Head Coach and Sporting Director Gregg Berhalter
On if he’s happy with today’s match despite the weather
I think so. I give the guys a lot of credit for hanging in there. It wasn’t easy. The game was delayed two hours and 40-something minutes. In the end it was a good exercise, and we got what we wanted out of the exercise. We thank Saprissa also for being patient, and the players, and the fans that came- the guys that hung in there we thank them very much because it wasn’t easy to wait that out.
On Edward Opoku’s and Connor Maloney’s focus
I think both of them were looking forward to contributing. That’s the mindset that they have. They want to contribute at any moment that they can. Connor [Maloney] is on me all the time about playing games, getting loaned out, and he really wants to continue to play. We’re really supportive of that, and today was an opportunity to get him on the field
On Eduardo Sosa’s performance
I think he had a good game today, very aggressive going forward. Gave us certainly some creativity and off-balanced the opponent.
On what the team did during the weather delay
So, I watched some video in the coach’s room, and then we came out. The guys were playing PIG. The guys were playing Soccer Tennis. We had some food: lunch, snack, early dinner, a couple of meals. Then just did some video before the game of the RSL game. So we had a full day. It feels like it was a full day for us.
On Josh Williams’ performance
I thought Josh [Williams] did a good job. Good job both with the ball defensively… you know he was strong.
On Crew SC’s depth at the center back position
Well I think it gives us the flexibility that if we want to play three center backs that we have that option. It gives us different looks. They all have different skill sets, and it’s going to be highly competitive to get on the field. When I think about our center backs, our central midfielders, our outside backs… there’s competition to get on the field, and I think that’s only going to make this team better.
On the goalkeepers’ performance
I thought they did fine. I thought today was a good example – Jon Kempin started the first goal. I thought that was good. He also made a couple of saves early in the game, so I liked that. And then Logan- it’s good to keep getting him involved and getting him game time, and each time he plays he looks more comfortable.
On Harrison Afful playing as a central midfielder
A lot of times he pinches in anyway – plays centrally. So we wanted him to get used to that role. We [are] used to [him] getting the ball back to goal sometimes, instead of giving the ball to the sidelines, having different angles to play the ball, and it was nice to see him there. I know that he’s played there before in his career, and it was good to see him.
On the take-aways from tonight’s international friendly
Absolutely. I think the focus of this game is to emphasize – we had some match objectives that… some things we wanted to emphasize that we weren’t pleased with – with the last game. And then looking at a physical exercise, some preparation for the upcoming remainder of the season, but overall it’s a good exercise. I think it gives us a chance to look at a different opponent, and see what they look like, and see how our style would relate to a Costa Rican league team. So overall, very, very beneficial.
On multiple players’ progression returning from injury
I think they’re getting there. It’s just a matter of ‘was this is the right moment? Was it a little early in the week?’ We’ll have to see. See how the week progresses and see if they’ll be ready.
On playing the LA Galaxy on Saturday
I think LA has a lot of quality. I think they can hurt you in a number of different ways. Regardless of who plays on the field on Saturday, I think it’s going to be a difficult game for us. They have a nice big field. I think we want to use that to our advantage. We know it’s going to be a tough game. We know that they
have quality to score goals. They’ve been showing it lately.
On if he was happy with the offense in tonight’s international friendly
I think so. I was happy with the chance creation today. I was happy with the offensive moment, you know, putting them on their heels, creating a number of chances. So overall, we always talk about ‘it’s a work in progress’. You always want to be building. You always want to be improving. I think that’s the mindset you have to have to be successful in this league.
On stopping Zlatan Ibrahimovic
I think he’s in that category of players in the league that you don’t totally shut down, and you have to accept that. He has a tremendous skill set, very good finisher, very good shot. We want to make it difficult for him, but we also realize that we may not shut him down completely.
Goalkeeper Jon Kempin
On getting reps in tonight’s International Friendly
It was good to get some more game minutes. They were a good team, and high-pressed us very well, so it was a good practice for us as a team and working on certain things, so it was a good scrimmage.
On having to make a save early in the match
Yeah, it’s always good to get that first save out of the way and kind of relax and get into the game a little bit. It was a good save, and a good result I think. It was a good game.
On passing time during the weather delay
You know what, it was kind of fun. We brought in a trash can and started playing a little PIG in basketball, so it was cool, kind of like a team bonding thing. I thought once we came out all the guys I had a good mindset going into the game, and I think that transitioned into how well we played, and it showed. Although we waited for a while, it was pretty fun.
On his mindset heading into this weekend’s match
Yeah, now the mindset shifts to the [Los Angeles] Galaxy, and it’s going to be a tough game. They’ve got some good attacking pieces. They’re always a good team and they’ve got some good results this year, so it’s going to be a tough game. It’s a long travel, so we have to get that out of our system, and get a good practice there, and it’s going to be a tough game, but I think we are starting to build together and starting to come together as a team, so we just have to keep that mindset going into the game.
Forward Gyasi Zardes
On facing LA Galaxy
It is a great opportunity to play one of the best teams in the league, in the western conference. It is going to be a great atmosphere. I played there during my career so I’m really looking forward to going back into that environment, with a new team and a new challenge, new golden line and I get to see how other players felt when they played against their old team.
On his personal confidence
For a striker, scoring multiple goals early on gives a striker a lot of confidence, so going into that environment does give me a lot of confidence but the more opportunities that I get early in the game will also be a positive factor as well.
On continuing to score for Crew SC
Today was a great opportunity for our team to go out there and execute what the coaches asked of us and I think Saprissa is a great team and they are in preseason, but it was a great test for us today just to highlight key points that is going to carry us over into our game against LA Galaxy.
