When the San Jose Earthquakes opened the second half in their International Champions Cup friendly against Manchester United on Tuesday, their midfield featured a trio of US youth internationals: 21-year-old Fatai Alashe, 21-year-old Marc Pelosi and 19-year-old Tommy Thompson.
That was a glimpse of a potentially bright future for the Quakes. It’s up to coach Dominic Kinnear to integrate those pieces into a side that needs a change of fortunes in the immediate here and now – starting with a trip Sunday to face high-flying Vancouver (7:30 pm ET; TSN2/RDS2, MLS LIVE).
Despite pushing a 20-yard effort over the crossbar against the Reds, Pelosi drew solid reviews for his 45-minute debut with the Quakes, who announced his signing last week. The former Liverpool reserve, who grew up in the Bay Area, gives Kinnear another option in the middle of the park.
While Pelosi is a natural left-footer who has played on that wing in the past, his preferred slot is more centrally located, which is where he was stationed against Manchester United. And Kinnear said he sees that as Pelosi’s natural home. It doesn’t hurt that Kinnear prefers speedier wingers.
“[Pelosi] has got a good enough soccer brain to find his way around a team,” Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com on Friday. “But probably his best position is where he played on Tuesday.”
With Alashe shielding the back line, Kinnear could move star forward Chris Wondolowski back up top and pair Pelosi or Thompson with Argentinean playmaker Matias Perez Garcia in the Quakes’ most-used 4-1-4-1 formation.
Wondolowski, who is slated to return from Gold Cup duty after Sunday’s game, has been playing in a deeper-lying role this season as Kinnear has tried to maximize his club’s chance-generation despite the loss of forwards Innocent and Steven Lenhart to long-term injuries. If the captain continues in that role, it would make room for Quincy Amarikwa – who tallied his first career MLS brace against LA last week – as the front-runner. That would leave Pelosi and Thompson as potent attacking forces off the bench, which has often been relatively barren for the Quakes this year.
“He’s got nine goals and he’s looked dangerous,” Kinnear said of Wondolowski. “It’s not to say that [central midfield] is his No. 1 position for us, but it is for now. I think he had a good first half of the season, and he likes playing in there.”
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However the picture comes together in the short-term, it looks like the trio of Alashe, Pelosi and Thompson will help carry the Quakes’ hopes into the years after the novelty factor of Avaya Stadium has worn off.
“In training, obviously, we’re two of the young guys,” Pelosi told reporters after the Manchester United game. “We like to play. We like to play with each other . . . I think we have a good connection going.”
According to Kinnear, building a young nucleus is a merely a side benefit of trying to get better while fighting a six-game losing streak in all competitions.
“I never really thought of it that way, like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to get young players for the future,’” Kinnear said. “You just want to try to get players that can help you. . . . I don’t look at the age, I look at the player, how good he is and if he can play. Knowing that they are young -- to me, it’s secondary, but it’s a comfort.”
