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SJ Earthquakes vs. Manchester United pre-match buildup from LVG and Quakes

By on July 20, 2015

The San Jose Earthquakes might not be of the quality of Club America. They certainly aren’t of Premier League quality and probably aren’t even one of the best teams in Major League Soccer. Yet Louis van Gaal claims to be treating all of United’s preseason tour matches the same.

At press conference at Avaya Stadium, which will play host to United’s International Champions Cup meeting with the Earthquakes tomorrow, Van Gaal confirmed that he will feature the same starting lineup and make the same halftime substitutions in tomorrow’s matches he did in United’s 1-0 win over Club America last Friday.

Wayne Rooney will, of course, be captain. “He’s fully accepted by the players and that’s also very important. I can choose but the players decide. That’s my philosophy. The players have to accept the captains and the first captain is Wayne Rooney and the second captain is Michael Carrick,” Van Gaal said at the press conference.

The only change will feature Sam Johnstone in goal ahead of the injured David de Gea. Van Gaal said of De Gea and Antonio Valencia, who was also sidelined for the Club America friendly,”they are minor injuries,” but was given confirmation of their unavailability after the pair visited the hospital this morning.

However, he doesn’t seem to be all that perturbed by the risk of further injuries in preseason. Asked if he is worried that Wayne Rooney could injure himself in Duncan Ferguson’s testimonial just days before the beginning of the Premier League season, Van Gaal helpfully offered, ”Wayne could also fall off the stairs! That’s my answer.”

Yet Van Gaal is looking forward to the physical challenge the Quakes will pose for United. ”Of course I think that we are at a higher level than San Jose Earthquakes but they are fit and they have played many, many matches,” said the Dutchman. “We are not fit yet. Also, the difference between San Jose and Club America is 20cm. Every player is 20cm taller. The corner kicks and the free-kicks are much more dangerous from San Jose Earthquakes than Club America. There are a lot of differences and the playing style is different.”

The gulf in class and style between United and the Earthquakes goes without saying. The one World Cup player on the San Jose Earthquakes’ roster is on international duty with the US’s Gold Cup squad, while Manchester United’s preseason tour squad could field two separate teams of internationally capped players. The entire Earthquakes’ roster makes less than $7 million annually while Wayne Rooney alone makes thrice that sum in a year.

Dominic Kinnear’s San Jose Earthquakes team, are still working to recover from their 5-2 away defeat to LA Galaxy in Steven Gerrard’s MLS debut. “I thought it was weird that when I was writing their team on the board that I was writing Steven Gerrard’s name,” Kinnear said. “You do a double-check but you understand that these guys are here for a reason…We know he is a great player but we have to prepare for Steven Gerrard the great player not Steven Gerrard the Liverpool legend.”

The Quakes don’t have many stars or the brand name of other MLS counterparts. But they have spirit. When facing Mexican powerhouses Club America last week, they rose to the occasion and only a late comeback from America saw the Quakes give up an early lead. “That’s the first thing I said to the guys in the locker room was I enjoyed the spirit and the intensity and the manner they played the game with,” said Kinnear. “There were times when both teams came together and our team did not leave one guy alone, so I liked the way they stuck up for each other. And they fought to the end, which I thought was a real positive and something I was hoping would happen and was expecting to happen tonight.”

“Both teams wanted to win and it showed,” Quakes midfielder Tommy Thompson summarized.

They also have the new Avaya Stadium. A beautiful, 18,000-seater stadium is without a bad seat in the house. When Club Americans fans swarmed the house they stationed themselves on the bar tables behind the East end. Although it may house fewer people, the new stadium will provide an intimate fan experience at tomorrow’s match.

Preseason friendlies are about putting on a show and the Quakes will certainly look to shine both on and off the pitch against United. And then they’ll hope some of the stardust sprinkles off on them. Thompson told Football Every Day he’d like to get Wayne Rooney’s shirt following the match but said, “I am going to have to be pretty quick to grab his.”

Certainly, this occasion is worth interrupting the Quakes’ regular MLS season. “You can’t complain when you are competing against some of the best teams in the world and even though it makes July’s schedule a little bit hectic, games are much more fun than practices,” Thomspon said.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.