Los Angeles defensive midfielder Danny Pena has a knack for offense once the postseason begins ù his goal at Colorado was his fourth in eight playoff games.
SOCCER AMERICA: You’ve scored only four goals in 79 regular-season games. What happens when the playoffs start?
DANNY PENA: I’m 31 now, have minimal years left, and my desire to win a championship is a lot greater than it was five or six years ago. When the playoffs start, I put a challenge on myself. Not to score goals or create offensively ù that’s not my job. My focus is defense. But when the opportunities do come, I like to think my focus is a notch higher than in the regular season.
SA: You received a marvelous, no-look pass from Mauricio Cienfuegos on the goal against the Rapids.
DP: Cien is the Magic Johnson of soccer. He never fails to amaze me.
During the season, when I’m open, I’m always yelling at him to play me the ball. Cien tells me, ‘Danny P, don’t talk to me ù I see you.’ Then [on the goal], when he dumped the ball for me, it was almost instinctive. He hit it at the last possible second ù he couldn’t play it any sooner or later. And it was on my foot, on the run.
SA: Is the Galaxy a happier team than it was last season?
DP: Yeah. I’ve been saying the last month and a half that this really could be our year. I believe we have more going for us this year than have in past two years. … Last year things came easy for us. We scored goals in bunches, went 24-8. This year we had a lot of adversity, but we overcame. … Every time we lost a game [this season], we bounced back. And when we lost [three of four near season’s end], I think it benefited us. We wanted to peak in the playoffs, and right now this team is peaking.
by Soccer America senior editor Scott French