View from the Blues, Volume 14: On Charlie Naimo and LA Blues 23

A Chat With Charlie Naimo

Charlie Naimo's Los Angeles Blues were at Salesian High School in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California. There, they went through some drills and practice ahead of a tough schedule in the middle of the dog days of summer.

Bleacher Report's Jo-Ryan Salazar talked with Naimo about some ongoing developments regarding the club, as well as the current situation with USL PRO.

Q. What's the current situation regarding the club?

A. The season's been good, not great. I think we've been—there's been a lot of challenges: first off, being a new team and going through the landscape of the league; new opponents; you know, also adding some of our conference disappear on us. So there's been some challenges.

I also think that health's been a concern of ours. You know, we haven't played a match with our first choice—our top three first-choice attacking players.

But all that considered, you know, we felt we've done pretty well. I know that as of today, we're second in the league in goals scored, maybe first when it comes to goals per game and top two in goal differential. And we also feel we could have been a little bit better defensively through all this, so, you know, it's clear where we have to improve and being able to identify that and being in a decent place is pretty good.

Q. What are the pluses and minuses of having a long break like this? I would imagine it's good for match fitness, but these players really want to get back on the field, don't they?

A. Well, the pluses and minuses are pretty clear-cut. I think the plus is that we're going to be able to get guys prepared and healed. So, coming out of the break, we should have a healthy team.

For me, the only minus is that there's the back half of our schedule: It's compact. So the break itself is fine, but obviously we're gonna pay for it at some point. And we have a really long break, so there's a price to pay somewhere.

 

Q. I understand there's been some restructuring regarding the Puerto Rico sides. How will this affect the United Soccer Leagues Professional Division? Is it going to hinder [the teams] or is it going to be beneficial for them?

A. No, I think the USL PRO league, as a franchise, stepped in and made an appropriate call to protect all its teams. So if there are teams out there that aren't performing, you can't allow them to operate substandard. It's going to weaken the brand of everybody's franchises.

So, they did what they had to do; we're left with 12 very strong franchises, and with a lot of growth potential. I mean, there's interest throughout the country.

 

Q. During your practice, you talked about marking players as something to improve on. What are the facets of the game you need to work on during this period in order to get ready for the rest of the season?

A. Well, again you have to use those first nine games to identify the areas that we have not been good enough in. And the biggest area for us has been a couple of mental letdowns during games with guys getting free and not reading the pressure on the ball and flat-out in our defensive third, not having a body on guys. So that's come to hurt us. We're averaging, I think, almost a goal a game, which doesn't win a championship.

So that's where we've been more focused on: the guys closing balls down and putting importance on our weaknesses.

You know, you can talk about your strengths all day but you gotta get better at your weaknesses. So that's been it, and the past couple of days and probably for the rest of this week we'll be focusing on our team defensively and marking, and putting pressure on the ball.

 

Q. Why has it been tough for you guys to win at Titan Stadium? It's supposed to be your home turf and you're supposed to defend your home turf. Why can't you win at Fullerton?

A. Maybe because we're the best road team in the league. Something's gotta give. But—no, I think the first game...we lost the game on the scoreboard. I took a lot of positives out of that game.

We didn't have Cesar [Rivera], Walter [Gaitan] or Chuck Chijindu in the lineup, which, again, that completely changes your game. You take [Lionel] Messi, Xavi [Hernandez] and the rest of FC Barcelona...it's still a good team, but they're not Barcelona. So at any level, if you lose that kind of quality, it's gonna kill you!

So even with that said, I was proud of our team that night. I was disappointed as much as anybody—the ownership, the team, staff, fans—that we didn't get that result. If anybody was out there watching it, you'd have known that we could have scored five goals. And we were dangerous. [Antigua Barracuda FC] were dangerous twice on a couple of counters.

So, you know, it's disappointing, but I don't really feel too bad about that loss based on how the game transpired.

And in our other Fullerton game, we get a straight red early on, we battled back to tie it up, and then...I'm not going to comment, but that was also unfortunate.

And so, it's a bummer, it happens, and it will make us that much more hungry to make it better at Titan when we get back to a refurbished field, which will happen at our next game we play. It will be a brand-new pitch. [The stadium was] shut down for three weeks, re-sodded; it's going to really feel like ours at that point.

Q. Let me conclude this interview with a couple of questions pertaining to the U.S. Open Cup. First off, you will be taking on Hollywood United, a team that I believe you had some type of history with. Is there a rivalry factor to this one and what are your thoughts on this one?

A. You know, first of all, we respect every single opponent. I think that people always put a lot of emphasis on rivalries, but it's always the players that make the rivalries: the guys that have played against each other for a number of years. You know, the rivalries aren't the same and the players are different.

So I've never coached against Hollywood United, I don't have a rivalry against them...so for me, I don't feel that way. I think a lot of our guys...half of them don't even know who Hollywood United is! You know that they know they're a good team in their league, with a lot of good history, and they're gonna want to kick our butts. It's like any other team we come up against.

We're completely downplaying the fact that—it's not a rivalry for me. And that's not the way I'm gonna discuss it with our guys. It's a game. They're an opponent that stands in the way in one of our goals, which is to go far in the Open Cup.

Q. Finally, if you guys make it to the Third Round proper (Round of 16), in which the MLS teams get involved, how would a match with the Los Angeles Galaxy sound to you?

A. Quite honestly, it would be a great opportunity for our club to draw some attention; that there is another great soccer team in LA besides the Galaxy and Chivas. I hope it's an opportunity for us to draw some fans, and to teach people that we exist.

Competitively, it's also an awesome opportunity to be able to play a level up. And just like it's a great opportunity for an amateur team to play us in the Open Cup, it's the same way when we get to play them, or just like when an MLS team gets to play Real Madrid.

You know, you're always looking to say, "You know what? We can play with these guys. And everybody talks [about it] a lot but here's your chance to prove it." So, you know, we look forward to proving that we can play, and hopefully if that opportunity presents itself, we'll be a healthy group and we'll be able to give it our best and go further. But again, they're another opponent for us.

Blues 23 Update

It has not been a start to remember for the Los Angeles Blues 23 in the PDL. But at the same time, good things come to those who wait—particularly this team that is only beginning to build chemistry.

After a scoreless draw with the Fresno Fuego, combined with 5-0, 4-0 and 2-0 defeats to the Orange County Blue Star, Ventura County Fusion and Southern California Seahorses, respectively, the Blues 23 finally earned their first victory of the season, defeating the Los Angeles Legends at the Stadium by the Sea at Pacific Palisades High School in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, May 28.

Goals by Daniel Martinez in the 72nd minute and Mauro Gomez in the 77th minute salvaged what had been an otherwise forgettable May for the Blues 23.

They will have a coule of PDL matches this week. On Thursday, June 2, they will host the Fusion at the Stadium by the Sea. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET. On Sunday, June 5, the Blues 23 will host the Fuego. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET.