Sacha Kljestan plays 90 minutes in the US Olympic Team's win

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan played the full 90 minutes for the United States Olympic Team on Thursday in the squad’s 1-0 victory over Japan in the opening match of the Beijing Games for both players.

Kljestan had his thoughts on the match, explaining what the team needed to do after heading into the locker room at halftime with the game tied 0-0:

“I think we needed to settle the game down a little bit and keep the ball more to make them run more, not make us run. In a game like that you need to have possession more than half the time to not kill yourself. I think we did that after we scored the goal. We made them run a bit and obviously when it got late in the game they started throwing everybody forward and it was tough, but we battled. I have so much respect for our team because we fought so hard tonight.”
“It was awesome,” Sacha said, talking about the experience as a whole. “This is the best feeling in the world. It’s crazy out there just knowing everybody is watching and knowing this is the Olympics, what we’ve worked so hard for. To get a victory is so wonderful right now. We feel really good about the team.”

A couple of his teammates from Chivas USA also saw the match, which was broadcast at 2:00 a.m. on the West Coast.

“Most guys had pretty good games,” said Red-and-White midfielder Jesse Marsch. “It could have gone either way. Sacha, when he plays in the middle, has to do a few more responsible things, but when he needed to make some tackles, he made some tackles … I still thought that he helped the team in many ways.”

Chivas USA defender Jim Curtin also saw the game, and thought it was a close matchup. “Overall, it was a good team effort. They kind of got a little fortunate – they dodged two bullets. Japan could have gone ahead… they pressured Japan a lot.”

Chivas USA players with U.S. National Teams - weekend roundup

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan is currently in China with the United States Olympic Team, and on Saturday the squad took on Cameroon in its final preparation game before the Beijing Games start next week.

Kljestan played the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Cameroon, and played a dangerous ball in the 11th minute to Columbus Crew forward Robbie Rogers, whose shot just missed the net.

The United States will start group play on Thursday, facing Japan in its opening match of the Olympics.

The Red-and-White had another player on inernational duty this past weekend, as midfielder Jorge Flores was with the United States Under-20 National Team at the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland.

The team lost its opening match a week ago, but then rebounded with a 4-0 win over Wales last Wednesday, and a 2-0 victory against Belgium in the third-place game on Friday. Flores was on the substitutes' bench for both of the wins.

Sacha Kljestan plays in Olympic warm-up match

The United States Olympic Team played its first tune-up match for the Beijing Games today in Hong Kong, and tied the Ivory Coast 0-0. Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan played the first 45 minutes of the draw, a game in which 17 of the 18 players on the U.S. roster played.

The game was part of the ING Cup, a tournament in Hong Kong involving four teams (USA, the Netherlands, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon) that are all preparing for the Olympics.

The result, with lineups and a match recap, is available on the U.S. Soccer website by clicking here.

Next up for Team USA is a match against Cameroon on Saturday, and the team makes its Olympic debut on Aug. 7 against Japan.

Sacha Kljestan to chat on ESPN tomorrow

Enjoying his finest season to date with Chivas USA and with a potential trip to the Beijing Olympics on his list of goals, midfielder Sacha Kljestan will join ESPN.com for a web chat on Tuesday afternoon to preview Thursday night’s Super Clásico against the Galaxy.

Questions will be submitted by fans and answered by the midfielder, who leads the Red-and-White with five goals this season, and is also tied for first on the squad with three assists.

To participate in the chat, or to read Kljestan’s answers, log on to the ESPN.com chat site at 12:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday afternoon.

Chivas USA's Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan help US National Team

With a 9-0 aggregate victory over Barbados, the United States Men's National Team earned passage to the Semifinal Round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The team won 8-0 in Carson at The Home Depot Center on June 15, and captured a 1-0 victory on Sunday in Barbados.


Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan was in net for both wins, his first two World Cup qualifiers, and his 8th and 9th appearances with the United States. Red-and-White midfielder Sacha Kljestan played in the second leg in Barbados, going the full match and almost scoring a goal in the 18th minute of the game.


Both players will be back in training this week for Chivas USA.

Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan earns 6th cap

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan appeared as a substitute for the United States in the team’s 0-0 tie with Argentina yesterday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Kljestan entered the match in the 74th minute for Eddie Johnson, and was dangerous in attack for the United States, coming close to getting the match-winning goal for the U.S. against the world’s number one ranked team.

The match was the final friendly for the U.S. before it starts World Cup qualifying this Sunday at The Home Depot Center against Barbados at 2:00 p.m. PT.

In the previous two friendlies before the Argentina match, against Spain and England, Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan played the second half, earning his sixth and seventh caps, playing solid in net in both games. A squad for the match against Barbados will be announced this week.

Chivas USA's second Practice in the Community video!

Here's a recap of the second Practice in the Community event, held last Sunday at the Bell Gardens Sports Center - enjoy!

Vote Kljestan for Goal of the Week - Again!

Sacha Kljestan has been nominated for Goal of the Week for the second time this season, scoring a remarkable goal against the Galaxy this past Saturday night in the Honda Super Clasico. It's very similar to his strike against Columbus that won Goal of the Week two weeks ago, but this week he has some tough competition. View all five nominees below; Sacha's is the fourth of the five.


To vote for Sacha's goal, visit the MLS video page and follow the link to "Sierra Mist Goal of the Week."

The goal came in the 38th minute to tie the game at one apiece. Kljestan continues to lead the Red-and-White this season, with three goals and two assists.

