More Chivas Quotes

But first, let me point out that United GM Dave Kasper appeared at RFK field level in his playing gear yesterday morning as Coach Tom Soehn spoke with the media. Soehn stopped speaking and stared.

"I'm speechless right now," he said. "You've got to give me a second."

Kasper played in yesterday's staff game, which was held too far away for me to provide appropriate play-by-play. One of these years we'll get video.

More from our Spanish-translating Chivas reader:

Ramón Morales (Informador)
"We have what it takes to beat DC United tomorrow. There is no doubt that the teams in the United States have improved and while it will be a tough game, I am confident that we can manage a victory in order to suffer few problems in the return leg in 'el Estadio Jalisco.' "  

"We know how we need to play against them (DC United), they have improved a lot since we last saw them but haven't changed their style of play. They are a disciplined team and even though they have the League's top scorer, we can beat them."  

Owner Jorge Vergara (from El Universal)
"We want to start off on the right foot in Copa Sudamericana. We have a team filled with youngsters, who are playing well. I am sure that we have resources to play in both tournaments at the same time." (referring to Sudamericana and Mexican season)

"D.C. United is extremely difficult, they are first place and also, they have approached this game very seriously. However, we have what takes to beat them."

Potential Chivas lineup (according to Informador)
Luis Ernesto Michel, Omar Esparza, Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Héctor Reynoso, Jonny Magallón, Ramón Morales, Édgar Mejía, Gonzalo Pineda, Xavier Iván Baez, Sergio Santana y Omar Bravo.

Michel was in goal for both games in March, and has played every minute of the current Mexican season. Bravo scored from Santana in the RFK game. Nine of these players started against DCU in RFK; Esparza was on the bench but was not used, and Baez was not on the roster for that game. Those last two would replace departed defender Diego Martinez and playmaker Adolfo Bautista in the starting 11.

Baez (#18) is a 20-year-old midfielder who was used to spell Bautista during the Champions Cup and has until recently played with Chivas's reserves. Santana (#21) has two of Chivas's seven goals in the current season. No other player has scored more than once. Pineda (#7) scored the goal that went through Perkins's hands in Guadalajara. Bravo (#9) scored 11 goals in 21 games last season.

Here's the story from the Chivas Web site, if you want to take a gander. Here's my story in the dead-tree edition.