West notes: Gonzalez's galactic rise
L.A. defender has become frontrunner for Rookie of the Year award
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Of course, those moments have been the exception rather than the rule, with Gonzalez's steady performance in last weekend's 0-0 tie with Houston doing plenty to cap off what has largely been a stellar campaign.
But after a setback, what's the approach of a coach, a teammate, or the player himself? Does the coach apply tough love or a more easygoing approach? Does the player seek out teammates, or try to figure things out for himself?
If you're L.A. head coach Bruce Arena, it means dispensing the right amount of advice.
"I talk to [Gonzalez] a lot, and it's one of these things where you have to balance it the right way because he's such a good person that he listens more than he needs to," said Arena. "Sometimes he takes things too literally.
"But it's all part of the growing process with young players. They're going to make mistakes; you don't want them to lose their confidence. But at the same time it's certainly important that they understand the things they need to get better."
For Gonzalez, he realized that he too needed to find a balance. In his case, it was about what amount of criticism should be taken in immediately and what should be processed at a later time.
"I think during preseason, I learned to just take things with a grain of salt, and not read too much into things," said Gonzalez. "I think once I got beyond that, and started to be more confident on the field, I started to do better."
Yet once the whistle blows, there's only so much that a coach can do, and this is where the help of teammates comes into play. In Gonzalez's case, the early-season addition of Gregg Berhalter has had a significant impact. The former U.S. international's leadership is among his more underrated traits, and his ability to mentor Gonzalez throughout this season has been a huge benefit to the Galaxy.
"[Berhalter's] been around the block and he knows what he's doing," said Gonzalez. "I can always go to him and ask him about certain situations. He's been tremendous out there for me and for the rest of the team."
Arena took Berhalter's impact a step further, adding, "I think [Berhalter] really feels a responsibility to move Omar along. He's done that since he's been here, and I think for the most part they have a pretty good working relationship. I think Gregg has played a big role in his development."
One instance where both Arena and Berhalter came to Gonzalez's aid was after a 2-2 road tie against Real Salt Lake back in May, a match where the rookie, by his own admission, thought he "was struggling." But the University of Maryland product sought out both coach and teammate, and came away with advice that helped move his game along.
"They said I just needed to concentrate before the game better and be prepared better," said Gonzalez. "And then just go out there and leave it all out on the field, and that's what I started doing. I think my game started to improve after that."
So much so that in a year loaded with impact rookies, Gonzalez now finds himself as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. But chances are he won't let such accolades get to his head. The likes of Arena and Berhalter will make sure of it.
Will Cunningham cash in? A spell that has seen FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham score 16 goals in 14 games was bound to attract some attention. And sure enough, Yahoo! Sports reported that English Championship side Reading has expressed interest in the once (and perhaps future) U.S. international, and is hoping to sign him during the January transfer window.
Should Reading step up their pursuit, they'll have to pay a transfer fee to get him. FCD general manager Michael Hitchcock stated through a team spokesman that Cunningham's current contract "doesn't end after this season."
Granted, every player has their price, but Cunningham's status makes it more likely that he'll be banging in the goals for FCD beyond this year.
Rapid descent? "It's not the way we planned it, is it? But we're still in it."
So spoke Colorado head coach Gary Smith, whose team finds itself in the exact same position as it did last year. Despite being winless in their last six games, the Rapids control their own destiny heading into the final week of the season. And a win against arch-rivals Real Salt Lake will be enough to secure their first trip to the playoffs since 2006.
Of course, last year, a 90th-minute equalizer from RSL's Yura Movsisyan's denied the Rapids a trip to the playoffs, and rather than host the match like they did in 2008, the Rapids will try to get a result at Real's Rio Tinto Stadium. That's why Smith will be keen to see a different outcome this time, although he knows there are no guarantees.
"There are so many different angles and ways of looking at it," said Smith of this weekend's match. "Maybe that grief that we experienced last year will be replaced by adulation, but it doesn't always work out that way."
In the meantime, Smith will be trying to find some sort of combination that will resume service to frontrunners Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. It's a quest he's been on since losing the likes of Colin Clark and Jamie Smith to injury, yet the answers have proved elusive.
"We've tried to adapt [to the injuries]," said Smith. "But in doing that, we've taken the edge off the team."
Both defender Julien Baudet and midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy will return from suspension, giving Smith more options than he had during last week's loss to Dallas. But one potential wrinkle that revealed itself against FCD might be worth trying again. Pat Noonan has struggled to help the team in a wide role, but once he started coming inside, he looked more in sync with his teammates. Could a 3-5-2 with Noonan playing behind the two front-runners provide the kind of attacking punch to get the Rapids over the hump?
Smith wasn't about to reveal his hand, but insisted that the upcoming game will be more about nerves than matchups.
"The team that deals with the moment is the one that will come out on top," said Smith.
Schmid on the brink: Almost lost in the euphoria of Seattle Sounders FC's playoff clinching win against Kansas City was the fact that head coach Sigi Schmid earned his 124th win in MLS, tying him with current U.S. men's national team manager Bob Bradley for the most wins in league history.
While pleased to have achieved such long-term success, Schmid insists his primary aim is to make sure that the Sounders parlay their strong regular season into a deep playoff run.
"I haven't really thought about [the record]," Schmid told The Seattle Times earlier this week. "You just go from game to game to game. When I was in Columbus and got my hundredth win, I didn't even know it was my hundredth win until they told me before the game. All I want to do is continue to do well game after game. If you do well enough, then things might just happen."
Jeff Carlisle is a regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, and covers the San Jose Earthquakes for Center Line Soccer and MLSnet.com. Jeff can be reached at eljefe1@yahoo.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
