MLS 101: San Jose Earthquakes Edition

The San Jose Earthquakes returned to MLS action last season and played pretty poorly. They had taken a two-year “hiatus,” during which time their former players won back-to-back titles in Houston.

While that fact would royally piss me off if I were a 'Quakes fan, there are still the good memories of the trophies they won during the pre-hiatus years.

The 'Quakes were known as the Clash for their first four seasons, but during that period the team floundered. They switched to the nickname "Earthquakes" in 2000, and oddly enough, their results immediately improved.

They won the 2001 and 2003 MLS Cups and won the Supporters' Shield in 2005, which was their last season in San Jose for a time.

Those early teams featured some great players, including Landon Donovan, Jeff Agoos, Wade Barrett, Eddie Robinson, Richard Mulrooney, John Doyle, Ronald Cerritos, Brian Ching, Dwayne De Rosario, Dominic Kinnear, Eddie Lewis, and Eric Wynalda (who scored the first goal in MLS history for the 'Quakes).

The Earthquakes are back in SoCal now, and Frank Yallop is doing a good job bringing them up to speed. He’s got some good players at his disposal, like Darren Huckerby, Nick Garcia, Ronnie O’Brien, Ramiro Corrales, Kelly Gray, and veteran goalkeeper Joe Cannon.

I think SJE will be back on the trophy-track soon. I could see them winning their first MLS Cup title in a thrilling victory over the Dynamo.