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SANTA CLARA –A home team in shambles. A dearth of stars from the famous English opponent.
The summer exhibition featuring the Earthquakes and storied Manchester United didn’t engender immediate enthusiasm Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
But then came the San Jose debut of defender Guram Kashia in what ended as a scoreless draw in front of an announced crowd of 32,549 fans.
The Earthquakes had not shut out a team in 10 months, an inglorious mark the new center back knew all too well.
Kashia, 31, has arrived in the summer transfer window to breathe life into a battered defense that left the Earthquakes (2-11-6, MLS) vulnerable in every game. General manager Jesse Fioranelli also wanted another experienced voice in a locker room filled with young players.
“He coached from behind,” midfielder Florian Jungwirth said of the Georgian. “That went very well. You’re not captain for Vitesse Arnhem for nothing.”
Kashia, who had been a regular with Dutch side Vitesse, is expected to not only settle the defense but play a role in shepherding young talent such as Georgian national teammate Valeri Qazaishvili, San Jose’s highest-paid player.
“I understand the club needs more stability, especially with defensive football,” Kashia said.
But his presence should be felt beyond the backline.
“Sometimes,” Kashia said, “we need to kick asses.”
The Earthquakes pivoted toward their future after a week of turmoil that spilled onto the sideline July 14 at Portland when coach Mikael Stahre and midfielder Fatai Alashe had a public spat.
Kashia played the first 45 minutes before departing with Homegrown rookie JT Marcinkowski, who also made his first start in San Jose. Then 16-year-olds Gilbert Fuentes of Tracy and Jacob Akanyirige of Pleasanton entered at the end of the game to record their debuts in a showcase of where the Quakes might be headed.
“This is only just the beginning,” said Fuentes, a promising midfielder who wasn’t nervous although playing against his favorite childhood team.
Like Fuentes, Akanyirige is part of Fioranelli’s vision to turn the Earthquakes into a playoff-worthy club in the near future by developing the Northern California talent pipeline.
It just hasn’t felt like it for loyal supporters who have been in an uproar over the team’s futile record of two victories in five months. But the slightest ray of light shined Sunday by outshooting United 11-6.
“This is a positive for us,” said Tommy Thompson, who almost scored in the 71st minute when firing a 20-yard shot that forced goalkeeper Lee Grant into full extension.
Stahre substituted liberally with upcoming MLS home games Wednesday (Seattle Sounders) and Saturday (Real Salt Lake).
While San Jose is in midseason, United is on a five-game preseason U.S. tour. As promised, manager Jose Mourinho played Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, who just arrived from England after obtaining a U.S. visa.
While Sanchez played well in his 65 minutes, it wasn’t enough to give the Red Devils an advantage over Major League Soccer’s worst team. He almost got an assist in the fourth minute when Eric Bailey hit the crossbar off Sanchez’s free kick.
A dozen Manchester United stars are on holiday after the World Cup ended a week ago. Mourinho said most won’t even be ready for the English Premier League opener Aug. 10 against Leicester.
It meant Bay Area fans didn’t get to watch such big names as Paul Pogba of France, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford of England and Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini of Belgium.
The Quakes tried to give the crowd something to cheer about throughout the second half when Yeferson Quintana hit the crossbar. Also, it took a sliding save from Timothy Fosu-Mensah in the 56th minute to stop Qazaishvili from scoring in the area.
Stahre sounded relieved how well the Quakes handled the English powerhouse, whose reserves are superior to his roster.
“It was important that we didn’t get smashed,” he said.
From that positive take came another from Kashia who has trained in San Jose for a week now.
“This team cannot be in last place because we have the talent to have at least 20 or 15 points more to be in the middle of the league,” he said.
Reality says otherwise. It’s going to take the 2019 season to determine if it is true.
