San Jose Earthquakes Shake Things Up

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Hooligan Soccer

·19 Desember 2024

San Jose Earthquakes Shake Things Up

You’d be forgiven for missing much of the information I’m about to relay below. Most sane people ignore anything even remotely associated with the flailing carnival sideshow that masquerades as a professional soccer team known as the San Jose Earthquakes.

But small changes could spark big outcomes, so I’ve summarized the latest informational nuggets for you below.

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Who is Nick Lima?

Nick Lima, 30, is a Bay Area native and former Quakes Academy defender who signed a homegrown contract back in 2016 and played with the club through 2020. He played 95 games for Austin FC through 2023, then joined the New England Revolution for their 2024 season. His arrival comes on the heels of a trade that saw three other Revs players join the Quakes roster.

What’s This New England Trade?

Back on December 9th, the Quakes announced a three-player trade in early December which saw the addition of midfielders Ian Harkes and Mark-Anthony Kaye, and defender Dave Romney into the squad from the New England Revolution. At 29, 30 and 31 years old respectively, newly minted head coach Bruce Arena must be hoping to shore up one of the leakiest defenses in the MLS and add some flair to the midfield. The fact that he acquired these players when he was head coach of New England had absolutely no factor in his decision.

Sarcasm aside, adding four experienced players with MLS pedigree might be a smart call. But given that New England was only marginally better than San Jose last season, will these new additions actually improve anything?

Did You Namedrop Bruce Arena?

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Yes I did. Cause back in early November Bruce Arena took over San Jose’s head coach and sporting director responsibilities. The same Bruce Arena that coached the USMNT for eight years and in two World Cups. Bruce is one the United States’ most winningest coaches, having won or drawn nearly 75% of his matches going all the way back to 1996 when he was with D.C. United.

He also was placed on administrative leave with New England in 2023 “as a result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by Major League Soccer into allegations of insensitive and inappropriate remarks.” You can read the statement here. This writer has to assume that Earthquakes owner John Fisher knows about, and is ok with, this detail.

What Other Changes Could Be Coming?

Given how bad the Earthquakes were in 2024, there’s nothing but upside for the club. In nearly every measurable statistic, the team were below the league average. It wasn’t all bad though… They had a +1 in scoring in the first 15 minutes (7 for & 6 conceded) and fans who watched them were treated to a league-high 3.5 goals scored per game. The downside, of course, was the majority of those goals were AGAINST the Quakes.

One major area of concern is to address the club’s Designated Players, which didn’t quite live up to expectations in 2024.

Cristian Espinoza 5 goals in 32 appearances isn’t good enough for the Argentine winger, being well short of his 2023 tally of 13 . He did register 13 assists, which means he was a contributor in 44% of the Quakes’ goals. Personally, I’d be looking for a more dynamic figure here, though it’s hard to argue that Espinoza is a total wash.
Carlos Gruezo As a defensive midfielder, Carlos’ success isn’t measured by goals. But with only 3 Goal Created Actions in 24 matches, and the team conceding 2.3 goals per game, Carlos is not living up to the DP label. As the highest paid player on the team, earning over $1.6M, he needs to perform better.
Hernán López The Quakes’ newest DP logged 9 goals in 30 appearances, a solid effort for an attacking midfielder. As this was his first year, he’s earned enough trust to see if he develops in 2025. He also happens to be the great-nephew of Diego Maradona, whatever that’s worth.

The next area to shore up is the defense. Obviously, the recent trades seek to resolve this, and time will tell if those moves are sufficient.

Lastly, to win you need to score. Their poor 1.21 goals per game (surprisingly not the lowest in the MLS) needs to improve, so signing a prolific striker should be a priority.