United Gets Ready for a Rowdy Road Challenge

Six days ago, following a dispiriting 2-1 loss to D.C. United, the stars for scuffling Mexican power CD Chivas Guadalajara glumly filed out of RFK Stadium. Moments earlier, their coach, Jose Manuel de la Torre, had met with the Spanish-language media to discuss his team's repeated missed opportunities. "We've just got to keep trying," he said, through an interpreter.

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As it turned out, that Copa Sudamericana round of 16 game marked de la Torre's final opportunity. Two days after the loss to United, he lost his job, replaced by the team's youth coordinator, Efrain Flores.

The firing added another layer of uncertainty to tonight's return leg at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara. United needs just a draw to clinch a berth in the South American club tournament's quarterfinals; the MLS club would also advance by scoring at least twice in a one-goal loss. A 2-1 defeat would yield overtime and possibly penalty kicks. But United is playing its third game in a week, headed to a country in which it has never won and facing an unknown coach who won his first game convincingly.

"What do I expect? I expect them to throw everything at us," United goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. "Every one of those guys now is playing for a job on that team, and they definitely don't want to lose to a U.S. team. So we've got to be even better than we have been."

Chivas, Mexico's most popular club with a roster consisting entirely of Mexican nationals, had endured a poor start to the current domestic season, scoring seven times in nine games. Then came Wednesday's loss to United, in which Chivas failed to convert on chance after chance despite having a man advantage for more than 45 minutes. De la Torre was relieved of his duties Friday as ownership spoke of playing a more aggressive style, and the coaching change seemed to shock the club back to life; Saturday's 3-1 win over Veracruz tied its highest-scoring output of the season.

"Maybe [a coaching change] puts the team in disarray, or maybe the players are gathering around the new coach," said United defender Bryan Namoff, who left the teams' last meeting with a left leg injury but is expected to play tonight. "It could go either way. But either way, they better be ready for us."

In truth, United has more than enough cause for concern. The Chivas Web site announced Sunday night that owner and president Jorge Vergara would offer free admission tonight, which could lead to an especially rowdy atmosphere. United will be without left back Marc Burch, who received a red card Wednesday. And starting midfielder Fred left Saturday's league game with a groin strain and is questionable.

Still, for the first time, United will head to Mexico to close an aggregate-goals series with the lead.

"We feel good about the situation we're in, but we also know that we've gone there before in good situations and we've never come out very good," midfielder Ben Olsen said. "I'll feel a lot better after we get out of there with a result, but it's not going to be easy. They're going to be playing for their jobs. Obviously they're not happy with the coach, so the players are kind of responsible next."

And those players are clearly talented. Chivas managed to send waves of dangerous balls in front of the United goal last week, with forwards Omar Bravo and Alberto Medina flying past defenders on the wings. United midfielder Josh Gros said Chivas boasted "the fastest players I've played against in my whole life," and teammates agreed.

"I don't really want to think about it," defender Devon McTavish said, when asked to discuss Chivas's speed. "It's ridiculous. I've been telling people, they take 10 steps before I can even think about taking one."

United played in Guadalajara during the CONCACAF Champions Cup in March, going ahead of Chivas 1-0 but being eliminated after yielding two late goals. Wednesday night, the Mexican club dominated possession in front of a split crowd, but United used long-distance strikes from Olsen and Clyde Simms to take a two-goal lead and then managed to survive. But Coach Tom Soehn said United would not approach the series finale with a defensive mentality, promising to "play our game."

"It'll be difficult, regardless of coaching changes or whatever," he said. "I don't know that there's a [U.S.] club team that's won in Mexico, and that's a good challenge for us. I want to make sure that we're the first."