Peter Nowak Quotes (67 Quotes)

The refereeing, right now, is getting out of hand. We have five games or four games and we have three red cards, it is unacceptable, ... The handball in the 89th minute was pretty obvious, everyone is fighting for their lives, fighting for the playoffs and we cannot lose games because someone had a different view of the game

We didn't create much in the first half because we didn't play forward and Freddy stayed too much as a second playmaker, ... We need him to be up top so he can use his speed and ability to go at people.

Nobody and nothing can hurt us, except ourselves. My disappointment is bigger because we're making the same mistakes.

His mentality has been good. I think the national team camp helped him a lot, to see where those guys are, what they're doing and how they're doing things. Since then he has been different. He's impressed all of us, but we're just at the beginning. So as a coaching staff we're going to do anything we can to make sure that he is consistent the whole year.

You know, we still have a couple of weeks to work on some things, but we've found a good way right now. The third camp is almost easy, because everyone is anxious about the season and the players are fighting for their positions, so it's been good.

We all look now to give him a shot for a long time. The answer is up to him.

There were moments where we put ourselves into a bad spot, into bad position, and we had to chase the game, ... We made some unnecessary errors, which we've made in a couple games lately, and if we can eliminate that, we'll be pretty competitive.

Right now the MLS championship is more important than anything. We need to regroup and make sure we're in good form to give us a chance to win it again.

This was no D.C. United I know, ... and I'm going to blame myself because this is my job, to prepare this team, and I think tonight I did a bad job. L.A. didn't win the game tonight, we lost this game. Because we didn't fight, we didn't run, we were too predictable and not creative enough.

I think overall we played our best game of the season tonight. For 90 minutes, we created chances, one after another, (and) it was just a matter of time before we were going to score a goal.

We know when we signed Facundo here he was going to be a great defender. We had to play him in the first couple of weeks at a different position, as a sweeper. We had to insist on him communicating. That's why he played a couple of games as a marker. Right now, he goes back to his natural position. I think he did very well today in communicating with the guys in the front and the back.

Everyone is getting better, including Ben, ... We have different options. There are a lot of guys who can step up on the field and make a difference. We didn't make a decision yet. I think everyone is ready. This is the most important thing -- to keep the group ready. Whoever will play, whoever will start, they have a responsibility to do the job. Everyone understands how important this game is.

He's working very hard to be one of the strikers in our rotation, ... As I've said to all of them 'You never know when your time will come, you have to be ready.' He did a great job Wednesday. This is what we're looking for from everybody -- being competitive, being hungry for success and when the time came, we'll come for you.

Whoever it's going to be ... it's a chance to make a case to play more the rest of the season -- give me a headache before I have to decide the lineup each game.

If you play (quality) soccer, ... you're always going to create something. (I was proud of) the determination from my players we played like a unit today, like a team for 90 minutes.

We just want to make sure everything is in place and he's not struggling with the injury and his fitness, ... We want to give him time to be ready for Saturday. We haven't made a final decision yet, but that probably makes more sense.

This was a good training session for us today. We've been working pretty hard on our fitness and I think that it showed in our legs today. Our effort is there, however, which is the most important. We'll continue to work throughout preseason to clean the rest of this up.

We'll see how he feels, and then we'll make a decision. We have a tough stretch in the schedule coming up, so we have to be smart about it.

The toughest part is always to keep focus and concentrate, ... In a game like that, Chivas has nothing to lose. . . . As I told my guys, 'You have to be very careful going forward, but in this weather condition, if you have a chance, you have to put it in.' We did a pretty good job in the two minutes or five minutes we scored two goals, and actually the game was over.

L.A. didn't win the game tonight -- we lost this game because we didn't fight, we didn't run, we were too predictable and not creative enough, ... We weren't hungry for those three points.

Colorado planned today not to play soccer -- just disturb us, ... If you're losing, you have to lose with class.

The goal before halftime was very discouraging for everyone. We are supposed to have at this point in the game a couple of goals, but we are solid now at the international level - you have to play faster,

Everybody was happy for him because he got rewarded for his hard work, ... Sometimes it's very difficult for these guys like Benny and Brian to get the recognition. Benny's ability brings the level of play a little higher, he has the fitness, the ability to read the game, and he can make corrections on the field.

We start with an empty book again, with the white pages, and every one of these players will write their own story this year.

It's not about the tactics. It's not about the substitutions. It's about the heart, and always was. If you go into the game thinking maybe that everything's going to be easy because we play at home, then you're wrong.

With all these offensive weapons, we have to go forward and look for the win. I always say my guys can score from every single situation, but we have to keep it very tidy in the back. I'd rather lose 4-3 than 1-0 because when you score three goals you know the guys up front did a pretty good job.

