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| Friday, September 14, 2001 24:18 EST |
2000 San Jose Earthquakes at a glance
[SportsTicker]
Division: Western
Stadium: Spartan Stadium, San Jose, Calif.
Soccer capacity: 30,011
Investor/Operator: The Kraft Family
Head coach: Lothar Osiander
1999 record and finish: 19-13 (37 points), fifth place in West
1999 offensive ranking: 6 (48 goals, 1.50 per game)
1999 defensive ranking: 7 (49 goals, 1.53 per game)
Top returning scorer: Ronald Cerritos (15 goals + 9 assists = 39 points)
Key returning players: Ronald Cerritos, Mauricio Wright, Mauricio Solis
New players of note: Khodadad Azizi, Wojtek Krakowiak, Abdul Thompson Conteh
Key departed player: Eddie Lewis
Outlook
The 1999 San Jose club set team records for wins and most
games over .500, but faced one major obstacle: 10 of the wins came
via the shootout, which didn't help the team climb the Western Conference
standings. A talented team that boasts such young rising stars as
forward Ronald Cerritos (3rd in MLS scoring in 1999) and defender Mauricio
Wright, San Jose's biggest problem was not scoring goals -- the team
scored more times than both Los Angeles and Colorado -- but stopping
the opposition from finding the back of the net.
One change that did occur during the offseason was the
transformation from the name Clash to Earthquakes.
First-year goalkeeper Joe Cannon took over the starting job
between the San Jose pipes a quarter into the season, with defenders
Wright - perhaps the most skilled defender in the league -- and
captain John Doyle and Wade Barrett in front of him. The team
threw several young players into the MLS fire, with Jamie Clark, Richard
Mulrooney, Scott Bower and Jim Conrad standing out. Costa Rican National
Team midfielder Mauricio Solis was added at midseason to handle the
playmaking duties.
Late in the season, former Los Angeles Galaxy and U.S. Pro-40 Head Coach
Lothar Osiander was tabbed to take over for Brian Quinn. Osiander
went 2-1 in three games, and injected enthusiasm into the young club.
The 2000 season brings Iranian National Team star Khodadad Azizi, who is
expected to make a major impact as a withdrawn forward with Cerritos and
Abdul Thompson Conteh as strikers. Azizi's creativity and Cerritos' nose
for the goal give San Jose one of the league's top scoring tandems.
Players to watch
Ronald Cerritos has been the Earthquakes'
top offensive threat since coming to MLS in 1997, and ranks ninth
all-time in MLS scoring. Iranian Khodadad Azizi is being touted by many experts as the league's most talented international signing of 2000. Playmaker Mauricio Solis was just beginning to settle in at the end
of the 1999 season, while midfielder Richard Mulrooney was among the
league's top rookies last year. Dario Brose adds offensive punch from a
withdrawn forward position. Defender Maurico Wright, who many felt
was the league's best defender in 1999, teams with John Doyle, a
1996 and 1997 All Star, to give San Jose a solid central defense.
Osiander has goalkeeper Joe Cannon ready to man the Earthquakes net, but rookie Jon Conway from Rutgers might see playing time in goal.
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