Photo by Lyndsay Radnedge.
It took all of 28 games for the San Jose Earthquakes to come to the realization that first year Head Coach Mikael Stahre was not the right man to steer the ship. A very large and vocal portion of the Quakes fan base came to that conclusion well before last Saturday’s match against Sporting Kansas City, a 5-1 blowout that saw many of the announced crowd of 16,682 starting their post match plans well before the final whistle.
Stahre was brought over from BK Hacken of the Swedish Allsvenskan in the offseason, taking the reins of an Earthquakes team that fought valiantly to make the playoffs for the first time since 2012 despite finishing the season with a -21 goal differential. Even after being bounced from the playoffs in a 5-0 trashing by Vancouver, the Quakes felt like they were on the right trajectory and Stahre was expected to be the man that could take them to the next level.
Those expectations were fueled by a strong preseason and a season opening match against Minnesota that saw the Quakes up 3-0 and dominating the match. From there, the bearing walls began to crumble. While the feeling was good on opening night, two late goals from the Loons provided a preview of what was to come.
From there the Quakes did not win another match through March and April. In April, Stahre sent shock waves through San Jose by leaving club legend and Team Captain Chris Wondolowski on the bench to start a match against Houston.
Photo by Lynsday Radnedge.
Signs of unrest were present following a Cinco de Mayo loss to the Portland Timbers with Defender Florian Jungwirth commenting that the team was playing “youth soccer.”
A road trip to Minnesota saw the Quakes stop their winless skid at seven, prompting the jokes about the Quakes being unable to beat a team outside the Loons.
It’s hard to pin down the exact moment that it looked like the Stahre move wasn’t going to work out, but the game that sticks out from my perspective is a home match against DC United on May 19th. At the time, DC United was mired at the bottom of the table, had played most of their games away from DC, and Wayne Rooney was still in England.
Despite all this and with the Quakes playing five in the back, DC United ran circles around the Quakes all night, scoring three first half goals in route to a 3-1 victory. Following the match, Stahre acknowledged the questionable tactics and formation were “my bad.”
After a winless three game road trip, the Quakes returned home to take on LAFC. Leading 3-2 entering stoppage time, the Quakes conceded two goals in front of a large LAFC supporters side that made Avaya Stadium feel like their home for an improbable come back win.
Photo by Lyndsay Radnedge.
The July 14th match in Montreal saw Stahre’s abilites called into question and ratched up the heat even more after a series of bizarre substitutions in the first half. After subbing Fatai Alashe in for Anibal Godoy in the 41st minute, Stahre surprised many, including Alashe, by subbing Jimmy Ockford on to start the second half after the team had taken the field. A very tense exchange between Alashe and Stahre followed in full view of the cameras. Alashe would be traded to FC Cincinnati shortly after.
The match against Montreal was part of a 363 minute scoreless drought for the Quakes across all competitions snapped in a shocking road 3-1 win over FC Dallas.
Beating the Western Conference leaders may have bought Stahre some time to right the ship, but many thought the end had to come after a 3-2 defeat to Vancouver, in which the Quakes blew a two goal lead and then responded by rolling over and quitting in front of their home fans.
A spirited 4-3 win over FC Dallas home put some of that anger to rest, but after the massacre on Saturday, General Manager Jesse Fioranelli had no choice but to pull the plug on the first year man with six games left to play.
Steve Ralson is the man tasked with finishing the season for the Quakes. While the MLS veteran is the sentimental choice to take over the team on permanent basis, rumors have also linked former Timbers Coach Caleb Porter and Columbus Crew legend and Boca Juniors Manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto have also been linked to the job.
While it remains to be seen what direction the Quakes take in 2019, the Mikael Stahre era was very short, not at all sweet for Quakes fans, but the creative ways the team found to lose games made it an interesting time to be around the club.
San Jose Earthquakes
MLS
