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Template:MLS team alt The San Jose Earthquakes, a professional soccer team located in San Jose, California, participated in Major League Soccer (MLS) from 1995 to 2005 and resumed operations in 2007. It was one of the original ten teams in the league, known as the San Jose Clash from 1995 to 1999. The Earthquakes defeated D.C. United 1-0 in the first game in MLS history. It is one of three teams from California to play in the league.

The team won the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003, as well as the MLS Supporters' Shield in 2005. Following the 2005 MLS season in December of that year, the franchise was put on hiatus. The players and head coach Dominic Kinnear moved to Houston, Texas where they play as the Houston Dynamo. On July 18 2007 it was announced that the San Jose Earthquakes will resume play starting in the 2008 season. The Earthquakes play most home games at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

History

Roots of the Earthquakes

For more information see San Jose Earthquakes (NASL) and San Francisco Bay Blackhawks.

The franchise's roots trace back to 1974, when the North American Soccer League (NASL) awarded an expansion franchise to San Jose, named the Earthquakes. The NASL folded after the 1984 season, and the Earthquakes played in the Western Soccer League (WSL) from 1985-88, under the ownership of Peter Bridgwater.

In 1988, Bridgewater sold the team. When the new owner ran the team into the ground, leading to its folding later that year, the WSL awarded a franchise to Dan Van Voorhis, a local real estate lawyer. Van Voorhis named his new team the Blackhawks, after a real estate development of his. The San Francisco Bay Blackhawks entered the WSL for the 1989 season. In 1991, Van Voorhis hired a former Earthquakes' player, Laurie Calloway, as coach. Calloway coached a team full of players that would later play for San Jose in MLS, including John Doyle, Troy Dayak, Paul Bravo and Eric Wynalda. In a preview of what was to come later in MLS, bitter disagreements between Calloway and Wynalda led to Calloway kicking Wynalda off the team in 1992. Blackhawks owner Dan Van Voorhis later pulled his team out of the WSL's successor league, the American Professional Soccer League, after which they played as the San Jose Hawks in the USISL in 1993. The team folded at the end of the 1993 season.

Major League Soccer

In 1995, Van Voorhis successfully led a San Jose bidding group which was awarded one of Major League Soccer's inaugural teams. At that time, he handed over all existing Hawks player contracts, front-office resources and the rights to play in Spartan Stadium to MLS in exchange for Type C stock in the league. He also became the franchise's investor/operator until outside concerns forced him to divest himself of these positions prior to the league's launch and accept a buyout from the league, leaving the franchise league-owned for several years. Meanwhile, a direct connection to the earlier Earthquakes came in the person of Peter Bridgwater, named as General Manager of the MLS team. Although Bridgwater, at the time, still owned the rights to the Earthquakes' name and logo, the team became known as the Clash at the urging of Nike, a major investor in MLS.

On December 7, 1995, Bridgwater hired Calloway as the team's first coach, providing a second direct connection with the NASL Earthquakes, as well as a connection with the Blackhawks. Ignoring the past history between Calloway and Wynalda with the Blackhawks, the team acquired Wynalda just over a month later, on January 23 1996. The Clash's connections to the Blackhawks continued when the Clash made the first trade in MLS history, sending Rhett Harty to the MetroStars for Troy Dayak, both players having spent several years with the team. Despite the presence of Calloway and much of his former team, the Clash failed to achieve the dominance achieved by the Blackhawks.

Wynalda scored the first goal in MLS history. However, he and Calloway were soon at each other's throats. The tensions on the team led eventually led to a locker room brawl between Wynalda and John Doyle. On top of that was an infamous incident in which Wynalda hired an aircraft towing a banner demanding the Clash fire Calloway.

Although the Clash made the postseason in the inaugural 1996 MLS season, and Doyle earned recognition as the best MLS defender, the team floundered in 1997. By the middle of the 1997 season, the team was sinking fast and Bridgwater fired Calloway, to be replaced by Brian Quinn. The Clash finished 1997 with a 12-20 and at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. In 1998 things got no better as the team finished 13-19 and well out of playoff contention. During the 1999 pre-season, the saga of player-coach antagonism continued when Richard Gough left the team after an argument with Quinn. By the end of 1999, Quinn was done and the team released him to hire Lothar Osiander.

Return of the Earthquakes name

The franchise's official name changed from Clash to Earthquakes on October 27, 1999.

