SAN JOSE, Calif. -- If Dominic Kinnear has any extra motivation or anticipation in the face of his impending return to Houston -- a city where he won two MLS Cup titles as head coach of the Dynamo before leaving this winter -- the San Jose Earthquakes coach is doing an awful good job of hiding such feelings.
“I don’t talk about that stuff,” Kinnear told reporters as the Quakes were preparing for their three-game road trip, which lands Tuesday in Texas (8:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). “I had a great time there. I’m here. It’ll be good to see some people that I became friends with and am still friends with. But as far as the return -- I’m not playing. So I’ll just do what I can to beat them.”
Considering the success -- establishing the uprooted Quakes franchise, posting 112 regular-season victories, opening BBVA Compass Stadium, capturing crowns in 2006 and 2007 -- during the nine years he spent there, can it really be possible that Kinnear doesn’t...
“Give a [darn]?” said Quakes goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley, jumping in to finish a reporter’s question. “He doesn’t.
“He’s got ego, like everybody,” said Hanley, who coached with Kinnear for eight years in Houston before returning to the Bay Area. “But I think if you look at him, the circumstances and the big games he’s been in, it’ll just be a tick. There’s not going to be a bunch of quotes. You’re never going to get him going, saying something.”
With changes already likely due to the compressed schedule this week -- San Jose are scheduled to play their third match in eight days on Friday (10 pm ET; UDN) in Colorado -- Kinnear will have a chance to tweak his lineup and potentially take advantage of his knowledge of the Dynamo roster.
At least one change to the XI that faced Real Salt Lake last Friday will need to be made. Forward Innocent will be held out after taking a knock to his left knee during the 1-1 tie with RSL. That could open the door for a return by target forward Adam Jahn, or the insertion of Chris Wondolowski at the tip of the Quakes’ attack, which generated only two shots on goal against RSL.
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Left back Jordan Stewart, who has missed the season’s first 10 games due to a calf injury, could return against Houston, which would give current incumbent Cordell Cato a break before a return to altitude. Homegrown teen attacker Tommy Thompson is also looking for his first start of the season.
Whatever lineup Kinnear uses, Wondolowski is hoping to hear some cheers from Dynamo fans in honor of their former coach.
“He’ll be the first one to tell you he enjoyed his time down there,” Wondolowski said. “I’m expecting a warm reception because he did so many great things for that team, and I’m sure that he still has a lot of ties there with certain guys. It’s going to be a special place [to visit], but does he want to beat them? Yeah. Who wouldn’t?”
