In one season, Chris Birchall has gone from being the hunted to the hunter. Tonight, both sides will collide when the Los Angeles Galaxy comes to Crew Stadium for the only match between these two teams this season.
After spending the last three seasons with the Galaxy, Birchall said it is a club that is accustomed to being on the big stage and taking every team’s best shot. Well, almost every team’s best shot.
“At times it was to our advantage because teams were always going defensive against us, not playing their normal game and trying to go out and win the games,” he said after yesterday’s training. “They’d play defensive and let us attack them.
The effort level was always increased by the teams. The stadiums are full. They were always sell-outs. It was an exciting time to be there because you’re playing in front of full crowds and you were getting the best out of things. Last year we coped. This year they’ve struggled a bit but I’m sure they’re going to push on.”
The obvious hope for the Crew is to counter that energy Birchall said the Galaxy tends to feed from.
“I think they have great teamwork with the ball,” midfielder Milovan Mirosevic said. “I think when they lose the ball they are not so comfortable. The difficult thing is to get the ball away from them. When you do it, you have to be very careful with it. If we can keep the ball, I think they will have problems.”
L.A. will be without Landon Donovan and David Beckham for the match, but Birchall credited the team’s depth.
“(Donovan) obviously drives the attack,” he said. “He got four assists the other night so he’s obviously a playmaker. He’s a massive threat in behind with his pace. With him not playing, we have to still be worried but not so much of the ball in behind but really the intricate play in tight with the likes of Robbie (Keane), Mike Magee and Juninho plus Beckham.
They’re really good technically, all gifted and can shoot from distance as well. If we can pack the midfield and be in their faces and put some tackles in and make them not want to be out there that would be really hard for them to battle.”
Birchall said he keeps in contact with a number of his former teammates.
“All the time,” he said. “I was there for three years. Robbie is from England as well. David I keep in contact with and the likes of Josh (Saunders) and Mike Magee and Omar (Gonzalez). I try to keep in contact with them via Twitter and text as much as I can.
It was a close-knit team. When you spend three years with the same kind of players, there wasn’t that much changed around. It’s nice to keep in contact with them and not forget.”
The Crew has played the fewest games in the league to this point and sits eight points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Defender Josh Williams said this match is a test that could go a long way toward showing that the Crew is a playoff-caliber club.
“At this point in the year we’re a little out of the playoff race and every point counts,” he said. “We’ve got to take advantage of the games at home no matter who we’re playing. We’ve already gone into Seattle and gone into San Jose and played some of the tougher teams in the league so we know we can play with these guys. We have to take care of the ball.
You can’t come out flat or else with the weapons they have and the way they move the ball, they’ll take advantage of it. We need to prove to everybody in the league that we’re for real.”
Added Birchall: “It’s good to have games in hand but we have to grab points against the top teams. This is a home game. We’ve got to go out and attack. Hopefully with their game on Sunday and the traveling and two flights, they’re a bit rusty and don’t come out and perform. Hopefully we can be in their face from the get-go and get a good start. That’s what we need.”
Memorials: The Crew will honor Kirk Urso during on-field pregame ceremonies that will begin at 6:45 this evening. In addition, an Urso memorial will be set up when the gates open at 5:30 p.m. near the Lamar Hunt statue at the south end of the station.
VIDEOS
Birchall Bloopers take 2
Birchall previews LA Galaxy