After missing four consecutive post-seasons with three different coaches, the Earthquakes hired head coach Frank Yallop days before the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. Yallop's personnel changes and deft coaching with the help of assistant coach Dominic Kinnear and goalkeeper coach Tim Hanley, along with the allocation of star forward Landon Donovan on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, quickly turned around the Earthquakes' on-field fortunes, spurring the biggest regular season turnaround in league history (from 29 points in 2000 to 45 points in 2001) and leading the team to a 2-1 MLS Cup 2001 overtime victory over the arch rival Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Quakes followed with two consecutive runners-up finishes for the MLS Supporters' Shield and a 4-2 MLS Cup 2003 win over the Chicago Fire. Prior to reaching the 2003 final, the Earthquakes had rallied from four goals down to beat the Galaxy, 5-4 on aggregate, in a first-round playoff that many MLS observers described as the greatest in MLS history. Following the season, Yallop returned to his native Canada to coach the Canadian men's national soccer team. Assistant coach Kinnear was then promoted as the team's next head coach, and former San Jose player John Doyle was named as his assistant.

Having won two MLS Cup titles in three years, the Earthquakes were poised for greater success both on and off the field. However, in January 2004, General Manager Johnny Moore, whose roots with the club dated back to his days as a player for the NASL Earthquakes, resigned after AEG and MLS considered allowing the team to be rebranded as "San Jose America" (with ownership to transfer to the owners of Mexico's Club America). Earthquake fans were similarly outraged at the proposed rebranding, coming just months after the MLS Cup. Former Los Angeles Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas was named as his replacement. Under Lalas' management, the club planned a move to Houston. Meanwhile, when the Quakes' star player, Landon Donovan, played briefly in Germany while Lalas traded away his rights, thus allowing Lalas' former team, the Galaxy, to acquire him.

On the field, Kinnear led the team to two more playoff appearances, including a MLS Supporters' Shield win in 2005.

Move to Houston

The owner of the San Jose Earthquakes, Anschutz Entertainment Group, announced on December 15, 2005 that the team was moving to Houston for the 2006 season due to the failure of securing a new soccer-specific stadium for the team in San Jose. The franchise was renamed to Houston 1836, then to Houston Dynamo. However, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that the Earthquakes' name, colors, logo, wordmark, history and competitive records would not be transferred, similarly to the Cleveland Browns deal in the National Football League. The Houston Dynamo is technically considered an expansion team by MLS just as the Baltimore Ravens is by the NFL.

Return of the Earthquakes

On May 24, 2006, an agreement was reached between Major League Soccer and the principal owners of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. Lewis Wolff and John Fisher have a three year exclusive option to develop a soccer-specific stadium and bring an expansion franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area.

In September 2006, after nearly nine months of inactivity (displaying only Commissioner Garber's December 2005 letter of condolence to Earthquakes fans over the team's relocation), the team's website was revived to display updates on the progress of starting up the expansion San Jose Earthquakes franchise and to allow fans to sign up for the Earthquakes Soccer, LLC e-newsletter.

On July 18, 2007, Commissioner Don Garber announced, at his annual state of the league address, that the San Jose Earthquakes will resume play starting in the 2008 season after Lew Wolff exercised his option to purchase the new expansion team. The expansion team however retains all records, logos, colors and titles of the 1996-2005 franchise and is in essence a continuation of that franchise, while functionally being the 14th franchise to join MLS.

In October 2007 the Earthquakes announced they would be moving their offices from the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose to an office park across the street from their temporary home, Buck Shaw Stadium, and across the Caltrain tracks from the location of the FMC site.

On November 6, 2007, the team announced that former Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop was returning to the team as head coach. According to ESPN.com, the Earthquakes compensated Yallop's previous employer, the Los Angeles Galaxy, with a third-round pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.

Logo

pig 7 Image:SanJoseClash.png|San Jose Clash logo (1995-1999) Image:SanJoseEarthquakes.png|San Jose Earthquakes logo (2000-2001) Image:SanJoseEarthquakesOneStar.png|San Jose Earthquakes logo with MLS Cup 2001 Championship star (2002-2003) Image:SanJoseEarthquakesTwoStar.png|San Jose Earthquakes logo with MLS Cups 2001 & 2003 Championship stars (2004-2007) Image:SanJoseEarthquakesTwoStars.jpg|San Jose Earthquakes logo with MLS Cups 2001 & 2003 Championship stars (2007- ) </gallery>

