to play Salvadoran soccer where we are playing a lot more touching soccer."

The 28-year-old player from Bakersfield, Calif. has become one of the most experienced players on the Salvadoran side, for which he looks forward to proving himself in this year's Gold Cup as well as becoming a leader in the locker room. And hopefully with his leadership and team work, El Salvador will make it all the way to the Final.

"I'm very familiar with all my teammates there at El Salvador, and one of players with more caps, so I hope to be able to show my leadership with the team. This is a great opportunity for me. A great tournament like the Gold Cup is a tournament that everyone is watching here in this region and I think we have the players to do well and the team to make it far," concluded Purdy.

Chivas USA Begin Training for the SuperClásico

Chivas USA returned to full practice Friday morning at the StubHub Center's Field 6 in preparation for the 30th all-time installment of the SuperClásico against cross-hall rival the LA Galaxy. Sunday's match is the second leg of the season series and will kick off at 8 p.m. (PT) with the Red-and-White serving as the host side.

The morning session started off with a team jog around the pitch and then gravitated to strength and conditioning work. The players rotated between stations and moved on to short ball work with passes from about 10 yards apart for added warm-ups.

Afterwards the Rojiblancos separated into two groups, with the squad on the near half of the pitch working on ball distribution and rotation under the instructions of Head Coach Jose Luis Real. Soon after, the drill focused on finishing with a goalkeeper in goal. Meanwhile the second group on the far side completed finishing exercises through a series of crosses from both sides of the box. The group then worked on ball distribution and finishing after making solo runs around obstacles inside the box.

The session then culminated with the two squads uniting to continue tactical work that ran the full length of the pitch in an 11-on-11 exercise. Training concluded with a team stretch before being released for the rest of the day. The Goats will return at 5 p.m. on Saturday for their final practice ahead of Sunday's match.

Preview: Chivas USA's U17/18 in Playoffs

Chivas USA's U17/18 Team will have more than honor at stake as they go into U.S. Soccer Development Academy's Playoff run starting next Monday, June 24th in Frisco, Texas. With the recent death of teammate and team captain Julio Chávez, the young Goats will be looking to earn a spot in the Finals Week and then earn the national championship.

The Red-and-White U17/18 squad will match-up first against Indiana Fire Academy on Monday, June 24 at 7:15 pm PT, followed by Baltimore Bays Chelsea on Tuesday, June 25 and finalizing against De Anza Force on Thursday, June 27 at 9 am PT.

Since the start of the season, the young Goats have had it on their mind to go for gold and earn the most prestigious championship in their category, and after 28 hard fought weeks, they are now ready to begin their Playoff run. Chivas USA's U17/18 squad ended the season with a six-game unbeaten streak, finalizing the year with a 2-1 win against then first place the LA Galaxy on May 18. The Red-and-White pushed their way up to fourth place in the Southeast Division, after struggling between fifth and sixth place through the year.

In their first game, Chivas USA will face the Indiana Fire Academy, who finished in second place of the Mid-America Division. The Indiana squad finished the season with a loss and a draw in their last two games, but held a four-game unbeaten streak previous to that.

Chivas USA's U17/18's ended the season with the third least goals against record (42), and the third most goals in favor (67). Splitting time with the U15/16's and U17/18's, Caleb Calvert will join the latter team for the playoffs after notching 22 goals in the 2012/2013 season, and has also joined the Chivas USA Reserve Squad along with other Youth Academy teammates.

Want to follow the Academy's performance in the USSDA playoffs? Make sure to follow Chivas USA and the Academy on Twitter for all the latest updates on the USSDA playoffs: @cdchivasusa & @ChivasUSAYouth.

Preview: Chivas USA's U15/16 in Playoffs

Chivas USA U15/16's time to shine is now as they kick off their playoff run in the U.S. Soccer's Development Academy next Tuesday, June 25 in Frisco, Texas. The young Red-and-White ended the 2012/2013 regular season with a 12-game unbeaten streak and will look for the first two positive results that will send them into the Finals Week set for July 14-19 in Dallas, Texas.

First up, Chivas USA's U15/16 squad will face the South Carolina United Battery Academy U15/16 team on Tuesday, June 25th at 5:15 pm (PT), followed by the Texans Soccer Club Houston on Wednesday, June 26. They will lastly match-up against the Oakwood Soccer Club on Friday, June 28. While the Goats ended the season with a positive 12-game unbeaten streak, defeating the LA Galaxy U15/16 team 4-2 in their last game of the season, the South Carolina United Battery Academy ended the year with a 3-3 draw with Georgia United, finishing fifth in the Southeast Division and entering the playoffs as the 11th place in the wildcard pool.

In their first match-up, the young Goats will turn to the talents of Jorge Ruiz and Amaya Adonis, who have scored 17 and 13 goals respectively. Ruiz went six games in the season where he scored at least one goal per match, and played in all 28 games of the 2012/2013 season along with midfielder Ryo Fujii.

Fortunately, scoring hasn't been a problem for the young Red-and-White. During the 2012/2013 season, they were able to notch 80 goals, the most in the USSDA, and had 37 goals against, the third least in the Southwest Division, leading them into the top spot of the Southeast Division and the Western Conference.

Want to follow the Academy's performance in the USSDA playoffs? Make sure to follow Chivas USA and the Academy on Twitter for all the latest updates on the USSDA playoffs: @cdchivasusa & @ChivasUSAYouth.

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Major League Soccer Stories from June 21, 2013


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