Kljestan is looking to win Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors for the third time in his career after earning the accolade earlier this season and in the first week of 2007.

Sacha on SportsCentral - exclusive video!

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan was a special guest on KCAL's 'SportsCentral' on Saturday night. During the popular show, Kljestan talked about his goal celebrations, his amazing Goal of the Week against the Columbus Crew and the US Olympic Team.

The Huntington Beach native also gave a jersey to Gary Miller, the SportsCentral anchor. If you missed it, you can watch behind-the-scenes footage of Sacha's appearance on the show on our official Chivas USA channel on YouTube.

After Sunday's lost against FC Dallas, Kljestan and Francisco Mendoza have now served their one-game red-card suspensions that they received in Columbus and are eligible to play in next Saturday’s Honda Super Clásico against the LA Galaxy (7:30 p.m. PT, HDC).

Kljestan wins Goal of the Week!

Sacha Kljestan's 33rd minute wonderstrike against the Columbus Crew has won Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors, the second time in the young midfielder's career that he has won the honor. If you haven't yet seen the goal, check it out below; it's the fifth in the sequence. Thanks for voting!

Vote Kljestan for Goal of the Week!

Sacha Kljestan’s amazing 33rd-minute strike against Columbus is up for MLS Goal of the Week, with voting now open on MLSnet.com. Below are all the Goal of the Week nominees - Sacha's is the last of the five in this video:



To vote for Sacha's goal, visit the MLS video page and follow the link to "Sierra Mist Goal of the Week."

The goal came after defender Jonathan Bornstein crossed a ball into the middle of the field for rookie midfielder Keith Savage, who then laid the ball off to Kljestan. Running up to the ball, the third-year midfielder curled his shot with the inside of his right foot to the far post, past the outstretched arms of Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer.

Here's a photo of Kljestan from our Home Opener victory over Real Salt Lake, where Kljestan had a goal and an assist. So far he has two goals and two assists on the season, and is the only player on the team with more than one goal (the team has six goalscorers on seven goals so far in 2008).



Kljestan is looking to win Sierra Mist Goal of the Week honors for the second time in his career after earning the accolade in the first week of 2007.

Chivas USA on KTLA Morning News

With now just one day left before Chivas USA's Home Opener at The Home Depot Center, the KTLA Morning News came out for some live shots before the team trained this morning. Arriving before 6:00 a.m., Gayle Anderson hosted several different bits for the morning news.

The first shot, at just after 6:45 a.m., came directly from our locker room. On hand were the recently selected ChivaGirls, a number of Chivas USA Academy players (all about nine years old), several members of the Union Ultras, a supporters group, and team officials. Here are a pair of photos from the first live shot:

Soon, Gayle had switched out her UCLA sweatshirt for a Chivas USA jersey, and we moved out to the field. Dennis te Kloese, our Director of Soccer, spoke with her about the team's youth soccer iniciatives while the kids played. Later, Jonathan Bornstein, Lawson Vaughn, and Sacha Kljestan joined in.

Video of Gayle's visit to Chivas USA can be found via this link; click "Gayle Anderson" above the video player and then look for the Chivas videos on the right side.

Sacha Kljestan to the Olympics!

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan and the United States U-23 National Team beat Canada 3-0 last night to earn a spot in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing! Here's the full recap from the US Soccer Official website. Sacha started and played 88 minutes, and scored the third goal of the match in the 78th minute.

Sacha juega los 90'!

El mediocampista de Chivas USA, Sacha Kljestan, participó los 90 minutos en el partido que la selección de Estados Unidos Sub-23 superó 1-0 anoche a su similar de Panamá en el torneo Preolímpico.

“A estas alturas del torneo estamos buscando resultados, no necesariamente vamos a ser un equipo que juega el mejor estilo de futbol", dijo el integrante del Rebaño tras finalizar el encuentro.

El gol de la diferencia, anotado por Freddy Adu, colocó a la selección estadounidense en el segundo lugar del grupo A con cuatro unidades, superado por Honduras, que tiene seis.

El próximo encuentro de Estados Unidos es ante Honduras el próximo sábado en el Raymond James Stadium de Tampa, Florida, a las 7 p.m. tiempo del Este.

Esta noche juega México ante Guatemala en el Home Depot Center en actividad del Grupo B del torneo Preolímpico. Los esperamos!

You can read the US-Panama game recap here in English.

Sacha Kljestan con la Sub-23!

El mediocampista de Chivas USA, Sacha Kljestan, entró en el segundo tiempo y colaboró en el empate de la selección Sub-23 de Estados Unidos ante su similar de Cuba 1-1 en la primera jornada del Preolímpico de la Concacaf disputada esta noche en el Raymond James Stadium de Tampa, Florida.

Kljestan entró al inició de la segunda mitad por Jozy Altidore y estuvo muy activo durante la parte complementaria del encuentro. Freddy Adu puso adelante al conjunto estadounidense al minuto 14, mientras que Roberto Linares empató al 42 por los cubanos.

Honduras lidera el grupo A con tres puntos tras vencer 1-0 a Panamá. Cuba y Estados Unidos lo siguen con una unidad. El próximo juego de Estados Unidos es el jueves, 13 de marzo, ante Panamá.

México arranca su participación el miércoles por la noche ante Canadá en el Home Depot Center, en actividad del Grupo B, donde también están Guatemala y Haiti.