Taylor returns home

Matt Taylor was making yet another of many appearances to promote Major League Soccer, and he was getting booed.

Usually this type of unpaid work that soccer players do is greeted with cheers. Especially when it takes place in a classroom in front of wide-eyed kids who are either in awe that a professional athlete is in their presence, or at least appreciative that it's a break from fractions or Edgar Allan Poe.

But not on this summer day in an East L.A. middle school. Once Taylor was introduced, chaos ensued.

"One half of the room was chanting, 'Chivas, Chivas,'" he said. "And the other half was chanting, 'America, America.'"

Taylor grew up in Southern California and was surrounded by fans of both Club Deportivo Guadalajara -- "Chivas" -- and Club America. However it was only that day that he realized just how popular the well-known Mexican clubs are in Los Angeles. Of course, back then, Taylor was a rookie for the Kansas City Wizards. With the announcement that Chivas USA would be starting play in MLS as one of two expansion teams in 2005 in their minds, they let Taylor know exactly how they felt.

"Even though they didn't speak much English, the kids were very quick to attack me and American soccer," said Taylor. "They told me that Chivas USA was going to come in and win everything."

Fast forward a few months, and Taylor could walk into that same classroom today and be hailed as one of their heroes. However, since being selected by Chivas USA during the expansion draft last month, the former UCLA star has had little time to make appearances. In addition to packing up his things and moving back to the West Coast, Taylor had to get back into shape for a two-week training camp in Guadalajara.

"It's pretty hard when you're not playing and have to jump right into it," said Taylor, who said the players only had about a week-and-a-half's notice for the camp. "It was hard to find teams to train with since college soccer is done, so it was tough to get fit for it."

As hard as it may be on Taylor, at least he was still playing through the middle of November. His former team the Wizards made it all the way to the MLS Cup final before losing to D.C. United at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. For some of his other new teammates such as Orlando Perez, who was done playing in late October, it's been much more difficult to get in shape.

Chivas USA head coach Thomas Rongen didn't just bring everyone in for a kick-around, either. It's been time well spent on the playing fields of the "big club," so to speak, as the team has gone through two-a-days at the outset of camp. Chivas USA is also building up to a scrimmage against Tigres on Saturday since the famed Mexican club is already in preseason to train for Interliga.

"I had no clue what camp would be like," said Taylor. "They've been pretty intense practices. Everyone is pushing hard, especially the players from down here."

The players from Mexico's Chivas side that have already been announced as new Chivas USA members include well-known Tricolores standout Ramon Ramirez. Taylor has been impressed with Ramirez's tactical knowledge of the game and excellent technical skills. Taylor also mentioned two players who haven't been formally announced as part of Rongen's side, but are likely to be his teammates come the official beginning of preseason in February: Isaac Romo and Alonso Sandoval.

"Romo is a good, target forward who looks like he could have a lot of success in the league," said Taylor of the tall striker who has played for both Chivas' second division side as well as the first team this past season.

Sandoval played for the U-23 Mexican squad that knocked the U.S. team out of the Olympics last winter. He's a left winger who said he looks up to DaMarcus Beasley and tries to emulate his style of play.

"Some of these guys have very good technical abilities," said Taylor. "It'll be interesting to see how they do with the bigger and stronger defenders in MLS."

That's one thing that Rongen doesn't have to worry about with Taylor. Despite not seeing as much time as he would have liked as a rookie in 2004, the Irvine, Calif., native showed moments of brilliance when he got an opportunity to play. Playing behind Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud, Taylor scored three goals and had one assist in only 524 minutes of action spread out over 17 matches.

"Matt gave us some good moments and is a promising young player," said his former coach Bob Gansler.

There were enough moments for Rongen to make him Chivas USA's sixth selection in the expansion draft. The former MLS Cup winner with D.C. United believes that last year's No. 4 pick in the MLS SuperDraft is a good match for his new side.

"I think Matt has certain qualities that fit with the way we'll play next year," said Rongen when reached at the team's training camp in Mexico on Wednesday night. "There's no secret that we're going to play attractive football with an attacking and exciting style of play."

Rongen plans on playing with three strikers, and believes that Taylor can play in any one of the three spots. Though Taylor has been slowed by stomach cramps as part of an always-fun case of Moctezuma's Revenge from the drinking water in Guadalajara, Rongen has been impressed with what he has seen thus far.

"He's showed us early on that he has the capability to make the squad, first and foremost, and make a contribution to our club," said Rongen. "He's been great down here, and he's looking forward to getting a fresh start."

If there was ever a model to follow for a second-year player, the blue-print has now been laid out by 2004 MLS Cup MVP Alecko Eskandarian. The top selection of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft saw more time on the pine than on the playing field in his rookie season. Yet Eskandarian exploded in his sophomore campaign for 10 goals in the regular season and another four during the team's run to the MLS Cup title last month.

"I'd like to have a season like that," said Taylor, marveling at what Eskandarian accomplished this past season. "That's what everyone wants. It'd definitely be almost the best-case scenario."

Even if he doesn't have that type of success, Taylor knows that he could have done more this past season if given a chance.

"If I would have played the majority of the time this past season, I could have potentially scored many more goals," he said. "As it was I had a couple of goals called back and there were a few times when I really should have finished."

Taylor goes by the adage most strikers use about goal-scoring: It's all about confidence. Since he wasn't playing a lot, Taylor said his confidence wasn't where it should have been last season.

"I wasn't as game fit or sharp by the end of the season when I wasn't playing much," he said. "When you go a month without seeing the field and then step back on the field you're like, 'Wow.' It's not easy."

Hopefully for Taylor, that will not be the case in 2005. He's now back in his home surroundings where he can surf and hang out with his college friends in his free time. Being left unprotected by Kansas City and being picked by Chivas USA wasn't exactly a bad thing for the 23-year-old forward.

"Coming home has been great," said Taylor, "If there's one place I want to be, it's here."

Marc Connolly covers soccer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at: marc@oakwoodsoccer.com.