BROTHERLY BOND Albright and Quaranta reunite in LA
By Andrea Canales LASoccerNews.com Associate Editor
The experiences shared by Chris Albright and Santino Quaranta form a connection that could aid the Los Angeles Galaxy on the field.
It isn’t easy integrating new talent onto a team. One crucial part of how effectively a soccer team works together is usually how well those on the field know each other as players, and as people, too, perhaps. Familiarity determines how someone knows which foot to put the pass on, when to play that ball into the space where a teammate is just fast enough to catch it, and if a sneaky run will be spotted and rewarded with a cross.
Albright hadn’t played with Quaranta as a club teammate for five years, but his run and outlet pass to Quaranta versus Houston led to the game’s only goal in Quaranta’s first appearance as a Galaxy player.
Back in DC, Albright’s last year there with United coincided with Quaranta’s rookie season, when the sixteen-year old became the league’s youngest signing at that point.
“He’s still a knucklehead,” Albright affectionately observed. He then detailed Quaranta’s progress. “In five years, you probably gain a lot of experience as a soccer player. He’s still a young kid, but he’s got years of experience. He’s a very technical player, improving every year. He certainly works harder – a lot harder.”
One of the ways in which Quaranta has evolved follows a little bit the transition of Albright, who was a forward at DC, but switched successfully to defense for the Galaxy. Quaranta hasn’t appeared on the backline, but he has added a different aspect to his attacking game.
“I’ve learned to defend a little bit now,” explained Quaranta. “That got me in with the national team last year.”
Quaranta was part of the U.S. team during their Gold Cup winning run in 2005, confidently taking the first shot for the squad when the final went to penalties.
Albright made the roster for the U.S. during the World Cup, though he didn’t play a game. In the recent All-Star game against Chelsea, though, his latent offensive skill came to the fore, as he narrowly missed scoring a goal.
A highlight of Quaranta’s play has long been his aggressive style.
“I can run at players and just cause a lot of problems on the field, especially on the attacking end,” said Quaranta. “I just feel I can bring a level here that [the Galaxy] haven’t on the outside, just running on the outside and hooking up with guys like Landon [Donovan] and Albright on the right. It should be a good situation for me.”
“He’s goal-dangerous,” described Donovan. “We haven’t had that. He can play as a wide midfielder and I think that helps us because he’s someone that people have to worry about.”
Though he went from a squad that is the runaway leader in the league this season to one which is fighting for its playoff life, Quaranta wasn’t displeased by the trade.
“You’re used to winning,” Quaranta admitted of DC. “I hope to bring those qualities to the team in that sense. I do think I can come and help this team. It’s not a situation where I feel it’s a burden – we’re going to work to get out of it. Being out here, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.”
After dealing with injuries, Quaranta often struggled for playing time at DC, a scenario which mirrored Albright’s tenure there in certain ways.
“It was certainly a good change for me [to move to the Galaxy],” claimed Albright. “I think his situation is similar to mine in DC and figured he could start a new life over here. LA’s not the worst place to live, either.”
“It’s a good group of guys,” affirmed Quaranta. “Everybody welcomed me. It’s weird, but it feels like home here. It’s hard to explain. I’m really excited to be here.”
“We’ve played together on the national team and we’re still good buddies,” said Albright. “That comes into play too. That’s a testament to Frank [Yallop] – that he’s got a bunch of good guys here. That’s what’s helped make us successful. I think Santino’s going to fit right into that.”
Galaxy coach Yallop is expected to give Quaranta’s skill more opportunity by naming him a starter.
“We need to get a combination of attacking play, which is where we haven’t been that good,” Yallop pointed out.
“It’s nice to be getting a start, because you get more comfortable with the game,” claimed Quaranta. “I’m excited if I get to start. I’ll do whatever I have to do to help the team.”
Albright was confident that Quaranta could offer a lot to the Galaxy.
“I kind of look at Santino as a little brother,” Albright acknowledged. “He comes from Baltimore. I come from Philadelphia. The way he grew up is similar to what I did. I understand what he’s been through and where he comes from and I think that helps bring him into the team. But Santino’s done a lot of that himself.”
