SAN JOSE, Calif. – Looking at the San Jose Earthquakes’ 2015 regular season statistics, it’s easy to spot the value of a player like Chris Wondolowski – the striker has five goals, while no one else on the team has more than one.
The numbers are more muted, however, when it comes to the impact of San Jose’s other remaining healthy Designated Player. Argentine midfielder Matias Perez Garcia, the man tasked with orchestrating the Quakes’ attacks from the center of the pitch, has just one assist in 757 minutes – the same amount as defenders Ty Harden, Clarence Goodson and Marvell Wynne.
“I don’t think I’ve hit my peak,” Perez Garcia told MLSsoccer.com through a translatoron Tuesday. “I don’t think I’ve done my best yet, but I think every game I try to get better as we go along. It’s 10 games into the season. There’s still a lot of games to be played. I want to work hard, continue to get better each game and by the end of the year, hopefully we’ll be in a good spot.”
Despite his low totals in the top-line categories, there’s still plenty of substance in Perez Garcia’s game. He’s drawn 30 of San Jose’s 128 fouls this season – Wondolowski and Innocent are tied for second place with just 12 – and has been the Quakes’ primary dead-ball initiator.
Head coach Dominic Kinnear said that he was happy with what he was getting out the 30-year-old, who appeared in only six matches after a mid-season arrival last year before undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery.
“Obviously, you’d love to see more numbers,” Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com. “You’d like to see Wondo averaging a goal a game, or Adam Jahn have more than one goal with all the minutes and work he’s putting in. With Matias, yeah, you want to see more assists. And that’s what we’re saying – sometimes he drops back, I think it does take away his effectiveness in what he can do best, which is finding that last pass. So we’ve always encouraged him; yeah, if you want to drop back, it’s fine, but let’s try to get you a little closer to goal at times, too, because that’s important for us.”
With Innocent lost to knee surgery for potentially the remainder of the regular season, the Quakes’ offense will lean more heavily on the combination of Perez Garcia and Wondolowski, who often overlap in the space between San Jose’s holding midfielder and lead striker, bounded by wingers on either side.
“We’re going to continue to do the same thing we always do; we’re going to continue to create chances,” Perez Garcia said. “We need to support the team. We need to keep things going. Obviously, Innocent’s hurt, but we combat that by playing hard and working together.”
The interplay between the two DPs has grown more fluid as they’ve adjusted to Kinnear’s new formation – and to each other.
“I think it just comes with more and more playing [together],” Wondolowski told MLSsoccer.com. “He’s a really smart player, and I’m trying to learn from him. He has a great touch, so I think that’s going to continue to blossom, and hopefully, we can continue that relationship.”
Said Kinnear: “When those two are in and around [the action] and combining, we do play some really good stuff.”
