Jesus Padilla new player for Chivas USA

August 25, 2009

Jesús Padilla and Maicon Santos have been on the Chivas USA roster for just eight days, but already the newcomers are making an impact for the club.
Both players got their first start in Chivas USA's 2-0 victory against Toronto FC on Saturday. Padilla spent 71 minutes on the right flank while Maicon played just more than an hour as a striker alongside Maykel Galindo. Both settled into the team's rhythm quickly, helping to earn the second victory for the Red-and-White in as many games.
"We have a couple of new guys and it's not always easy to gel right away with your teammates," said Chivas USA head coach Preki. "But I thought both of those guys, the longer the game went, they settled in and played better."

Padilla was acquired on loan from Chivas de Guadalajara on August 17.
The 22-year-old was born and raised in San Jose, Calif., but moved to Mexico at the age of 14 to start playing with Guadalajara. He made his professional debut Aug. 8, 2006 in a 1-0 loss to Deportivo Toluca.
"[It was my] first game out. I had to see how they play and get used to it and had to relax a little," said Padilla of his MLS debut.
Preki is pleased with Padilla's debut, and is excited for the young player's continued improvement in red-and-white stripes.
"He's been here for three or four days and he's been trying to settle down," said Preki. "He's a young player who hasn't played a lot of minutes, but he has good offensive instincts and we can only hope that he can get better."

Maicon Santos was born in Paracambi, Brazil and made his professional debut with Rio de Janeiro-based Madureira Esporte Clube in 2004. Since then he has played for clubs in Tunisia, Libya, and Israel, before joining Chivas USA on August 21.
"Maicon is very technically gifted," said Chivas USA striker Maykel Galindo. "I'm happy with the group of forwards that we have here now and I think offense has gotten a lot stronger."
Santos enjoyed a successful debut, notching his first MLS assist on Sacha Kljestan's second goal.
"He's a target guy," said Preki. "He can hold the ball and he's good with his feet. Now the thing for him is to settle in this league and learn about the physicality of this league. If he can do that, I think he'll be an important player here."

Both players will get a crash-course in MLS competition this week, as Chivas USA first take on Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and then the Galaxy on Saturday.
"This is a period of adjustment for us with a few new faces," said Preki. "Hopefully we can survive this period and towards the end of the year we'll be the team that we want to be."


Chivas USA at Los Angeles Galaxy August Wednesday 26 6:00 p.m. ESPN2, Deportes



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