Two free radicals that revolutionized the team’s chemistry.

One topic that comes up over a teardrop-diluted pint when your team’s not doing so well is team chemistry.  In the off-season, the San Jose Earthquakes lost two players in the expansion draft: veteran goalkeeper Joe Cannon and attacking midfielder Arturo Alvarez. Both had played with the previous incarnation of the Quakes (v1.0) that went on to become the Houston Dynamo in 2004.  Both had their own unique personality that I wonder how much they are being missed in the dressing room. 

Joe Cannon (@JoeCannon1love): 

Joe greets the 1906 Ultras

Even though Joe came back from the LA Galaxy to the Quakes 2.0 in 2008, the fans loved him anyway.  During the 2008 season he wrote a ‘renaissance man’ blog, sometimes about life as a soccer player, but also on a wide range of topics from that year’s election to an encounter with a guy who had fallen on hard times – totally eclectic.  If you ever doubt the exuberance of MLS players in the preseason, or on road-trips, follow Joe’s banter with Jay Demerit or Landon Donovan (or both) on Twitter.  Always the joker on Facebook, after a spectacularly bad performance by the whole team in the season opener in 2009, Joe wrote a series of posts that became increasingly pessimistic throughout the night.  I came across them early the following morning, only to find a few hours later his whole page was gone.  I guess he (or someone else) thought better of his soul-searching, but it was indicative of how competitive a guy he is and that he wears his heart on his jersey sleeve.  All goalies are crazy, and Joe was always on the field early before each game practicing his yoga and stretching before taking some ground balls. After spending much of the 2010 season injured after breaking his ankle in practice, Joe was left unprotected on the roster and was picked up by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the expansion draft.

Arturo Alvarez (@artieart10):

A moment of indecision while 
Artie considers a right footed shot

My first recollection of watching Artie play the last three seasons is that he was always cheerful, and had one of the broadest smiles in MLS – the second of course was his left foot.  There were spells where his famous left foot scored for the Quakes – he was not always consistent, but he could occasionally be brilliant; there was always an air of anticipation in the bleachers when he got the ball. It’s hard to believe that he’s still only 25, since he’s been with both iterations of the Quakes, who drafted him as an 18 year old in 2003.  Alvarez was picked up in the expansion draft by the Portland Timbers, but before he found out how handsome he looked in green, he was traded on later the same day to RSL.  Things worked out pretty well for Artie – he played in the CONCACAF Champions League final this month – and he’s still smiling. 

Perhaps these two free radicals revolutionized the team’s chemistry.