Maurice Edu
Three games in, where do you think the team is at right now?
I think we’re in a decent position. We’ve only lost one game and the three games we’ve played, we’ve been under some circumstances. In saying that, I don’t think we’ve reached our peak yet but we’re heading in the right direction. I think there’s still more to come. I think Chicago is a good test for us and it will be a good chance for us to get our first win for the season and get a little bit of momentum.
What area would you like to see the team step it up in?
I think overall we’ve showed some good glimpses. I think the last game especially. Dallas is a good team but I think in the first half we played really well and I didn’t feel like they threatened us too much until we got the red card so from there I think it was actually a good starting point for us and if we can replicate that again in Chicago for a full 90 minutes I think we’ll do a good enough job to get three points.
On Maurice and Vince Nogueira
It’s about us understanding each other. I think we played enough last season to where we do have a good relationship. He is a little bit more attacking minded than I am so I try to sit back a little more and give him freedom but at the same time, it’s about reading the game and having a good balance. If he sees an opportunity for me to get forward, we have the understanding that he’ll sit in and vise versa. But it’s just more so about having a good balance and making sure one is always there to kind of protect the back four and the others trying to get inside.
How is your dynamic going to change with Zach out and Christian injured?
It just depends on how we decide to line up. Regardless, I think with injuries and guys coming in and out of the team, it’s just an opportunity for someone else to come in and do work for the team. Whatever the position, they are similar roles. There’s a slight change but it’s not dramatic and not anything too drastic. It’s simple and something I’m pretty comfortable with.
On last years play
To be honest, we started off the season where I was playing more in the 8. And as the season went on it kind of changed a little bit. Amobi and I only played together a couple of times and again he was playing more of a 6 and I was an 8 but again it’s just about having a good balance. If he got forward, I would sit and vise versa.
What is your comfort level like after returning to the MLS?
I feel good. I think we have a great group of guys and it’s a group of guys that are very hungry and ambitious. We have a pretty young squad. They’re guys that are willing to learn to get better and I think that can only go well, not only this season, but for this club in the future. I think now it’s just a matter of really pushing every guy on this team to achieve their full potential. I think at our best, we can compete with any team in this league and I think we showed that in glimpses last year. Now it’s about going out there and doing it on a consistent basis.
Thoughts on Chicago?
I’m not too focused on them. I’m focused on our team. Obviously, we’ll watch some video. I know they’ve had a little bit of a slow start but again; this league is funny in that on any given day we could beat anyone. We’re going to go into the game not taking them lightly whatsoever. We’ve gone there in the past and it’s been difficult so we know it’s going to be a hard game. All we can do is prepare ourselves to be at our best come Sunday.
Has the team been thinking about last year against Chicago and the crazy ending?
The things from last season are behind us now. Obviously they were learning experiences so you take the good with the bad. You try to replicate the good moments and build on those. The bad moments, you don’t focus on them as much. You have to learn from them. You don’t want to make the same mistake continuously. Last season we kind of struggled with that in terms of giving up goals or giving up chances in the end of games so it’s something we’ve been trying to work on this season. What happened last year in Chicago, it’s not something were dwelling on. We’re trying to focus on making sure that this season we’ll go up there and we’re ready to get three points.
Do you feel like there are high stakes with this game?
I don’t think that’s the way that we’re approaching it. We’re approaching it like we want to get our first win. It’s not so much that we’re worried about them continuing on their streak or anything like that. More so the focus is on us. We have goals and objectives that we want to achieve this year and that starts by winning games. We felt like in the first three games we played well in glimpses and maybe a couple other games we did enough to win the game but we’re unfortunate so now it’s about going out there and putting together a complete performance and putting a win in that column, building on that for the rest of the season.
Jim Curtin
Opening Statement
To touch briefly on the Dallas game, I thought we had a good start to the game. We had some chances in the first 10 minutes. We exchanged back and forth with a very good Dallas team, a top team in the league right now, points wise. The red card happens. Zach has apologized for it enough and at the stage where I’ve told him ‘No more apologies’. We have to understand that we win and lose as a team. There’s a million things that go on in the course of a game that we need to push through and get a result.
From that point on it did change the game. Dallas is a good team and anytime you’re going to play down a man for that long, you’re going to give up some chances. I was a little disappointed that the goals we gave up were self-inflicted. We kind of did that to ourselves. We had a good film session today and talked through some of the things we can improve on and work on. We’re not happy with where we sit in the table right now. We could very easily have four to six points but the reality is we’re only two. We lost one game out of our first three and again, are disappointed in the fact that first of all, we haven’t made the home field a place where we kept clean sheets in so from that stand we’re a little disappointed. We know now that the task is we have to go on the road in a touch environment in Chicago and then Kansas City, tough places to get points. But places we now know because we’ve set ourselves up. It’s a difficult thing to do in our league but one that we’re up for.
Updates on Cristian and Connor
Cristian still has a little bit of knee sprain. He wears a brace a lot of the time. He had an injection done the other day and I think he’ll be back, optimistically, in a week or week and a half for training and then hopefully he’s able to come back quickly. My staff does a really good job with rehabbing guys and getting them back on the field quick. Hopefully, it’s the same case for Cristian. Again, it was a freak play in training. It’s a tough injury because he was playing very well against Salt Lake. I thought that was one of his better performances since he’s been with the team. It’s difficult to lose him timing wise but again its next man up.
