Chivas USA Daily News

Published on May 14, 2013 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Club Deportivo Chivas USA News Release


Chivas USA acquires midfielder Gabriel Farfan

CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, May 14, 2013) - Chivas USA announced today that the club has acquired midfielder Gabriel Farfan from the Philadelphia Union in exchange of Chivas USA's first natural SuperDraft pick in 2014 and allocation money. Per club and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Farfan, 24, joins Chivas USA with three seasons of experience in Major League Soccer, recently playing with Eastern Conference club the Philadelphia Union. Previous to joining the League, the San Diego native played collegiate soccer at Cal State University, Fullerton from 2006-2007, where he appeared in 16 games (15 starts), notched one goal, added two assists, and earned Second-Team All-Big West honors.

On an international level, Farfan had a two-year Residency with the United States U17 National Team in Bradenton, Florida, and played in the 2000 World Youth Championships in Japan.

Farfan will be eligible for selection to Coach Jose Luis Sanchez Solá in Chivas USA's upcoming match against Real Salt Lake set for this Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 pm PT at The Home Depot Center.

Chivas USA would like to welcome Farfan and wish him the best of luck in his stay with the Rebaño Angelino.

Transaction: Chivas USA acquire midfielder Gabriel Farfan from the Philadelphia Union in exchange of Chivas USA's first natural SuperDraft pick and allocation money.

Gabriel Farfan

Date of Birth: June 23, 1988

Birth Place: San Diego, California

Height: 1.77 mts. / 5.10 ft.

Height: 75 kgs. / 165 lbs

Priority leg: Right-footed

Ponce Excited Over Debut

Two days after being announced that he was acquired via loan, Chivas USA midfielder Martin Aaron Ponce made his Major League Soccer debut in Sunday's loss at Portland. Ponce, who arrived to the Rebaño Angelino from sister club Chivas Guadalajara, entered Sunday's match in the 59th minute as a sub and got his first taste of league action in one of the loudest and most exciting venues, JELD-WEN Field.

Ponce, 20, a product of Guadalajara's Youth Academy, was subbed into the match for Marvin Iraheta to provide the Red-and-White with an added offensive threat, and got off a clean shot on frame in the 78th minute. Midfielder Eric Avila slotted a ball to Ponce near the right sideline in the attacking third. Ponce gathered the pass and initially looked to send a cross from the right side of the box, but upon seeing a window of space in Portland's defense, continued to work the ball into the short area toward the near post where he got off his first career MLS attempt at goal.

"I'm very happy to have settled in and achieved one of my objectives," said Ponce. "It was a great atmosphere, I didn't expect it. It was an exciting soccer environment [in Portland]."

Ponce was most recently a member of Chivas Rayadas, Guadalajara's third-division team in Mexico's Liga Premier and was part of Mexico's Under-17 squad that competed in the 2009 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria. And the Guanajuato native is excited for the opportunity to bring his talents to MLS.

"The competition in this league is very good," Ponce added. "The play is physical. There are very good teams and they play at a high level, just as I was told. [Head Coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola] just told me to stay calm and enjoy the moment, more than anything."

Correa wants to make a difference with Chivas

The return to action of Chivas USA forward Jose Correa couldn't wait. After one week of being out of action, Correa made his return to the field in last Sunday's game against the Portland Timbers. Even though Correa was looking to celebrate his first year with the club with a goal, the 45 minutes he played were not enough to make the difference for the Red-and-White.

"The truth is that we couldn't get the results and it was a really tough situation for us to go through. But just like my teammates and coach say, we need to work to improve each day on what we've been working on and give value to the work we've had and the work the coach has put in," said Correa.

Correa, 20, was not able to play in MLS' Week 11 due to a quad strain, injury that kept him sidelined from Chivas USA training sessions for the past two weeks. But last Sunday, Correa was able to return to the field after working thoroughly with the medical staff.

"Slowly I'm recovering from my injury, and thanks to God, he has given me the opportunity to come back and I felt fine. Unfortunately, the important thing was for the team to earn a good result and it didn't work that way; it only works out that we earn positive results and we hope we can come away with a good result in our next game," the Colombian added.

Heading into Sunday's game against Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Center, Correa will be looking to get back his spot in the starting line-up, place that he held for three consecutive games previous to his injury.

"I want to fully recover this week working on the same things I have last week with the medical staff, which have put in a lot of work and effort. I hope that this week I'll feel better and I could start; it's something that I've always liked and to give the best I can so we can win, which is what we need most right now," he finalized.

Chivas USA U-23 to play against Mexico U20 squad

This Friday, Chivas USA's new U23 team will play against Mexico's U20 National Team at 8 pm PT at the University of California at Riverside. The new Red-and-White squad will face-off against El Tri as they prepare for the upcoming 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey.

The new and upcoming Chivas USA U23 squad will participate in the SoCal Premier U23 League and will match-up against the top local teams starting June 1st, when the season begins.

"We're very excited to play against the Mexican U20 National Team. It's a great opportunity for the players and Chivas USA to gain that international exposure and allow us to see where we stand before kicking off in the SoCal Premier League," said Chivas USA's Youth Academy Director Sacha van Der Most.

After a couple of weeks of tryout dates, Chivas USA's U23 team will consist of former Youth Development and collegiate players. Selected players from the Red-and-White U16 and U18's will get the opportunity to play at a higher level with the U23's.

With the formation of the new Red-and-White squad, Chivas played the top amateur club in the country, Doxa Italia, to a 1-1 draw last Saturday in the team's first week of practice.

Meanwhile, the Mexican U20 National Team arrived in Los Angeles on Monday to begin their preparation tour ahead of the U20 World Cup in Turkey. El Tri will face a Las Vegas-based team, Chivas USA's U23 squad and the U.S. U20 National Team respectively while they're in Southern California.

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