When the Earthquakes players and coaches entered the team facility on April 1, they had to feel as if it was a bad April Fools’ Day prank.
The Quakes were less than two days removed from a 5-0 lashing at the hands of LAFC, their fourth consecutive loss to open the season and third straight by multiple goals. San Jose had already lost three matches at Avaya Stadium, where they had lost three or fewer matches during the 2015 (3), 2016 (3) and 2017 (2) seasons in their entirety.
New head coach Matias Almeyda and his staff had work to do. Despite pushing the team to its limit during a rigorous preseason in Cancún, and adding pieces in what they felt were key areas, the effort wasn’t producing results just yet.
"Don't get me wrong, there were some bad breaks, but to be honest it has nothing to do with our skills or our attributes,” explained forward Chris Wondolowski after the Quakes’ 3-0 loss to Minnesota on March 9. “We need to think our game, think our way through a game and understand what it takes to play 90 minutes mentally. I think physically, we are fine. I think physically, we can do great things."
A few days later, Almeyda said during a mid-week press conference: “The mental health in soccer and in life is fundamental and we are giving them all the tools to be relaxed, that they don't get desperate, have patience. The positive results will come soon, and we hope they come as soon as possible."
Almeyda pointed to the players being desperate, and who can blame them? After all, the 2019 roster is largely comprised of the same group that won just four matches the year prior. Getting players to believe in themselves and instill a culture of winning simply does not happen overnight.
“We are looking to win, establish our playing style and build mentality,” explained Almeyda following their 4-1 loss to the Red Bulls the following week. “It's going to take a while. It's not easy to change the style of play after the team is accustomed to a different one.”
Following their loss to LAFC on March 30, Almeyda began to make changes, including adjustments to the lineup, partly due to poor results and partly due to injuries. Center back Florian Jungwirth was inserted next to Harold Cummings on the backline; Jackson Yueill took over in the middle of the park for an injured Judson; and Danny Hoesen was placed up top. Additionally, the Quakes have continued to lean heavily on nutritionists to help players lose fat and gain muscle, and tinkered with other ways to maximize player performance.
Heading into their match against Portland on April 6, Homegrown midfielder turned defender Tommy Thompson made a bold statement while staring down the camera during a pregame interview with TV analyst Danielle Slaton.
“We have to be together. We have to be precise. I don’t care what happened last game. I don’t care what happened the game before that. Today we’re going to be different. If it’s not this week, it’s going to be next week. I believe in this team, I believe in this coach, I believe in this organization. We’re going to fix this.”
The Earthquakes would go on to defeat the Timbers 3-0, unlucky to add several more. The offense was clicking, the defense was clicking, even goalkeeper Daniel Vega saved a penalty kick by former MLS MVP Diego Valeri. It felt like the perfect result to kickstart a team seemingly stuck in neutral.
Including that victory, the Quakes have gone 2-1-2 in their last five matches. Three of those five games were played away from home in notoriously difficult environments and the one loss came midday in Houston with a 70-minute weather delay at halftime. San Jose even managed to go to Seattle and Dallas back-to-back on a short week, earn two tough road draws, and trail for a grand total of zero minutes in both games.
Many analysts have tried to break down Almeyda’s unique tactical setup. The hard-pressing style, aggressive work ethic and team-first mentality have, if nothing else, forced opposing coaches to alter their usual game plan and cause confusion. It’s also left many opposing players scratching their heads and gasping for breath at the end of matches.
“It was wild,” said Sounders FC midfielder Harry Shipp after the two teams’ 2-2 draw. “I’ve never played a team like that and it’s part of the reason why they’re decently successful – the novelty of it. It takes thinking. It takes understanding how to drag guys out of position. It’s totally different than a normal game you play. It took us a little bit to adjust to it and unfortunately we weren’t able to adjust to it in time enough to get all three points.”
Last season, the Earthquakes lost a staggering eight matches by conceding a goal after the 80th minute. Today, Almeyda’s side is gaining national notoriety for being incredibly fit, which is allowing them to push forward late in matches rather than holding on for dear life. While most teams would be ecstatic with a draw at Toyota Stadium, the Quakes inserted both of the Designated Players late in the match and forced FC Dallas to park their running-on-fumes bus. This turnaround in fitness is a product of their work this offseason as well as extended training sessions midweek to prepare the players for what’s being asked of them on match day.
One of the team’s catalysts during their recent run of form is 22-year-old Yueill, a third-year player from UCLA and member of the U.S. U-23 National Team. He’s now started five matches in a row and has quickly ascended from role player to key player.
“The road games were extremely hard, just because of the travel and the teams were very good,” said Yueill. “But since the first day of preseason, we’ve been training very hard, starting to get together as a group and understanding each other more and more every game. We’re out training for longer sessions now. The work rate I think has doubled, tripled in some of the exercises. Everybody is 100% focused in every drill. So, I think from the beginning of the season to now, we’ve probably increased our load of work throughout the week to maintain a high fitness level. It’s paying off as you can see in the games. Everyone is running a lot, which is part of our game. When we don’t have the ball, we like to run and get the ball back right away.”
Since the club’s loss to LAFC, San Jose has led for 192 minutes, led by 2+ goals for 157 minutes, and trailed for just 34 minutes – all of which came in their 2-1 loss to Houston on April 13.
The Earthquakes have an opportunity to earn three more points on Saturday with FC Cincinnati coming to town. The expansion side has earned one point and scored one goal in their last five matches.
