Follow the Leader

Jeff Agoos wasn't too happy when he got the news he was traded from three-time MLS champion D.C. United to feeble San Jose, but his inspired play has helped make the Quakes one of MLS's top teams. By Scott French in San Jose, Calif. eff Agoos isn't about to trumpet his importance to the remarkable turnaround the San Jose Earthquakes have enjoyed in J2001, and to be truthful, he isn't the only reason that u Follow the Leader BILL BARRETT August 6, 2001 / Soccer America / 17 him," Lagos offers, "because he is that rings won at D.C. — were critical to the Follow the leader ... good." potion. That should been apparent to anyone Quakes assistant coach Dominic who's been watching the U.S. national Kinnear says the standard his former U.S. what has been MLS's feeblest aggregation team the past, oh, two and a half years. teammate sets makes it hard for anybody, is suddenly one of its strongest. Once derided as mistake-prone, Agoos has else to slack off. Yes, his performance has been remark- blossomed into the country's most reli- "It helps because we've got a fairly able, as good as or better than any MLS able defender. young group in here," Kinnear says. "It's defensive player's through the first two- follow the leader here, and your leader's thirds of the season. As the Earthquakes' FIRST TARGET. Yallop targeted Agoos as a good guy as well as a good player." on-field general — and as its stabilizing soon as he took the Quakes' reigns, three Dayak says his partner in the middle force in the back — he seems unquestion- days before the SuperDraft, and dealt for- is MLS's best defender. ably the most vital piece to the puzzle ward Abdul Thompson Conteh and a pair "I don't see anyone else who has the Frank Yallop has been assembling since of first-round draft choices to D.C.United ability to close down the best forwards in his hiring as coach in early February. for the defender within hours of taking the league," he says. The Quakes, their ranks a blend of charge. Dayak calls Agoos the Quakes' quar- young, hungry holdovers and deft pick- "Jeff was exactly the kind of guy I terback in the back. ups, are a title contender — unfathom- wanted to get," says Yallop, who was Tho- "He always knows in which direction able in previous years — battling Miami mas Rongen's assistant at D.C. in 2000. "It's he's going to go with the ball when he and Chicago for MLS's best record. just his leadership, his quality of play." wins it off a tackle or intercepts a pass," Don't suggest Agoos is the difference. Yallop was looking to concoct strong Dayak adds. "It seems he knows where "I don't want to think it's all me," he chemistry and instill a winning attitude, [teammates] are better than most anyone says. "We've got a very good team. I'd say something previous San Jose squads had in the league." we have 18-20 all-stars on our team." lacked, and Agoos' That's pushing things, but there's even-keeled person- COMFORTABLE FIT. Agoos says the something to it. The arrivals of Manny ality, work ethic — Quakes have been a comfortable fit: "The Lagos (from Tampa Bay), Landon and those cham- guys have been great, the organization is Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen's reserves), pionship one of the better organizations in the Dwayne DeRosario (Richmond Kickers), league," and he loves the Bay Area. Zak Ibsen (Los Angeles Galaxy) and He wasn't so happy when he first heard Ronnie Ekelund (Walsall); the return of he was Bay Area-bound. Reporters inspirational defender Troy Dayak; the quizzed him about it after the national improved health (and form) of team dropped a 1-0 friendly to Co- Ronald Cerritos and Wade lombia Feb. 3 at the Orange Bowl. Barrett; the move to the middle He was dumbfounded. by the maturing Richard Back at the hotel, afterwards, Mulrooney; superb play by goal- Rongen and Kevin Payne — keeper Joe Cannon — all have D.C.'s president and GM — con- played significant roles in the Quakes' firmed it was true. change of fortune. It was a salary-cap move, another in a It is the 33-year-old Agoos, however, series of such maneuvers that has halted who is being mentioned as an MVP con- a D.C. dynasty that foes couldn't stop. tender, something of which Yallop acclaims Also gone were Carlos Llamosa, to Miami, he is "worthy." His teammates concur. and Richie Williams, to the MetroStars. "There's a lot of adjectives to describe "We had to make some tough choices," Rongen says. "The nature of the beast for D.C. [is] because of the success, we've had to move players every year." Agoos, who saw Raul Diaz Arce, John Frank Yallop made acquiring Harkes and Roy Lassiter go before the reliable Jeff Agoos a him, has no problem with this. priority upon getting the San "I was told I probably wasn't Jose coaching job. going to be traded, but things change, and I understand that," 18 / Soccer America / August 6, 2001 "The Goose" wins an air battle with Alex Pineda Chacon of the Miami Fusion — a team San Jose is battling for league supremacy. he says. "What I didn't understand and didn't appreciate was how it was handled. I found out from reporters." Agoos still can't believe that D.C. United couldn't have found a way to tell him first. "I think all the time I was there and all I helped that team accomplish would have been worth something, been worth more consideration," he says, "but I guess not." Rongen can appreciate Agoos' unhap- piness. "We would have liked it to have been handled a little bit differently," insists Rongen, who says news of the trade leaked out. "But it was completely out of our control. I think Jeff knows that." A NEW START. Agoos was angry and bit- ter about it for awhile. "Certainly I miss my friends and the people I was very close to in D.C," he says. "In a sense, I miss D.C. United because of all of the tradition and success we had. But I can't say enough about how happy I am with this change." He loves the Bay Area weather, the proximity to the beaches and mountains — and to brother Brad, an assistant men's soccer coach at the University of Califor- nia — but can't stomach the exorbitant housing market. He's renting Vincent Damphousse's house in Los Gatos while JOHNTODD PHOTOS the San Jose Sharks' star is home in Montreal for the NHL offseason, an ar- wearing the captain's armband. two while nursing an ailing back. The rangement brokered by former D.C. and As for MVP talk, don't bother. Agoos Quakes, 9-1-4 (and unbeaten since mid- San Jose midfielder Shawn Medved, is "flattered" by kind words but says he April) with their captain in lineup, won Damphousse's next-door neighbor. "just tries to give as much as I can to help just once without him. On the field, he says, the move to San my team win." Cannon, who has emerged as one of Jose "has certainly worked out for me — Others' opinions are more salient. MLS's top keepers, credits Agoos for the it's certainly helped my career." "What you've got to look at is how Quakes' remarkable turnaround. Agoos relishes being the man in the the team has done without Goose," Can- "We really struggled last year," Can- middle — he was often pushed to the wing non says. non says. "We were really not a good in D.C, which usually teamed Llamosa Agoos missed four of the first 18 team, I value Goose — if the voting were and Eddie Pope in central defense — and games, two while on national team duty, today, I'd vote for him. " ¢ August 6, 2001 / Soccer America / 19.

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