BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Anyone took a gander at the LA Galaxy's 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on Sunday at Toyota Park could see the frustration and exhaustion on the faces of players from both sides.
Throughout the match players seemed tenative to make their usual attacking runs as the humidity appeared to dissuade members of both teams to press forward. With the humidity proving overwhelming, the game turned into a slog -- one that forced Dan Gargan to exit with heat exhaustion -- and ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw.
After the match, I spoke to Galaxy captain Robbie Keane about the conditions and it's impact on the game, and did not mince words.
“I don’t know who makes these fg stupid decisions. Play a fg game at three o’clock in the afternoon," Keane said. "Who wants to watch that crap? Do you? I don’t want to watch that crap. These people who haven’t got a clue about soccer make these decisions when we play a game. Why not play at eight o’clock? It wasn’t on national television.
"It’s so stupid. They need to look at these games and use their head and be clever. No player wants to play in that humidity. Everyone was affected by the heat. Why would you want to play at three o’clock in the afternoon?" he added. "On the hottest day of the year so far here in Chicago, knowing it is going to be that hot. And you can’t blame the Kings-Hawks game because you didn’t know that was going to happen until two days ago. This is absolutely ridiculous. We have to stop. We have to listen to the players instead of listening to people who have never kicked a soccer ball in their whole life.”
