Head Coach and Sporting Director Gregg Berhalter
On Federico Higuain’s play and getting back on the scoresheet
You saw he had a chance in the first half as well that he was really close to, and for Federico [Higuain] it’s just getting a rhythm. You know, he’s so influential in what we do and when he gets in that rhythm, and he gets the mentality to score goals, he’s becoming dangerous.
On the Colorado Rapids’ goal
You know, I talked at length to the referee after the game, and his interpretation was that [the Colorado Rapids] have the right to play it quickly, and from my viewpoint, they didn’t play it quickly. We were getting set up, everyone was getting set up, then [the referee] told us to backup, and once that happens, to me, then you have to restart with a whistle. So, it was odd. I mean, I haven’t seen anything like that in a while, and… Um… I think it’s too bad. I guess it’s a learning experience, you know. Hopefully, we’re going to learn from that, hopefully that won’t happen again. We’ll be sure to ask the referee is it going to be a whistle? So, that was odd, but I still believe that enough time had elapsed, he told our guys to back up, that means it’s a whistle, soon as you do that, that means it’s a whistle.
On the importance of getting five straight home wins
I think so. I mean, listen, anytime you win at home is important. Anytime you win on the road is important, so I think, I guess, if you’re alluding to the fact that if the team gets rhythm and if the team gets form, then we’ll be more dangerous in the playoffs, I can buy that, I think that’s accurate. And you want to just keep winning games, you want to keep putting in good performances, and I think, this was a difficult game. Don’t underestimate how difficult this game was. You know, we were in Portland less than 48 hours ago, on turf, and we had to get back here, playing a fresh team, a team that hadn’t played mid-week, and it wasn’t easy.
On Gyasi Zardes’ importance to the squad
I’m really proud of [Gyasi Zardes]. I’m really proud of the way he has been able to score goals and help our team. You know, it starts with his mindset. It starts with what type of guy he is, what type of work he is willing to do for the team, and even in games where he doesn’t score, he does enough work to become valuable for this group.
On Crew SC’s performance against the Colorado Rapids
You know, at halftime I wasn’t too pleased. I thought we could have finished more chances. I thought we weren’t aggressive enough in the game. Thinking about duels won, if you look at the first half, it was low, and the second half was low as well, but there weren’t many duels to compete with. Overall, I was just a little disappointed. I wanted the guys to play with a little more urgency in the second half.
On exploiting the Colorado Rapids’ formation using the fullbacks
If they’re playing a diamond formation in the midfield, where they are going to have tight central midfielders, the best way to expose them is to stretch them out and we saw similar exercise in Portland. This was a different way to go about it, with three and one, but we thought we could still stretch them out and get our fullbacks involved, and thankfully, it paid off with an assist.
On setting the rotation and the team’s ability to perform during a three-match week
I think it is impressive, and I think I mentioned that in the locker room. I think this week was only going to be managed correctly if we won tonight, and as a coach, you never know the exact formula of how you’re going to balance it off. I mean, we had four or five guys here alone training for the week. I mean, that’s not the best rhythm to go out and play a game, and the other guys were putting on thousands of miles travelling. So, it wasn’t going to be easy, but the guys hung in there, accepted their roles, accepted the fact we were going to rotate the squad, and I think it was a good week overall.
On how the team fought through fatigue during the three-match week
It was a mental exercise, because the legs were heavy, you could see the legs were heavy, but when you look at a guy like Pedro [Santos], he was lively, particularly in the second half. So, I think, as experienced players they know you can battle through it and fight through this. You know, Wil [Trapp] is another guy that played a lot of minutes in these last couple weeks with the [U.S. Men’s] National Team, Gyasi [Zardes] the same thing, so I think overall the guys did well battling through those elements.
On the focus and preparations for the upcoming Philadelphia game next Saturday
You know, we know it’s a tough game. We know it’s going to be a difficult game. We know that… Um… They’re right behind us in the table, and they’re a good team. They have a good midfield, good attacking players, and you know, we’re excited for the game because it will have a playoff type of intensity, that’s for sure.
On Pedro Santos’ mentality going forward
You know, I can understand if he’s frustrated because he’s getting in such good spots that you’d like him to score goals, but then I think of some of the other moves he did and some of the other combinations he did. And I think, overall, we are very pleased with the way he played. I think the only thing that could have been there was a goal and an assist, but other than that, I thought he was excellent.
Midfielder Wil Trapp
On Crew SC’s home win streak
I think it’s extremely important, I mean you look at the three on the board. That’s how close we are to third place. So, in a week where it’s travel-travel, heat-turf, then back home. I think it was really important that we perform, and then we win. I think you saw a really great performance, over the 90 minutes. And it was great to get the three points.
On Crew SC’s long week and the team’s fitness
I don’t think I noticed it at all. Which is a good sign. Shows our level of fitness, shows our ability to recover after a tough game in Portland, and a travel day. Then step on the field against an opponent who didn’t have anything to lose and they showed it. So that was really positive to see our team respond well.
On Gyasi Zardes reaching 50 regular-season career goals and 16 with Crew SC
I told him I am only 48 away, so he has to be careful. He has been awesome, you look at his work rate, his effort in the box. To score tonight was huge for him and it just shows how much he means to us.
Midfielder Federico Higuain
On Gyasi Zardes’s goal
I think it was a good goal: a great pass by Justin [Meram] with a good weight, so that idea you don’t have too much time to think, you know. But to reach the ball and try to play one touch and find the guy from behind. I saw Pedro [Santos] and Justin maybe a bit offside, but Gyasi made a good movement, and I tried to pass the ball to him. Obviously, it’s a risky ball, but to me it’s fifty-fifty, I’m a number 10, and I have to reach the ball as much as possible.
On how it felt to get both a goal and an assist:
To be honest I never have doubts about my game, but of course it’s always better if you score, if you help your team and if you play good. I think since [inaudible]…I was starting to be fit, you know, to feel much better, much stronger. You know, we are close to playoff, we need to keep improving.
Forward Gyasi Zardes
On scoring his 16th goal of the MLS regular season
I’m thrilled just to be a part of this team. Just to score another goal has allowed me to gain more confidence and just how nice it is to progress into the end of the season.
On playing with Crew SC this season
Straight from preseason, when we were in Arizona, I remember just thinking to myself, ‘what a great team I get to play for. What a great system the coaches have here. Everything is crystal clear. I knew I was going to be successful here.
