MLS Major League Soccer

Interview with Gazidis and Vergara

Published on June 23, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


In a teleconference call held Monday, June 23, 2003, Major League Soccer announced that the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game will feature of matchup between the MLS All-Stars and Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara. The game is scheduled for Saturday, August 2 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA (3:30 p.m. ET - ABC).

Today's guests: Major League Soccer Deputy Commissioner - Ivan Gazidis Owner, Chivas de Guadalajara - Jorge Vergara

IVAN GAZIDIS' OPENING COMMENTS: "I would like to welcome all the members of the media to this call, I'm also very proud to welcome the owner of Chivas de Guadalajara, Mr. Jorge Vergara, to the call and we thank him for his presence today."

"Over the years, MLS has tinkered with its All-Star format. In 1998 we had a World vs. USA format. Last year we had our All-Stars playing against the U.S. National Team. It's been our objective to move over time to a more significant and competitive and All-Star format. Against that background we are delighted to announce Chivas as the opponent to the MLS All-Star Team in 2003."

"Chivas is a 10-time champion of the Mexican first division and one of the most famous and popular clubs in North America. Adding this element to the competition, together with the rivalries that exist between the United States and Mexico will provide a great festive atmosphere in our beautiful new facility, The Home Depot Center."

"We're very excited about the game and we're looking forward to an excellent competition."

Jorge Vergara's opening comments: "I would like to say that we are very excited and honored to be a part of this game and to represent our club in the United States.

We are also excited for represent Mexico. As many of you know, our team features only Mexican players, so this will be a chance to regain some respect for Mexican soccer. I am sure we will beat the MLS All-Stars in this game."

We think this is a great opportunity for Chivas to show what we have in a different way. We're going to play a great game on August 2 as we will be finishing up our preparations for the Mexican League season. I hope the MLS All-Star team is ready because we plan to challenge them."

"Once I again I'd like to thank the League for this opportunity. We plan to make this a hell of the game not only for Chivas fans, but for all soccer fans in the U.S."

Vergara on Chivas becoming involved as an MLS investor:

"We've been in negotiations with MLS on many different options and issues. We haven't come to anything like that yet, but we plan to keep on negotiation about many things that will be good for soccer. If there is a chance that it will help our club than it is something we would consider."

"We have just now established a relationship with MLS, but in the future that is something that we will explore down the road. Chivas has the greatest following in the world, so we must look at all our options."

Gazidis on how the format can help THE League: "Soccer is unique among sports in that it is a global game. One of the advantages we have in looking at our All-Star game is that we have the ability to challenge clubs from other countries to show the global nature of the game here in the United States. We have felt that our All-Star Game benefits from having a competitive format. Just listening to Mr. Vergara has got my competitive juices going."

"I certainly want to show him that the MLS All-Stars will provide an extremely challenging opposition for his club team. I think that is a positive attribute to bring to an All-Star competition. That's what the game is about."

"Chivas, which is one of the most popular club teams in this area of the world, is a great choice for us to start what I hope will be a tradition going forward, a tradition of MLS testing itself against the best teams in the world."

Gazidis on the crowd being potentially overwhelmingly pro-Chivas: "I think we will have fans of Chivas, fans of MLS and fans of soccer there. I don't anticipate that it will be dominated by one group or the other. What we saw for example when the U.S played Mexico in Houston (a game promoted by Soccer United Marketing) was a tremendous outpouring of solidarity within the game."

"Half of the stadium was Mexican-Americans, the other half was Americans with all kinds of origins. There was a very festive and competitive atmosphere that day and I hope we can emulate this on August 2 at the Home Depot Center. I think that would be terrific for anyone who is a fan of the game."

"I think the objective here is to have a competitive game that adds meaning to what we are doing on the field. I foresee a mixed crowd in terms of allegiance, but a crowd that is together in terms of support for the game."

"Having a competitive aspect on the field and having a festive and competitive atmosphere among the people watching the game will only make our All-Star Game a more attractive event."

"I think even within some families we will probably see mixed allegiances. We will have Mexican-American parents at the game that will be supporting Chivas, while their children will be supporting the MLS All-Star team. This will be a great occasion for us to promote and sell the sport to anybody that is watching the game."

Gazidis on the format: "Last year we had an MLS All-Stars vs. U.S. National Team so there has been no change since last year. This will be the same format but just a different opposition. We would like to create a more stable format going forward. It doesn't do us any good to change the format every year."

