CARSON, Calif. — Gabriel Farfan might not yet feel pressure to help his new team turn their season around, as Chivas USA head coach José Luis “El Chelís” Sánchez Solá indicated recently he doesn’t expect anything extraordinary from the midfielder.
But being thrown onto a sinking ship certainly isn’t easy.
“It’s a challenge, obviously,” Farfan told MLSsoccer.com. “I wanted to come here, but we’re not getting results right now. It’s just a matter of adapting as soon as I can to help out the team.”
Farfan, who was acquired May 14 from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for Chivas USA's first natural SuperDraft pick in 2014 and allocation money, made his debut last weekend as a second-half substitute in the 4-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. Aside from adjusting to a new style of play, the 24-year-old has had to quickly gel with new teammates.
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“Every coach is different,” said Farfan, who is looking for his first goal since 2011 and first assist since last July. “It’s just coming in here and learning everybody’s tendencies. I hadn’t played with most of these guys, so I need to be observant and realize what guys are capable of and feed off of them.”
The Goats have struggled to find the right combination at midfield all season, with Chelís having to juggle players due injury and suspension. An aggressive, smothering style of play appears to have backfired early on, but Farfan intends to provide some relief in all aspects.
“I need to put in the work defensively, but also come here and be an offensive spark,” Farfan said. “Get some goals, get some assists and get results.”
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Shortly after the transaction, Chelís said, “Here, no one is required to do the extraordinary, and Farfan is not an extraordinary player.”
Farfan played in six matches with Philadelphia this year and had an assist in 1,960 minutes last season.
Chivas USA have been outscored 11-1 in May and lost five of their past six matches heading into Saturday’s game at Colorado (9 pm ET, watch on MLS Live).
