At Chivas USA, it’s all about possession: Wilmer Cabrera
Jan 16, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chivas USA soccer club during the 2014 MLS Superdraft at Philadelphia Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
How will this year’s Chivas USA side approach the 2013 Major League Soccer season? One simple word: possession. Manager Wilmer Cabrera was introduced as Chivas USA’s new head coach today and he promised an improved possession game from Goats, who struggled with it all last season.
“We have received the challenge and have the support from the owners, front office and Paco Palencia as the sporting director,” Cabrera told MLSSoccer.com’s Blair Angulo. “That’s the first step toward starting a project – you need support and need to be well prepared. We’re going to be united. We want to be a team that will be prepared in everything we do. [On Monday] we started the right way and, with that commitment, we can change things that didn’t go well last year. Little by little, we can get better results.”
Chivas USA won only six games last year, which was the lowest in the Western Conference. The only team to perform worse was D.C. United: the defending U.S. Open Cup Champions.
“We’ve made many changes, and last year we talked a lot about finding a style,” sporting director Francisco “Paco” Palencia told reporters. “We saw what Wilmer did with another team, and we know how he works. It’s perfect. We want possession and want to be aggressive. Wilmer is also very serious and professional.
“We have one goal here: to be better and better every day and that’s why we brought Wilmer. He fits perfectly here.”
“I’m very excited and grateful for the opportunity,” said newly-hired assistant manager Paul Caffrey. “Any successful team has a very strong foundation and that will be the key. This will be a very successful project.”
“What we saw last year, Chivas USA was fighting,” Cabrera added. “I was on the other side, and we saw them working hard. But they couldn’t find the results or their form early. In this case, with the changes we’ve made, we’re looking for talent that can adapt and experienced players that know the league.”
Notable acquisitions to Chivas USA include former Mexican national team forward Adolfo “Bofo” Bautista, midfielder Mauro Rosales and defenders Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Tony Lochhead.
In other news, the club signed former Phoenix FC defender Donald Toia. He was originally signed as a Homegrown Player for Real Salt Lake in 2011 but did not earn much playing time and instead spent the past few seasons with clubs like FC Tucson and Phoenix FC of the PDL and USL Pro. Toia also represented the USA as a member of the U-18 and U-20 Men’s National Teams.
Transaction: Chivas USA sign defender Donald Toia as a free agent via discovery.
DONALD TOIA
Full name: Donald Austin Toia
Number: TBD
Position: Defender
Born: 5/28/1992
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
Citizenship: USA
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 160
Last Team: Phoenix FC (USL PRO)
Acquired: Free agent via discovery
Where will Chivas USA stack up against the best teams in Major League Soccer? Next week, keep an eye out for the 2014 Preseason Power Rankings on the MLS Multiplex, here on the FanSided Network.