"I think the idea that we introduced last year, where the MLS All-Stars take on a team of the world's best, is something we'll probably have going forward. Last year one of the world's best was the U.S. National Team, which provided an interesting and appropriate opponent in a World Cup Year."

"This year, and going forward, we've determined that the MLS All-Star game will feature MLS All-Stars against some of the world's best teams, whether it be a club team or a national team. That may depend to some extend on the venue available to us and the timing of the game but I'm hopeful that this will be something we can continue."

Vergara on the team Chivas plans to field for the game: "We will bring our entire first team. As I said before, this is a very important game for us. We want to beat the MLS All-Stars. Not only will we be at 100 percent, we will be active from our preseason training. We will be very prepared to beat the MLS Team."

Gazidis on the timing of the decision: "We said when we had the game last year that this was a format we wanted to look at. Every opportunity that we have for MLS to be able to put itself against the rest of the world is something we will take a look at."

"Really, the impetus has been there for over a year. We're fortunate this year to have the opportunity to play Chivas and keep in mind that this game is happening on the opening weekend of the Mexican season. This is a real statement that Chivas is taking time away from their preparations for the Mexican season to take part in this game. We were fortunate that they were able to work all of that out. The final approvals were only given last week."

Gazidis on whether or not the format can be successful: "I don't think this stadium is going to be full of Chivas supporters. I think there will be a great number of supporters in the stadium pushing for the MLS All-Star Team to win. Again, I think it will be a competitive game and one that is important for us to win. We think we will win."

Vergara on how the game benefits Chivas economically: "Here we are looking for more than commercial benefits. We are in search of being able to beat the United States and showing that Mexico is still capable. There are benefits comercially and economically but in this case they are not important. We are really looking for the soccer benefit of this, and being able to beat the United States."

Gazidis on the future integration of U.S Soccer and Mexican Soccer: "I think the growth of U.S Soccer has been of benefit to the game in Mexico. Now we have a real rivalry in the region."

"In a larger sense, the future of Mexican Soccer and U.S. Soccer are tied together. These are two countries which are neighbors. We're tied together demographically, socially and economically. Now we're integrating into the world soccer scene together. In a wider sense that will only raise soccer in this region and benefit us as we go out to compete against other regions in the world."

Gazidis on the financial impact of the MLS vs. Chivas format: "That really hasn't been a consideration. The game would likely sell-out whether it was an East/West matchup or an MLS All-Stars vs. Chivas matchup. The economic background is really not the relevant factor here. What was relevant was creating a good competition."

"Even on this call, I think you can get a sense that both teams will be approaching this game seriously. I think that is a valuable element, rather than simply having the All-Star Game exist purely as an exhibition. This will have a festive element and a number of storylines attached to it and I think that will make it more interesting."

Gazidis on the makeup of the MLS All-Star Team: "It will be the best 11 players that we can put on the field whether they are American or foreign. We have a process that will allow all of the different elements from our League to participate. Fans will have 25 percent of the vote, coaches and general managers will have 25 percent of the vote, players will have 25 percent of the vote and the media will have 25 percent of the vote."

"The objective is to put our best team on the field. All-Star teams are always at a slight disadvantage. Chivas is going to be at the end of their preparations for the start of the season, while our All-Stars will only come together a few days before the game. We believe the quality of our team will make it competitive on the field."

Gazidis on possibility of more Mexican stars joining MLS "I spoke a bit earlier about the way our nations are tied together in many senses but also in a sporting sense. I think over time, as MLS grows, we'll see more Mexican players in MLS and perhaps more MLS players playing in Mexico. I think that would be a natural evolution in the long-term goals of both Leagues. At the moment we are still developing the League which is just eight years old. We get a chance on August the 2nd to see how much we've grown. As a long-term goal I think that would be natural in the progression of MLS."

"Ultimately we'd like our player salaries to be amongst the best in the world, just as we hope that the League itself would be ranked amongst the best in the world. That will take some time. We have a number of priorities, the first of which is building soccer stadiums for our teams. One of the great things about this game is that it will showcase our newest stadium, The Home Depot Center."

Gazidis on what substitution rules will be in effect: "There will likely not be open substitutions as we've had in past games. There will be accommodations made for both teams so that complete teams can be utilized, but the substitution rules will likely be less liberal than in the past."

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Major League Soccer Stories from June 23, 2003


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