I was simply looking forward to this Saturday's match against Cruz Azul; Liga MX powerhouse taking on our Quakes in our house. Now? &%#@! YEAH!! Even if he won't be coaching just yet, just being at Avaya, knowing the Matias/Quakes 2.0 era is upon us, will be awesome!! Can't wait!!
Yeah me neither. Im 30 min in and they love this hire. Of course they talk about how bad the Quakes have been, but there's some good stuff in there.
Be interesting to see how pumped up the players are since they basically will be auditioning for jobs next year with the new boss watching.
I couldn't be happier. Realistically, with the state we're in, this is the best we could hope for, a solid coach with real cred. A big presence who knows how to put a team together...basically, the level of knowledge and experience to handle coach... and GM if necessary...aka, the guy who should minimize Jesse's input on player selection and save his bacon...maybe. There is no doubt in my mind Almeyda will get the players he wants and drop all the dead weight. Everything he said about attitude and style of play precludes 75% of the current roster ever playing for him. There are so many potential positives that go beyond just coaching the first team. We might have a much better chance of actually getting the inside track on the local talent that goes through Allianza...straight to Mexican leagues teams. Almeyda has that kind of cred. He would certainly have a better shot of bringing local talent into the Quakes academy teams...this alone could be huge. Style of play should be more appealing and potentially bring in more fans who appreciate and prefer a higher level of soccer. Cautiously optimistic, but this looks like a rare moment when the brain trust got it right.
Con humildad y trabajo haremos grandes cosas/ With humility and hard work we will do big things👊🏼⚽️ pic.twitter.com/2xh1l4EjFT— Matías Jesús Almeyda (@peladoalmeyda) October 8, 2018
2019 will obviously be a transition year, there will be major changes but you can't completely turn over a roster in one season given MLS rules and existing contracts... I'm wondering how much roster turnover we'll see between 2018 and 2020. Right now there are 30 players on the Quakes roster, I'd say 8 are unlikely to be gone by 2020. There will probably be a half dozen other holdovers, but it's hard to predict who... my guess: 8 Bold - I think they'll still be here in 2020 17 Underline - I think they'll be gone by 2020 5 Others (mostly roster filler if they were still here)
Definitely Out Qwiberg Cummings Tarbell Quintana Salinas Oduro Affolter Yeah it's tough. Also the international player spot issue. I'd keep Hyka unless you could find a better domestic player. If they haven't already they should start the process of Vako, Hoesen, and Kashia getting green cards.
The Spanish-English issue... -We've heard Almeyda will bring his assistants from Chivas. -Almeyda has been working on his English for a few months, no way he's comfortable enough to coach in English. Tata Martino is married to an English teacher and still isn't comfortable using English after two seasons in MLS. -Jesse hinted that a decision with Ralston will be made later, leaving open the possibility he remains with the team. It would be nice to have 1) at least one assistant coach who is familiar with MLS (so not any of Almeyda's former assistants) and 2) at least one assistant coach who can speak both English and Spanish fluently (I'm guessing not any of Almeyda's guys OR Ralston OR anyone else currently on the Quakes coaching staff).... Will they bring on a bilingual coach? Or maybe they'll just hire a few translators?
Good list. I would say that Vako (skill) and Quintana (age/potential) could still be on the list, but I wouldn't bet any money on it. Also, I expect a couple of the bold youngsters to be gone due to performance.
Agreed with Vako possibly still being around and with some youngsters dropping off. But no way Quintana is around even next year, forget 2020. Remember he's on a one year loan. Given how that's gone there's zero chance the Quakes use their option to buy at the end of the loan. The price might be high enough to make him a DP, almost certainly a TAM player, and he hasn't been anywhere near good enough for that. And why bother? If you want a young CB from South America, have Almeyda help Jesse find another, someone that he likes and fits his style of play.
We can only hope it is a group move. This organization needs to be operating, in a positive direction, as a group, with everyone one the same page.
Time to hire Hugo Perez, perfect guy to translate Almeyda and also run the Youth Academy. Make it happen Jesse!
Coming here as an ATL season ticket holder to say I'm stoked for this (especially since y'all are in the West). He has had a great track record with trusting young players, so I'm looking forward to seeing how he uses y'all's academy in a fresh way and brings the best out of the guys coming through there. Also, I concur with others have said here about player recruitment. Look at what Tata did for us- there's something about their reputations that attracts better players and makes players want to join them. I think we will definitely see you guys sign a 3rd DP from SA, hopefully a big one with a big fee. You guys hit a grand slam with this one and should be very excited about what next season is going to look like. The Quakes could end up being must-see TV if the right signings are made this off-season.
Almeida will attend the game on Saturday and he will be impressed by the Cruz Azul #22 and request to sign him immediately.
Alex Covelo is currently on the coaching staff, and he is bilingual. But his main job is Director of Methodology, whatever that is, and he's only returned to the coaching bench since Stahre's guys got fired. So he may go back to his regular job or may not stay with the club at all. But I do agree that it would be good to have an experienced MLSer somewhere in the mix. I'm skeptical of the reports that Almeyda will bring his entire assistant staff from Chivas. Yes, he'll bring some of his close associates, but none of them got other jobs between June and now?
Speaking of Hugo Buena decisión de traer a Matías Almeyda a Quakes— Hugo Perez (@HugoPerezDT) October 9, 2018
I attended the press conference. I'm pretty sure (check the video) that Jesse said he had met Matias at some earlier point in time and then when this all came up he reached out to him. So Jesse instigated it, but it had to pass muster with ownership, the Board and Fox. This was a conscious attempt to move the franchise up a notch (or more).
I honestly don't see how Magnus or Vako could function in Almeyda's system. Vako just from the standpoint that he won't pass to a teammate in a better position...fundamentally counterintuitive poor soccer. We need to figure out how we can move a few high priced players on multiple year contracts. I really want to see if Almeyda can bring out the best in our young mids, Yueill, Felipe, TT and Fuentes.
According to Hercules Gomez (in his pod cast), there was even preliminary discussions with Almeyda's reps during last year's search. Not sure how serious the conversations were as he was still working for Chivas...
Baca had a dozen or more family members in Guatemala City supporting him for the Quakes' Champions League match there back in 2013.