Borja Grateful for His Return to the Rebaño Angelino

November 11, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


In a season in which Chivas USA could not sustain the fast start that they momentarily enjoyed during the 2013 campaign, Carlos Borja was able to pitch in as one of the few bright spots for the Rojiblancos.

The defender and Southern California product returned to the club that gave him his professional start after two years away and broke into the starting lineup by displaying his versatility. Competing along the back line and at times as a midfielder, Borja set career highs in starts (22), games played (26) and minutes (2,010) in addition to recording his first two career assists.

For someone who not only got his start with the Red-and-White organization in its youth academy, but also enjoyed a stint with brother club Chivas Guadalajara's youth set-up, the 25-year-old steadfastly expressed his desire to want to be a part of the club where he made his MLS debut in 2010.

"I was very happy to just be here once again with Chivas," Borja said. "I came here to work and put my mind to it to make the best of this year, and it paid off for me. I had a lot of starts, I played in a lot of games and I was blessed to be part of this team."

In his first appearance of the season, the Anaheim native came on as sub in the first leg of the SuperClásico with the Rojiblancos playing a man down and assisted Carlos Alvarez on the equalizing goal in the 89th minute. It took a handful of games, but by Week 8 Borja made his first start against the San Jose Earthquakes and never looked back.

"It gave me more confidence, it slowed down the game for me, helped me mature as a player. The [previous stints with the club] were also positive, but obviously the game was much different for me being a young player, a rookie."

After April, the club found itself in a debilitating stretch of losses, which prompted the arrival of Head Coach Jose Luis Real to take over at the helm in late June. The former Guadalajara manager came on board and revamped Chivas' formation and established a style of soccer that will be implemented heading into next season.

"It's an up and down season," Borja added. "Results were not going so good so we had to make some changes and start from zero, because it's a totally different mindset. At the end I think it was positive because we were playing much better than we were before.

Borja expressed his desire to return for the 2014 season as part of the core and says he is hungry to continue competing in a league that has grown immensely across the board since his last MLS stint.

"This league is an upcoming league and there are a lot of great players. The thing I noticed the most is that it's more physical, fast-paced. It's a very good league and it's only going to get better and better."

Red-and-White host second training session of the week

On Monday morning, Chivas USA returned for their second training session of the week at the StubHub Center's Track & Field Stadium. The Goats have one more game before going to offseason, a friendly against FC Tucson at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, match set for this Friday, November 15.

The Red-and-White began the day with light jog around the field and then proceeded onto a set of stretching exercises before getting to work. Following the exercises, the team went off to working in pairs on ball touches and possession.

Going off to the south sideline of the field, the Goats participated in four stations of which focused on strength and conditioning. Twenty minutes later, the team would go off to play sets of soccer volleyball that included the entire squad, including goalkeepers and coaches.

At 11 a.m., Chivas USA called it a day and then proceeded to finish the day off with a series of stretching exercises. The Red-and-White will return to training on Tuesday at the StubHub Center's Track & Field, and will host their final Practice in the Community on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex. For all the latest news and updates on the club, follow us on Twitter: @cdchivasusa .

Just the beginning for Salcedo

One of the things that stand out with Chivas USA is the club's effort to develop young players from its Academy and place them on the track to the First Team or give them the tools to take their talent into college soccer.

One of those emerging players is forward Paul Salcedo, who at just 17 years old, has demonstrated great talent with the Red-and-White U18 squad. In his first year with the club, Salcedo has also participated in three games with Chivas USA in the Reserve League, something that impresses the young forward.

"I played here when I was 12 and I thought that when I was 18, I was going to finish my Academy here," Salcedo said about the Chivas USA Youth Development Academy. "Ever since I came, things have been looking up. It's great, the coaching staff, everything is good here. We're a brand new team, we're getting together and we're going to go right up. It's just the beginning right now."

As the season began for Salcedo and the U18s in late September, the team didn't quite get off on the right start. In their first game, which took the young Goats through the Pacific Northwest, Salcedo scored the first goal of the season for Chivas USA in the 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers' U18s. The Red-and-White would drop the following two games, but shortly after, the team would start picking up their pace as they earned two consecutive wins, with Salcedo scoring two in the last game.

"I think in the beginning we were a little bit shaky, and that brought a lot of negativity to the team. As we started becoming more of a family, we started being more positive and it made the team get closer. The wins are definitely helping us right now because we definitely needed it and we're looking more like a family now," Salcedo added.

Just like any 18-year-old academy product, becoming a professional soccer player is definitely on Salcedo's mind. As a senior in high school, Salcedo is looking forward to the future. Because of his stellar performances both on the field and in the classroom, Salcedo has made the decision to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where he has already committed to play and plans to attend in the Fall of 2014.

"I chose Berkeley over the other schools because when I went up for my visit, they treated my family and I very good and I liked everything they had to offer," Salcedo said. "With my old team, we had two of the best forwards with me and they're up there right now and I thought I'd be good with them.

"I was the youngest from all three, and they're doing well, so I'm sure I'll do well up there too," Salcedo finalized.

Make sure to stay updated on Chivas USA's U18 Team's journey through the 2013-2014 U.S. Soccer's Development Academy season by following us on Twitter: @ChivasUSAYouth & @cdchivasusa .

Chivas USA's U15 Team kicks off playoffs on a high note

In their last game of the Coast Soccer League Regular Season, Chivas USA's U15 Team earned a 1-1 draw with CFC Untouchables Black on Saturday afternoon at the University of California, Irvine's Field 1.

In the first half of the match, Chivas USA were able to maintain the ball for the most part, and created scoring opportunities that unfortunately, the team was unable to finalize. In the second half, Coach Miguel Ramos made a few changes to the roster and Ricky Sotelo came in, making the difference in his first game of the season with the Red-and-White. The player helped Christian Gutierrez score for Chivas USA in the 55th minute, but just a few minutes before the end of the match, in a marking mistake, CFC Untouchables were able to notch the equalizer off a corner kick for the final 1-1.

Counting with participation in the League Cup, the U15 Team returned the next day to continue the great work and great soccer that the group demonstrated on Saturday. With the great effort, both from players and coaching staff, the Red-and-White were able to get a 2-1 victory over Valley United Durand, this time playing at the San Bernandino Soccer Complex facilities. Josue Hernandez and Cesar Becerra scored the two goals for the Red-and-White in the 8th and 60th minute, respectively.

With the win, the Red-and-White moved onto the Round of 16 and will play CYSASL next Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12:30 p.m. (PT) at the San Bernandino Soccer Complex. If the team advances to the Quarterfinals, the group will play the following weekend, also in San Bernandino.



Major League Soccer Stories from November 11, 2013


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