New stadium

On January 13, 2007, the San Jose Mercury News reported that the city of San Jose, San Jose State University and the Earthquakes owners were in negotiations to build a 22,000 permanent seat (with the option to increase the total capacity to 30,000 seats for any given game) soccer/football stadium just east of the Earthquakes' previous home of Spartan Stadium. The new facility would be privately built by Lewis Wolff and John Fisher, the primary owners of the Earthquakes, with San Jose State providing the needed land. Additionally, the team and the university would build community soccer fields across Senter Road in Kelley Park using still-unspent San Jose municipal bond money approved years earlier for such community soccer fields. The plan was for the new version of the San Jose Earthquakes to play in Spartan Stadium during the 2008 MLS season, then to move into the new stadium in 2009. Plans for the stadium collapsed on April 19 of that year after the Earthquakes and SJSU could not come to an agreement on revenue sharing for the stadium.

On May 8, the city of San Jose and Earthquakes Soccer, LLC confirmed that their new primary focus was on a site near San Jose International Airport on the site of the former FMC plant. The new site is owned by the city, which is exploring either leasing it to Earthquakes Soccer, LLC or selling it outright. The 75 acre site is adjacent to not only the airport but the planned BART extension to Santa Clara and the existing Santa Clara Caltrain station in addition to being in proximity to both Interstate 880 and US Highway 101. On June 12, 2007, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore construction of a new stadium to bring MLS back to San Jose and adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an Exclusive Right to Negotiate agreement with Wolff and his partners regarding the potential development of the FMC site. The preliminary designs have yet to be released to the public.

Until the completion of a new soccer specific stadium, which may be as early as the 2010 season, the team will play its home games at one or two venues around the Bay Area. Reports originally stated that games expected to attract large crowds, such as those against the Los Angeles Galaxy, would be played at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland or Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto.

The final venues were announced to be smaller attendance games at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara while larger venue games are going to be played at the Coliseum in Oakland.

Honors

Domestic

League

• MLS Cup:
  • Winners (2): 2001, 2003

• MLS Supporters' Shield:
  • Winners (1): 2005
  • Runners-up (2): 2002, 2003

Invitational

• Carolina Challenge Cup (pre-season):
  • Winners (1): 2005

Rivalries

The team's main historic and geographic rival is the Los Angeles Galaxy. From 1996 to 2005, they competed each season in the California Clasico, a derby which was put on hold following the 2005 MLS season. The California Clasico will resume in 2008.

Current roster

As of January 18, 2008

The players in bold have senior international caps Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  USA Preston Burpo — GK  USA Joe Cannon — DF  USA Ryan Cochrane — DF  USA Nick Garcia — DF  HON Iván Guerrero — DF  USA Jason Hernandez — DF  CAN Chris Pozniak

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  USA James Riley — MF  USA Ned Grabavoy — MF  USA Shea Salinas — MF  USA Joe Vide — FW  TCA Gavin Glinton — FW  SLE Kei Kamara

Changes for the 2008 MLS Season

In

• James Riley Expansion draft pick from New England Revolution

• Ryan Cochrane Expansion draft pick from Houston Dynamo

• Brian Carroll Expansion draft pick from D.C. United

• Jason Hernandez Expansion draft pick from Chivas USA

• Ned Grabavoy Expansion draft pick from Columbus Crew

• Gavin Glinton Expansion draft pick from Los Angeles Galaxy

• Joe Vide Expansion draft pick from New York Red Bulls

• Clarence Goodson Expansion draft pick from FC Dallas

• Chris Pozniak Expansion draft pick from Toronto FC

• Iván Guerrero Expansion draft pick from Chicago Fire

• Preston Burpo Trade with Chivas USA

• Kei Kamara Trade with Columbus Crew

• Joe Cannon Trade with Los Angeles Galaxy

• Nick Garcia Trade with Kansas City Wizards

• Shea Salinas Drafted 15th overall in 2008 MLS Superdraft

Out

• Clarence Goodson Signed with IK Start

• Brian Carroll Trade with Columbus Crew

Notable players

San Jose Earthquakes Hall of Fame

• John Doyle (inducted 2005)

Head coaches

• Laurie Calloway (1996-1997)
• Brian Quinn (1997-1999)
• Jorge Espinoza (1999; interim)
• Lothar Osiander (1999-2000)
• Frank Yallop (2001-2003)
• Dominic Kinnear (2004-2005)
• Frank Yallop (2007- )

