CARSON, Calif. -- The last two meetings between the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy were both dramatic encounters, but according to Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, the results mean little ahead of Sunday's match at Buck Shaw Stadium.
In two games this season, the Earthquakes roared back from a deficit to earn a victory against the Galaxy. The first was a 3-2 San Jose victory on May 23 at The Home Depot Center that featured three goals for the visitors in the last 20 minutes and started the "Goonies Never Say Die" mantra that has defined the Quakes' season. The second clash on June 30 at Stanford Stadium was just as dramatic as the Galaxy built a 3-1 lead late in the first half before a Victor Bernardez goal in the 44th and two goals in the second half gave San Jose a 4-3 victory.
Following training on Thursday, Arena admitted that those games meant little to him or the Galaxy.
ARENA: "I'm not at all troubled by those two games at this point in my life. I'm moving on, I was not happy in the short term with those games, but now I've put it past me, I'm looking for greater things in life. I had a grandchild born, we're in the middle of a heated Presidential election, [the U.S.] lost a difficult Ryder Cup, the Yankees are hanging on for life so really I don't give two sh* about the last time that we played San Jose."
More thoughts from Arena on the Galaxy controlling their own destiny, Seattle vs. Real Salt Lake and the unbalanced schedule below.
(On the Seattle vs. Real Salt Lake match on Thursday...)
ARENA: "I thought the game was awful that playing surface [at CenturyLink Field] is becoming like a parking lot."
(On the Galaxy controlling their destiny with RSL and Seattle's tie...)
ARENA: "It’s one way of putting it, I guess. We can put two wins together; we could end up in second or third. But if we could have won ten previous games then we wouldn't have to worry about that so we've been controlling our destiny for a long time."
(On whether San Jose is a surprise team...)
ARENA: "I don’t think anything is a surprise in this league to be honest with you. At the end of the day, if you look at it you have a bunch of teams that are close together which is in a lot of ways what we anticipate. I think that throws it out of whack the whole competition this year is the whole unbalanced schedule and calling that winner of that unbalanced schedule, the Supporters’ Shield winner. That makes zero sense, but it is what it is, but having said of that, San Jose is still the team on top regardless of how odd that competition is."
