CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy’s Baggio Husidic sipped a Herbalife protein shake Tuesday, part of his normal routine in cooling down after training, and perfectly understandable as he continued to recover from what transpired over the weekend.
The 28-year-old midfielder played 86 minutes after Steven Gerrard suffered a strained left calf in a 3-1 victory over San Jose and earned his share of respect for his emergency duty. It was Husidic’s first extended playing time in a regular-season match since going the full 90 minutes in last July’s 5-2 win over the same Earthquakes.
“Baggio and the rest of the guys, you’ve got to give them credit,” midfielder Nigel De Jong said.
“Obviously losing (Gerrard) early hurts,” Mike Magee added, “but Baggio comes on as cold as can be, so hats off to him.”
Coming to the rescue for the Galaxy is nothing new for Husidic, who originally signed with the club on a free transfer from Swedish side Hammarby IF in November, 2013. Last May 19 in Orlando City, for example, Husidic was pressed into emergency duty at left back and was one of the few bright spots – if there were any at all – in an otherwise depressing 4-0 loss.
Husidic said he takes great pride in being so willing to step in when his team needs him.
“For me it helps,” he said. “I’m not a big player in the sense of scoring goals and stuff. It’s good to have the attributes for a coach to play you in games.
‘That’s a good characteristic to have as a player.”
It definitely came in handy last Saturday. He said he had “just finished messing around with some of the guys” and sat down on the sideline when he saw Gerrard come up limping. Assistant coach Pat Noonan promptly told him to ‘warm up’ and he was on the field only a few moments later.
Husidic said being pressed into action so quickly was somewhat difficult from a mental standpoint.
“The mindset is a little different,” he said. “You’re much more relaxed when you’re coming off the bench. You’re not completely into the game when you don’t start. Usually that happens to me after the first half; then you get into it mentally.
“It was really nice to get back on the field.”
Husidic said he didn’t feel as tired as he thought he might be after the game.
“To be honest, I felt pretty good,” he said. “Obviously not having to warm up and not being completely mentally ready to jump in right away was a little bit of a change, but I thought I stepped up to the plate and held my own in there.
“Physically I felt pretty good. I was pushing it toward the end. It was my first 90-minute game in a while, but I’m pretty pleased with my energy, conditioning and endurance.”
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was impressed with the veteran.
“He did a solid job,” he said after Saturday’s game. “It’s never easy in the beginning of a game for a reserve to come on that quickly, and I thought he adjusted quickly and did a solid job.”
He continued to praise Husidic on Tuesday.
“He’s a consistent performer, a team player, all important things,” Arena said. “He’s versatile and dependable, a good soccer player that complements the players around him.”
