Q&A: Ivan Guerrero
01/21/2009 12:10 PM by Cris Cruz
D.C. United midfielder/defender Ivan Guerrero has had a busy off-season. He has been training with the Honduras National Team since the beginning of the year in preparation for the UNCAF Cup, a tournament for Central American National Teams that will take place in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from January 22 to February 1. Honduras has been at training camp in Miami and played a friendly against Chile this past weekend, winning by a 2-0 scoreline. We caught up with Ivan to get an update on how his offseason training with Honduras and his thoughts on the upcoming MLS season. (Thanks to Communications intern Adriana for this Q&A!)
How has training camp been going?
“Really well. We’ve been here for 15 days already, training twice, sometimes three times a day. During this training camp, we’ve been concentrating not only on the upcoming UNCAF tournament, but also in the World Cup qualifying games that we’ll be playing throughout the year.”
How are you preparing for Sunday’s game against Chile?
“It’s a friendly against a great National Team from South America. From the moment we found out we were facing them, we’ve been really motivated. We know that Honduras is very happy with our past performances. It’s going to be a tough, complicated game, but they’re an opponent that we really enjoy. As I said, they’re a great team, and the game will really help us find out the quality of our team going into qualifiers.”
How can this training camp help you prepare for the UNCAF and the World Cup qualifiers?
“A lot, really. When the coach called us up and asked us to be in Miami on January 1st, a lot of the team members felt a bit uncomfortable, but he did it because we have a tough year coming up, with a lot of international games. In terms of results, well, if we’ve worked as hard as we have, and it reflects on the field, the results should be positive. We’ve made a lot of sacrifices along the way. It’s not easy to be training three times a day, waking up at 6 a.m., but it’s important to start the year full steam ahead. I think few National Teams have done that, and in that sense, we’ve taken full advantage of the fact that most of us are on vacation to start working and to keep in shape.”
It’s a lot of work, but in the end, it’s great preparation, right?
“Yeah, we’re really pushing ourselves. The Athletic Trainer is following us closely, and in terms of theory and tactics, the coach tells us on a daily basis what he’s looking for and what he needs from us for the games to come. What we’re doing is ideal, we’re working hard, making use of the time we have together to prepare us to the fullest.”
Do you feel more pressure to play well and deliver results in the UNCAF, since you’re playing at home?
“I’m not going to deny that playing at home gives us that extra push, but we’re always under pressure, especially in Honduras, where soccer is everyone’s greatest passion. We know that the National Team is close to our supporters’ hearts, and that’s why we feel we owe it to them to play well and get good results. We feel obligated to win this tournament because of that, because we’re playing at home, and because of how well we’ve been playing in the World Cup qualifiers.”
How important is it for you to start the year off on the right foot before facing Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifiers?
“We talked about the UNCAF Cup being a basis on which to measure what’s to come, that is, the qualifiers. It’ll help us gain confidence, especially getting to the final games, because the teams are all equally good. We’ll face Costa Rica in the qualifiers and the UNCAF, and they’re a big rival, and play good soccer. Both the UNCAF Cup and the 20 days we’re spending here in training camp will help us prepare for the year to come.”
How do you feel physically?
“Excellent. Awesome. I feel great physically. If you asked me to play in the MLS today, I’d be ready. In that sense, I’m happy because I feel like my body’s in shape for the upcoming year.”
By the time the MLS season starts, you’ll have been training already for several months. Do you think this will give you some advantage for those first few games?
“I think so, yeah, because it’s not the same if you have players who’ve had a longer break, who haven’t been training versus someone who’s been preparing from the beginning of the year. And as I said, personally, I feel great. I feel strong, fast, and on some level, that has to be an advantage.”
How do you see the upcoming season for D.C. United?
“Well, really, I’m looking forward to it: it’s a new year, and it brings new challenges. I’m thinking positively. Last year was tough for the team, there were a lot of injuries, a lot of circumstances that didn’t help the team’s situation. With the new year, I imagine that there’ll be new players, new reinforcements. Besides that, we’re coming back with renewed energy, wanting to do things well, to re-envigor D.C. United’s reputation, because I feel like last year, because of all the injuries, the team wasn’t able to shine as well as it could. I’m looking forward for the season to start so we can redeem ourselves."
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01/21/2009 1:45 PM by Section 130
Excellent work Cris and Adriana!