Head Coach Adrian Heath
On a disappointing result in Kansas City on Wednesday…
“You have bad days and we had a bad one. I thought first half was as bad as we’ve been for a long, long, time. Individual errors cost us dearly. Playing away in places like Kansas, you know you have to have nearly a perfect game. If you look at the good results that we’ve picked up there, we’ve made no mistakes, we’ve taken our opportunities when they’ve come and the other night we couldn’t do it. I can’t remember the last one we had like this. We move on. We have to.”
On the reaction from the players…
“Good. We were in the next day and we had a good chat about it. We’ve done a lot of video work this morning. We’ve gone through some of the good stuff, because there was plenty, once again, we had two or three really good opportunities. At the end of the day, we have to move on. We’ve got a game three days later, against one of the best teams in the league. Chicharito and all the guys coming in to town. Really good, top international players coming in. When the Galaxy come to town, you know what’s coming. Invariably, the last few years have been difficult for them but they’re the standard bearer of the league. Greg [Vanney] has done a great job in a short period of time. Completely changed the squad. What is it, 18 new guys there? We played them a few weeks ago, we played very, very well, didn’t get the result that we would have liked but if we play a similar type of performance, I think we’ve got an opportunity to win the game.”
On the MLS debut of Joseph Rosales…
“He’s a young kid that we like. We’ve followed him since the Olympic Qualifying game when Hassani [Dotson] played against Honduras. We’re delighted. It’s the first time he’s been with the team, since he came with a small injury. We like him, we like what we’ve seen. Not 100 percent certain where we think he’s going to play because he’s very versatile but he’s certainly come on and made a good first impression, for sure.”
On what of the Galaxy this season…
“They got Chicharito and this incredible fanfare the year before, he’s made no secret of the fact that it was a difficult year for him but he looks back to his best now. His movement the other night for the goal, he goes in the near post and pulls of the back shoulder. They’ve got a goal scorer, they’ve got a lot of pace, whether it be Hernandez or [Kevin] Cabral. Then they’ve got experience throughout the side. A lot of good players, got a good coach. They’re a big club so the expectation levels are high on them. But for me, we proved, as I’ve said, only three weeks ago that we can more than compete but we need a similar type of performance.”
Midfielder Franco Fragapane
On how he has enjoyed his time in Minnesota and the MLS so far…
[SPA] “Sí, la verdad que estoy muy bien. Estoy muy contento en la liga y en el país. Estoy muy contento, muy feliz en la liga MLS y en el país.”
[ENG]: “Yes, the truth is that I’m very good. I’m very happy in the league and in the country. I’m very happy in the league and the country.”
On what he is expecting out of the LA Galaxy…
[SPA]: “Muy listo, espero que podemos hacer un partido muy bueno y regalarle una victoria a la gente.”
[ENG]: “Very ready, I hope we’re able to have a good game and give the fans a win at home.”
On being able to play alongside Emanuel Reynoso again…
[SPA]: “Si, si. La verdad que muy feliz por la vuelta de Bebelo [Emanuel Reynoso]. La verdad que lo necesitamos y mañana va demostrar adentro [de la cancha], para hacer las cosas bien.”
[ENG]: “Yes, yes. Honestly, really happy for the return of Bebelo [Emanuel Reynoso]. Honestly, we need him and tomorrow, he’ll show his quality on the pitch and do good things.”
On what makes playing with Emanuel Reynoso so enjoyable…
[SPA]: “Bebelo, como todos lo conocen, es un jugador importante. Tiene mucha técnica, tiene mucho pase al gol. Lo necesitamos y esta ahí para acompañarnos y estar con nosotros.”
[ENG]: “Bebelo, like everyone who knows him, know he’s an important player for us. He has a lot of technique and good passes towards the goal. We need him and he’s here to help us.”
On the connection between them having played for Club Talleres in Argentina…
[SPA]: “Si, somos los dos de ahí. Jugamos los dos en el mismo equipo. La verdad que miramos siempre los partidos de Talleres. Tenemos muchos amigos en común.”
[ENG]: “Yea, we’re both from there. We played for the same club. We always watch the games together. We have a lot of friends in common.”
On living and playing soccer in the U.S. versus Argentina…
[SPA]: “No, no, es muy diferente. En Argentina, se vive de otra forma el fútbol y acá es más tranquilo. Pero bueno, es como lo viven la gente acá. En Argentina no se puede vivir así, es un ambiente muy duro.”
[ENG]: “No, no, it’s very different. In Argentina, football is experienced and lived in another way, here it’s a lot calmer. But that’s how people view it here. In Argentina, that’s not possible, it’s a tough atmosphere.”
On the fans at Allianz Field…
[SPA]: “Si, si. La verdad que la gente es muy bien. Siempre llenan el estadio. La verdad que para nosotros es algo importante que la gente esté ahí, alentándonos.”
[ENG]: “Yes, yes. The people are great, honestly. They always fill the stadium and that’s really important for us, to have the fans there, supporting us.”
On the importance of getting a win against the Galaxy…
[SPA]: “Si es muy importante. La verdad que tenemos que ganar para seguir ahí prendidos y darnos una victoria, que la necesitamos.”
[ENG]: “Yes, it’s very important. We need to win to stay in the playoffs, focused, and we need a win tomorrow.”
Defender Chase Gasper
On his new contract with Minnesota United…
“It’s an incredible feeling and I’m so thankful to all my teammates here, my coaches, the whole organization, especially all the fans. I’ve had such a great time in my two and a half years so far here. I’m just really excited to continue for the next four here.”
On if two and half years goes by fast or slow…
“So fast. It’s flown by. Four years, it’s great that it’s going to be even longer and looking forward to helping the team as much as I can and hopefully bring some hardware back to this club.”
On what the teams needs to do at home this weekend…
“Home games are huge for us because the fan base that we have, the 12th man factor that they bring. We know we play really well at home and with 11 games left in the season, six of them at home, we really gotta take advantage of those games. We’re expecting to get three points on Saturday and we’re not going to settle for less.”
On what of the Galaxy this season…
“Their attack is their strength, some really, high quality attacking players. Chicharito, who has played for Machester United, Real Madrid. Sebastian Lleget, Jonathan dos Santos, lot of good players, lot of quality up top. Last time we played them, I thought we did a really good job. We limited their opportunities, they put one away and their goalie [Jonathan Klinnsmann] had an incredible game, last time we played them. We’re looking to build off the performance of last time. We’re going in with the expectation to win and I think we will.”
On the pressure to get three points this weekend, given how tight the Western Conference playoff race is…
“I don’t look at it as putting pressure on ourselves. We know the quality we have within our side and especially going into a home game. There’s definitely the expectation. We know the points are important and the table is tight right now but we’re going in with confidence. We’ve got a lot of players back from injury and suspension and we’ve got a fully fit squad I think we’re going to have one of our better performances tomorrow evening.”
On moving past the disappointing result at Kansas City…
“It’s a really quick turnaround and after traveling, the team traveled on Wednesday, coming back. Game on Saturday. It’s a very quick turnaround but, I mean, that’s part of the game, part of being a professional. We talked about last game as a team, what we need to improve on but our focus is on tomorrow’s game and Galaxy. we know what we need to do in order to get a result and we’re planning on doing that.”