We played two complete halves. We had a few chances to score more goals, but this is what we expect ... and defensively we were very good.

I was a second-year coach, and I made mistakes. We did come up short. Maybe we weren't that hungry, and it was my responsibility to make them hungry. I learned some important lessons, but I can't look back.

While his work ethic and defensive skills have been solid, Carroll has struggled at times with his passing. We need to clean up a few things, ... Sometimes the distribution is not there, the passing could be better.

We're not going to hand him anything he will have to earn it, ... He will have a chance to show what he's capable of and what he can contribute.

If he wants to score a goal, he would score it in the second half against Columbus. ... This is about the team, and always was, ... And I don't care who's going to be there-- because nobody is going to be above this team. This is our principle from the beginning.

If we think it's going to be easy, we're making a big mistake, ... The body language, the reactions, it was not the D.C. United I know. I'm going to blame myself because it's my job to prepare this team and tonight I think I did a bad job.

We did a great job defending the ball today. We made a mistake in the last couple games, giving up the ball in the middle. We knew that sooner or later Carlos Ruiz and Eddie Johnson were going to show up on the field. We knew that we had to make adjustments. Except for the late goal, we put pressure on the ball and did a great job. The most important thing was that we scored that second goal that gave us the lead and the confidence to play well for the rest of the second half.

I'm extremely disappointed, ... The result is a translation of what's going on on the field. I cannot mention one player who had a good day. If we want to think about the playoffs coming up, right now we have to wake up and make sure this thing never happens again.

This time is important for him and the team is standing behind him. The confidence he has now is pretty good but you are as good as your last game. The keeper's job is that if you make a mistake the whole team suffers.

Every little distraction, every little thing that comes your way, you think, 'This thing's going to make us stronger, this thing's going to make us better.' But it's still very difficult to turn it around. Something's going to stick in your head, whatever

We have to realize, whatever happens in Major League Soccer, it's going to be different when you play international, ... The mistakes we made against Colorado in a 2-0 league victory last weekend weren't punished, but we see a lot of times, even in the first game with Catolica, one mistake can cost us a goal. We cannot afford these same mistakes.

We play at home right now. It's a different game.

I think we picked it up and could have had two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the referees right now are out of hand, ... My best players are getting sent off and we have to cover for them in the toughest stretch of the season. That is unacceptable.

Overall, we played our best game of the season, ... For 90 minutes, we pushed forward, we created chances one after another, and it was just a matter of time before we scored a goal. . . . They played like a team for 90 minutes.

We're getting smarter, that's for sure, ... It's still not perfect, we still have to work on a couple of things. We were winning 3-0 and we have to keep the lead and make sure nothing like that happens in the future. We put ourselves in a difficult spot and, for our confidence, it's not good to have a lead and then get shaky at the end.

Absolutely fabulous. Dema was coming (back) slowly after the injury. He played very good against LA and then he scored against Chicago he scored last game against New York (MetroStars) and he finished his performance over the last couple of months today with another goal. Dema can play everywhere. He can move forward from the left position, from the middle, this was his role today.

My players looked tired today. We missed chances up front and made mistakes in the back. We're going to go back to real work. We have to push through being tired and keep in mind what we want to be in the long run.

played a pretty good game. He really linked the plays and did what he does best -- break up plays, win balls and put pressure on the ball. I hope he will continue to work his way through the ranks because this is just the beginning. It's good to have this kind of opportunity.

Nonetheless, international competition is a lot different, ... The referees are different, the environment is different, the players are different. So we'll see how this goes. It's very important, the first game. We want to take advantage of playing at home.

It wasn't our sharpest night. The beginning of the first half, I thought we played pretty well, but we didn't keep it up the entire game which is something we are going to need to do.

I think we played two complete halves. We had chances to score more goals, but overall this is what we expect. ... The fans were amazing, and the whole stadium was just unbelievable and gave us a lift.

We struggled in the middle of the park this was our main problem. This is why we needed to adjust the situation at halftime, to make sure that they're not going to have an advantage in the middle. I think Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll did a pretty good job. In the second half Clyde Simms came on and I think that was pretty significant and we got better and moved better going forward. We came a very long way to get these three points and we're happy with the win.

We weren't looking to point fingers, we just wanted to change something because, mentally, when you compare the college season to the professional season, it's a big difference, ... Sometimes you become too tired mentally when you have so many games, and Bobby played in all of them.

On the international level, you have to play faster, ... Catolica did a pretty good job going forward with 1-2 touches. It was pretty dangerous stuff, but we pushed the game until the end. . . . It's still open, it's two games, and we'll see what happens over there.