Manchester United have travelled from Washington to California for their second pre-season fixture, where they face local MLS side San Jose Earthquakes.
San Jose’s franchise history started in 1974, where they played in various American leagues before the arrival of Major League Soccer (MLS). They even went under different club names in their early history such as the San Jose Hawks and the San Jose Clash. They were announced as one of the MLS inaugural teams in 1994, but it wasn’t until 1999 where the franchise’s official name changed from Clash to Earthquakes.
The Earthquakes have won two MLS Cup’s (2001 and 2003), but currently lie 8th in the Western Conference this season, meaning they wouldn’t qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs if the standings stay the same.
A connection between United and the Earthquakes is legend George Best, as he played for San Jose Earthquakes from 1980-1982. San Jose even named one of their Bay Area gates after the Northern-Irishman.
Chris Wondolowski will be missing for San Jose as he is on international duty, as he’s part of USA’s Gold Cup squad. The goal poacher made his USA debut in 2011 and currently has 30 caps, along with 10 goals for the USMNT. He is currently San Jose’s all-time leading goal scorer and has won two MLS golden boots and their MVP award in recent years. He will be a big miss for the Earthquakes.
They’ll also be missing Innocent Emeghara, as the Nigerian-born Switzerland international tor his meniscus back in May, which required knee surgery. The pacy, 26-year-old striker previously played for Grasshoppers, Lorient, Livorno and Qarabag before moving to the US.
In the absence of these two key players, we select three San Jose Earthquake players who United should look out for.
Matias Perez Garcia
With Wondolowski and Emeghara out of San Jose’s squad, it leaves Argentine Matias Perez Garcia as the only available Designated Player. The Designated Player rule allows teams to acquire players who would usually be out of their salary cap. The 30-year-old played for numerous Argentine clubs over the course of his career, along with a brief spell at Chilean club Universidad de Chile.
The 5ft 5 attacking-midfielder signed for San Jose in the summer of 2014, and is considered to be the club’s creative spark, as he’s currently the club’s leader in assists this season.
Quincy Amarikwa
The American only transferred to San Jose last month, as his previous club Chicago Fire traded him in-exchange for Ty Harden. Quincy Amarikwa has got his second spell with the Quakes off to a great start, as he has two goals in two games so far this season. After he left San Jose in 2010, he won the MLS Cup with Colorado Rapids in his first season with the club.
Both of his goals came during Steven Gerrard’s MLS debut, but it wasn’t enough to stop LA Galaxy from winning the California derby 5-2.
Victor Bernandez
Victor Bernandez has been the rock at the heart of San Jose’s defence for the past four seasons. His career started in his home country of Honduras, with the likes of Vida and Motagua, before making the move to Belgium, with Anderlecht. Bernandez was unable to cement his place in their starting line-up, resulting in the centre-back signing for San Jose in late 2011. The 33-year-old brought them international experience, as he currently has 78 caps for Honduras.
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