Team records

• Games: Richard Mulrooney, 163
• Goals: Ronald Cerritos, 61
• Assists: Ronald Cerritos, 47
• Shutouts: Pat Onstad, 27

Home stadiums

• Spartan Stadium (1996-2005)
• Buck Shaw Stadium (2008- )
• McAfee Coliseum (2008- ) (big game venue)
• Earthquakes Stadium (2010 planned)

General Managers

• Peter Bridgwater (1995-1998)
• Lynne Meterparel (1999-2000)
• Tom Neale (2001)
• Johnny Moore (2002-2003)
• Alexi Lalas (2004-2005)
• Kate McAllister (2005; interim)
• Ken Freccero (2005; interim)
• John Doyle (2007- )

Ownership

• Major League Soccer (1996-1998)
• Kraft Sports Group (1999-2000)
• Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (2001)
• Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (Operations) / Anschutz Entertainment Group (Investment) (2002)
• Anschutz Entertainment Group (2003-2005)
• Earthquakes Soccer, LLC (2007- )

Mascots

• José Clash (1996-1999)
• Rikter the CyberDog (2000-2002)
• Q (2004-2005)

Year-by-year

* Won MLS Supporters' Shield

International competition

• 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
  • First Round v. CD Olimpia -- 1:0, 3:1 (Earthquakes advance 4:1 on aggregate)
  • Quarterfinals v. CF Pachuca -- 0:3, 1:0 (Pachuca advances 3:1 on aggregate)
• 2003 La Manga Cup
  • Group Stage v. Rosenborg Trondheim -- 0:2
  • Group Stage v. Rubin Kazan -- 1:1
  • Group Stage v. Viking Stavanger -- 1:3
  • Seventh Place Match v. Lyn Oslo -- 3:1
• 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
  • First Round v. CSD Municipal -- 2:4, 2:1 (Municipal advances 5:4 on aggregate)
• 2004 La Manga Cup
  • Group Stage v. GIF Sundsvall -- 3:1
  • Group Stage v. Stabæk -- 2:1
  • Semifinals v. Viking Stavanger -- 1:1 (Viking Stavanger advances 5:3 on penalties)
  • Third Place Match v. Dynamo Kyiv -- 1:1 (Earthquakes win 6:5 on penalties)
• 2004 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
  • Quarterfinals v. LD Alajuelense -- 0:3, 1:0 (Alajuelense advances 3:1 on aggregate)

Average attendance

regular season / playoffs

• 1996: 17,232 / 17,209
• 1997: 13,597 / missed playoffs
• 1998: 13,653 / missed playoffs
• 1999: 14,959 / missed playoffs
• 2000: 12,460 / missed playoffs
• 2001: 9,635 / 13,269
• 2002: 11,150 / 8,069
• 2003: 10,465 / 15,127
• 2004: 13,001 / 8,659
• 2005: 13,037 / 17,824
• 2006: On hiatus
• 2007: On hiatus
• 2008:
• All-Time: 13,022 / 13,569

See also

• 2007 MLS Expansion Draft

Notes

1. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jonah_freedman/07/17/quakes.return/index.html
2. MLS press release
3. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/mls/news/2001/03/21/quakes_due_sa/
4. Jordan, Robertson, Oakland A's owners to bring pro soccer back to Bay area, retrieved 2007-11-08
5. Witt, Barry, Quakes move closer to Buck Shaw, retrieved 2007-11-08
6. Carlisle, Jeff, Galaxy's Yallop resigns to coach Quakes, retrieved 2007-11-08
7. Wilner, Jon, Stadium deal builds at SJSU, retrieved 2007-11-08
8. http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/faq.jsp
9. Jonah Freedman (July 17, 2007). "Aftershock alert! Quakes are back — and here's what it means for MLS". SI.com. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
10. Sources: http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/news/article.jsp?content_id=11212007
11. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider
12. http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/news/article.jsp?content_id=01152008
13. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080118&content_id=136012&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
14. http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/faq.jsp#gen01
15. http://www.mlsnet.com//news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20071003&content_id=121203&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
16. http://web.mlsnet.com/t110/news/article.jsp?content_id=10032007_jd

External links

• www.sjearthquakes.com Team's official website
• www.sjultras.com Supporters' Club website
• www.clubquake.org Supporters' Club website
• www.thecasbah.org Supporters' Club website
• www.bigsoccer.com BigSoccer's online community for Earthquakes fans
• www.SoccerSiliconValley.com Grassroots group working to help create a permanent home for the team

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• San Jose Earthquakes
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