Este sábado por la tarde, el mexicano Francisco Mendoza estará disputando su encuentro número 100 en la temporada regular de la MLS ante los Hechiceros en Kansas City. Antes de eso, “Panchito” nos cuenta desde la ciudad de Kansas City un poco sobre cómo ha llegado a establecer esta marca en toda la franquicia, al ser el jugador con más números de partidos jugados en la historia del club.

Cómo describirías en pocas palabras estos 100 partidos?

Ha sido difícil. Lo confundo con felicidad, tristezas. Más que nada muchos tropiezos. Estos partidos me han servido durante estos tres años y medio. Es un comienzo que gracias a Dios se ha dado bien. Hubo logros, tristezas y alegrías.

Sinceramente no. Nunca. Yo nunca me imaginaba cumplir el partido número 100 aquí en Chivas pero que bien que se me da en una institución que quiero mucho, yo me lo imaginaba en el Home Depot pero hay que festejar y hay que complementarlo eso contra el Galaxy.

This weekend, Guadalajara native and Chivas Racing’s driver Antonio Pérez will be in Watkins Glen, New York, for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the Zippo 200. The race is one of the most important on the Nationwide Series calendar, and takes place at a track where Pérez has enjoyed some success.

At the beginning of June, Pérez took part in a race at Watkins Glen as part of the NASCAR Camping World Series, and earned pole position at the race due to his excellent qualifying time, which also broke the course record. In the race on June 8, Pérez was in position to capture another win but mechanical problems on the final lap dropped him to 10th position.

Below is a photo of Pérez after winning the pole for the June race.
The Zippo 200 will be broadcast live on ABC this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 noon PT).

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 midfielder Gerson Mayen has received good news in the form of a call-up to the United States Under-20 National Team for a five-day camp in Florida. The camp runs from Aug. 10-14 in Sunrise, Fla., and also features two friendly matches against Guatemala. Information on the training camp and the rest of the roster can be found on the US Soccer website.

“I’m very happy to be picked,” said Mayen after practice on Wednesday. “I hope they keep calling me up. They hadn’t called me for a little while, so I have to keep working and giving my best.”

Mayen had previously been with the U-20’s in April for the Campos Verdes International Tournament in Portugal, where he made one appearance, his first with the U-20’s.

The Red-and-White travel to Kansas City this weekend for the team’s first match against the Wizards in 2008, to take place Saturday, Aug. 9 at 7:00 p.m. CT / 5:00 p.m. PT (TV: FSN-Prime Ticket, KAZA Azteca 54; Radio: W Radio 690 AM). The Wizards hold a record of 5-6-7 (W-L-T), good for 22 points – the same points total as Chivas USA, who hold a 6-7-4 record and are just three points back of third place in the Western Conference. Chivas USA Head Coach Preki, who won the 2000 MLS Cup with the Wizards, will not be on the bench for the match while serving the second game of a two-match suspension.

You can watch the game preview on our Official YouTube Channel here:

After squaring off against Kansas City, Chivas USA will return home for the final Honda Super Clásico of the 2008 regular season against the LA Galaxy, on Thursday, Aug. 14 at The Home Depot Center. The match, which kicks off at 8:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, will decide the winner of the Super Clásico trophy, which is currently held by the Red-and-White after taking the series in 2007. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit http://www.cdchivasusa.com/.