San Jose
Clash
Conference: Western
Investor-Operator: MLS league-operated team
Head Coach: Brian Quinn
1997 Finish: 12-20 (30 points)
1997 Record in Shootout: 3-6
1997 Offensive Ranking: 3rd (tied), (55 goals, 1.72 per game)
1997 Defensive Ranking: 8th (tied), (59 goals, 1.84 per game)
Home Stadium, Soccer Capacity, Field Size: Spartan Stadium, 19,166, 65yds. x
106yds.
Top Returning Scorer: Ronald Cerritos (12 goals + 10 assists = 34 points)
Key Returning Players: Eric Wynalda, Ronald Cerritos, Lawrence Lozzano, John Doyle
New Players of Note: Martin Vasquez, Richard Gough, Victor Mella
Key Players Departed: Michael Emenalo, Istvan Urbanyi, Dominic Kinnear, Arnold Cruz
Media Contact: Rick La Plante, (408) 260-6365
Head Coach Brian Quinn enters his first full season at the Clash helm, hoping to improve upon his 7-10 record during the second half of last season. During the offseason, San Jose acquired central defender Richard Gough, defensive midfielder Martin Vasquez and Chilean midfielder Victor Mella. Returning players who flourished under Quinn's wide-open style of play last season include Lawrence Lozzano, Jeff Baicher and Eddie Lewis, each of whom enjoyed breakout offensive years under Quinn.
The explosive offensive duo of Eric Wynalda and Ronald Cerritos hope to team together in the upcoming season, something they rarely had the opportunity to do in '97 due to Wynalda's injuries (the U.S. National Team's all-time leading scorer started just nine of San Jose's 32 games last year, and came off the bench in just five others) and both players' commitments to their respective national teams for World Cup Qualifying (Cerritos, one of four MLS players on the El Salvador national side, led the Clash in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists, despite missing 10 games).
Goalkeeper David Kramer should settle between the pipes in San Jose after playing for three teams in 1997 (waived by the Galaxy in May, Kramer stayed fit with the A-League's Colorado Foxes before being called up to San Jose in July), but it is the back line that needs to recover from the lack of form that allowed 59 goals, second-worst in the league. Enter Richard Gough, the former Kansas City Wizard who spent the offseason playing for Glasgow Rangers. Quinn hopes that the soon-to-be 36-year-old Gough is the answer to the Clash's defensive challenges.
The Clash was the first team in MLS history to boast four players with double-figure assist numbers, as Lewis (13), Wynalda (11), and Lozzano and Cerritos (10 each) helped San Jose put 55 goals in the back of the net. That explosiveness, along with more stability on defense, is what Quinn hopes to combine as the Clash look to rebound from a rough '97 campaign.
TOP CLASH PLAYERS:
Eric Wynalda (F): Has 15 goals and 24 assists in 41 MLS games, placing him 8th all-time among MLS leaders … Scored Major League Soccer's first-ever goal on a slashing, right-to-left-to-right again dribble move against D.C. United at Spartan Stadium, a play that earned Wynalda the MasterCard Goal of the Year in 1996 … Slated to participate in his third World Cup this summer in France.
Ronald Cerritos (F): One of San Jose's most consistent perfomers in 1997, scoring in a league-record 11 straight games … For his breakthrough debut season with MLS, he was named to the 1997 AT&T Best 11, an annual honor for MLS' top players … Tallied one assist in the 1997 MLS All-Star Game.
Martin Vasquez (M): The Mexican League veteran and U.S. National Team pool player is vital to both the Clash defense and offense from his defensive midfield position, where the intelligent, tenacious Vasquez will free up Cerritos and Wynalda on the attack, mark the opponents' offensive distributor, and add a free-kick specialty to the Clash offensive arsenal.
Richard Gough (D): A member of the 1997 AT&T Best 11 with Kansas City, Gough returns to MLS after playing for Glasgow Rangers during the offseason … Gough, who turns 36 on April 16, will be the cornerstone of San Jose's revamped defense.