Connor has an old sports injury that he’s had. He was lifting weights in the weight room and just felt something funny. They’ve taken the scans and they have a specialist, our doctors, and also one in California that are taking a look at them. There hasn’t been a complete plan put into place yet. There are still allies deciding what’s the best thing to do. Talking with Connor, the pain has subsided a little bit but he still has a concern. It’s an old injury. He knows his body well. With these injuries, sometimes they come in waves. It’s difficult but we need to have the next man up mentality and that’s the way that I preach to our guys. You never know when your number is called upon but just be ready when it is.
What is the plan with all those guys out?
Jim- It’s tough. Christian, Connor, Sheanon, and CJ. You’d like to have full stable guys. We had that for about 45 minutes; the first half of Colorado. But every team in the league right now is going through injuries, international call-ups. Everyone is a little short handed. There’s no excuse in that regard. It’s a road game but it’s a game where Chicago is trying to still find their way right now. They’re 0-3. They’re a dangerous team though. They have a couple players on the field that can break you down. A team with respect, we’ll go in there with a game plan that sets us up to get us the best opportunity for three points. Obviously, with Zach being out as wll on suspension, you lose another bullet. At the same time, we have some experienced guys on our bench.
I have a couple decisions to make but I’m comfortable with them. They look okay in training .
On Sheanon
Sheanon had to come out after the first half of the game. It was not a coach’s decision by any stretch. You never want to sub your back line that early. He felt a little twinge on his hamstring on the first run with Castillo, a guy who’s obviously a handful. Whether he’s overcompensating for it or not, I thought he could continue. It has been diagnosed as grade one so it’s minor. But at the same time, minor keeps you out of games. It doesn’t look good for him this weekend.
Thoughts on Rais after the first three games
Rais was great in the pre-season, not only on the field, but also off the field, taking on more of a leadership role. I talk about accountability a lot with my guys and he does a good job of holding guys accountable in practice. He’s a goalkeeper with experience at the highest level. He’s one that in a lot of ways with the completion we had in the preseason and winning the trophy in Florida, he’s a big reason for that. He bailed us out to be honest and made a ton of saves for us. The expectations sometimes from people is that that’s the way it’s going to look every game but we give up goals as a team. That’s the one thing I’ll always say.
I was very happy with his performance in week one. He didn’t have a lot of action against Colorado but he kept a zero and did a good time of limiting their chances. He did a good job of communicating. Salt Lake was a crazy game. We scored crazy goals and they scored crazy goals.
Like I said, we give up goals as a team and in the game against Dallas, we worked so hard in the first half to get chances. We actually do an okay job for getting to halftime after Zach goes down. It was comfortable. Fabi is the one who wants to put his hand up and take blame for the goal but I told him there are no apologies. It’s a team sport so when there’s a mistake the next has got to step up and bail them out.
We talked about everything on the tape and it doesn’t have to do with one position specifically. I’m fine with how Rais has been.
What did it mean for him to have an ample preseason after last year.
We met over coffee last year when the season ended and planned on how to attack this year. We were both on the same mindset that with the coming and going it would be the best for him and the team and everybody to stay. Him and I agreed that maybe we rushed things along a little bit and threw him into situations too quickly.
Having said that, he’s a guy that can win you games and that’s where we want to go with him in the goal. We’re letting him get the full preseason and be with the guys day in and day out and get toe feel of the pulse of the team. To his credit, I got a call from Algeria but he wants to be here. So he’s a guy that’s fully committed and wants to have this be his home full time. It shows huge commitment.
How do you get a shut alert to add to Vincent’s offensive game?
Vincent is an exceptional player. He is the top midfielder in our league, for sure. If you look through his career, he’s not a goal scorer. He has a good understanding of Fernando and combining with him. He’s a guy that knows how to move on the field. He’s a very intelligent soccer player. He does find himself on the ball and in dangerous spots on the field and giving up that freedom and that role to be aggressive and take a shot from distance. He’s a real talent. Once he gets his confidence going he’s a tough midfielder in our league.
On Andre returning to practice
We’ll have a plan in place for Andre. It won’t be a situation where he’s just sitting on the bench every game. We’ll get him games in Harrisburg for sure during the course of the year. He needs repetition and needs to see crosses of games in consequence. It will be a flexible relationship where he is able to train with us and get games and reps in Harrisburg.
Is there pressure when both the Union and Chicago are winless?
It’s very early. It’s three games in the year so there’s no panic from either team but at the same time you want to get that first W. Chicago is on national TV and always a tough place to play. They’re coming off of a game that they actually played pretty well in and a home opener of a brand new stadium. They’re a team we respect.
I’m not going to lie and say that it’s just another game because both teams need three points right now. The good news is that no one has really grabbed a hold of the Eastern Conference. No one has been the dominant team. We need to bounce back on Sunday.
Are the injuries causing you to reevaluate how many guys you carry?
I think we went through five guys that have been starters in MLS in their career. I actually do think we have more depth than we have had. It does look thin now but I am anxious to get everyone back. I think this is a problem that we’re okay with right now.
On the roster list
We’re always looking to improve our roster in every position and always looking to upgrade. We’re constantly looking to add pieces. There will be pieces that come in during the course of the year. We are happy with the way guys have been playing and performing but again, haven’t had the full group going full speed for more than 45 minutes this far. So it’s been hard to judge us. I have my ideas of how we can play and move this thing forward but it’s still tough to judge us in terms of 90 minutes and get a real understanding of where we’re at right now. It’s still early.
