He's So Wondo! The continuing chronicle of Chris Wondolowski's career

I saw on Instagram that Almeyda presented Wondo with a jersey that says 400 and they gave him some kind of champagne bottle.

As he entered in the 86th minute, it did look like a symbolic 4 minutes for Chris.

 

Wondo should be starting forward the rest of the way.

 

Hasn't scored when starting, has scored when coming on as sub.

 

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To each his own but if history proves anything, Wondo has never really been a dynamic super sub.

Just like Ibra, if you start Chris, play him 90 minutes, he will definitely score goals until he is in his 40’s.

I'll always believe that.

 

Wondo’s always a threat to score but this year, 7 starts, 0 goals in those starts.

 

So what?

Cristian Espinoza or any other any other million dollar forward we have on the roster, for that matter, can’t score at all regardless of the many minutes they play each game.

Just because Wondo hasn't scored in 7 starts for a crap team in a lousy season doesn’t mean anything.

The reason he isn't scoring regularly is because he is not featured more.

Letting him play 10 minutes of mop up duty here and there is not the player he ever was or will be.

Looking at his entire career, if you give him time and games he will score.

 

Yeah but didn’t happen in his starts this year. He’d get a few looks but wouldn’t convert on the few chances he’d get, unlike previous years.

He scored last night but it was pretty wide open at the end. When Carlos Fierro is scoring on a header you know the other team has pretty much mailed it in.

We’ll be interesting to see if he hangs it up this year. I think this is the 1st year where he’s had a clear drop in production and there are some younger guys coming up for a changing of the guard.

 

Wondo can't get into his groove playing a lousy 10-15 minutes here and there or a start every 10 games.

He just isn't that type of player and never was and he won't score by sitting on a bench.

Just looking at his overall career, I'm almost more than sure he would score more if featured.

That’s true of any proven goal scorer and especially Wondo.

No other forward can or has scored this year for this team as they have all been crap.

I'd rather have Wondo in there as opposed to any other forward on the current roster and he will score if given more chances.

It's sad they are phasing him out like this.

 

Love Wondo, absolute club legend. But this year (3 goals, 0 assists in 1000 min) he’s been outperformed by 3 Quakes forwards: Chofis - 12 goals, 4 assists in 2000 minutes, Benji - 3 goals and an assist in 600 minutes, and Cade, 4 goals and 4 assists in 1400 minutes.

At some point you have to let go of the past, change the guard, and move on. Benji will probably never have Wondo’s scoring instinct but he’s got wicked speed that threatens defenses all game long and excellent leaping ability as well. Wondo never wins duels because he gets beaten to the ball every time, and he is unable to pose any kind of threat on a ball played through.

 

I bet if you asked Wondo, he's perfectly fine with being "phased out like this." He's right on the verge of retirement, these might be the last minutes of his stellar, illustrious playing career. Savor them.

That was vintage Wondo last night, coming on with a full tank, finding the back of the net within minutes. Beautiful.

My biggest disappointment is that the team didn't do more to build a winner around him. For all his effort, he deserved a shot at a title in San Jose. Nobody wanted to see San Jose competing for the MLS cup more than Wondo. He embodies everything great about San Jose soccer...but he is probably in his last few games. I expect he's fully accepted his diminished role on the field (his value off the field can't be overstated), so should we.

 

I agree. He’s a team guy all the way and would be happy to pass the torch, and cheer the guys on. I’m sure he’s really happy for Cade and Benji and passing along as much knowledge as he can.

We did briefly build a great team around him - 2012, and we did get a championship (SS). And in fact that was one of the all-time great MLS teams even though we didn’t quite get thru the playoff crap shoot.

 

Cristian Espinoza is not a forward.

 

He isn’t much of a player either.

 

What a class finish though. I will miss the elegance that so often somehow overcame him and the event and whatever venue happened to be hosting when Wondo saw the window.

Sure he's scored scrappy garbage goals and whatnot, but if you know him as we do - not the majority of shit-breathing US soccer/MLS fans - you recognize the efficiency and otherworldy calm that takes over him and you've seen real beauties, often when he's made finishing look near effortless.

 

I'm glad I was standing with the Ultras for what may have been Wondo's last MLS goal (no. 169). He gave an impassioned heart-of-an-Ultra gesture to us in the immediate aftermath. A moment I won't soon forget.

 

In the last 45 years of watching the game played professionally in the USA, I’ve closely followed maybe only 4 proven pure goal scorers.

Giorgio Chinaglia, Steve Zungul (although he was mostly indoor) LAndy and Wondo.

There have been others in MLS like DeRo, Jeff Cunningham, Ante Razov and Jason Kreis but I hardly ever followed or saw them play that much.

When Dero played with the Quakes, I was living in Europe and he was great in 2005 when I came back but I stopped following him after the move to Houston.

Players like these are born once every 30-40 years and no other player has ever come close to any of them.

I doubt we will ever see another goal scorer like Wondo in our lifetime.

The day Wondo retires will be a sad, sad day!

 

Haven't been to games in person much this season for a variety of reasons. 11/7 could be his last home game. Made sure I would be able to go to this one. I have moat seats near where his father and family hang out. Should be able to get some good pictures.

 

Has many teams are left Wondo hasn’t scored on?

 

I think there's a pretty good possibility - I'm thinking 50% chance, that he'll announce that he's retiring this year when / if the Quakes are eliminated. Elimination could happen as soon as Saturday. If not then after the Portland away game or the RSL away game.

That means the home game against Dallas on 11/7 would in fact be his last game, and he would surely start, and it would be a festive and emotional send-off for him - and everyone would be pulling like mad for him to score one more time. I imagine everyone getting out of their seats every time he's near the ball in the box.

 

Agree to disagree, but at least judge him based on his actual position.

 

Ok whatever.. His wiki page listes him as a winger but how about attacking midfielder who can't shoot on target or score goals.

 

BUT he has given Wondo lots of assists! Which is a winger's primary job.

 

I didn't finish editing but no he hasn't.

Not this year.

He couldn't have given any assists this season because Wondo has been benched and only scored 3 goals.

When he scored twice against RSL, Fierro got the lone assist and the other one as well as the one he scored against Austin the other night both went unassisted.

As for “Wondo being fine with being "phased out like this.", I don’t believe that for one second.

He is the leagues all-time leading scorer and the greatest player MLS has ever seen in terms of goals.

He has done more than any other big name money player and for anyone to assume or think that he is happy closing out his storied career sitting on a lonely bench, playing 10-15 minutes here and there, then they must be in denial.

Of course Wondo wants to always play.