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U.S. OPEN CUP: HOUSTON DYNAMO vs PHILADELPHIA UNION

September 25, 2018

Houston, Texas

THE MODERATOR: Joined by Houston Dynamo Coach Wilmer Cabrera. We'll start off with questions. With that said, coach, can you give us your thoughts on the game tomorrow and what you're expecting please.

WILMER CABRERA: Good afternoon. It's good to see this room really crowded, and we're really happy to host the 2018 U.S. Open Cup Final. For us, it's a great honor, and also as a club, it's a great opportunity to put Houston again in a final, which is important.

So no doubt that a final is a different game. The ones that have been able to play finals or been in finals, we understand that concept, and we cannot describe how it is to be in a final. But the ones that haven't, it is important game, the most important game that you can play, and you don't play finals every day. So that's how important this is going to be for us and also for the Philadelphia Union.

Q. DaMarcus, can you talk a little bit about your playing experience with Jim Curtin, and can you talk a little bit about what this game means in the larger context of your career.
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: Yeah, I'll speak about Jimmy first. Yeah, we were great teammates with Chicago. We won this Cup together once -- or maybe twice. I can't remember if it was once or twice. But, yeah, Jimmy's a competitor. Jimmy, as a player, as a person, he always put in the work. That was one thing about him. You know, he put in the work behind the scenes. So I'm sure that's how he is as a coach. He's very organized, and you see that with his team and how they play and how they've been able to keep a steady ship through the years he's been the coach of the union.

But, yeah, as a player, he was a good player and a good friend, a good teammate. So it doesn't surprise me that he's doing well. I think this is his third final with The Open Cup. So it doesn't surprise me that his teams have done well throughout the years. Credit to him and how he approaches the game.

What was the second question?

Q. Just what's this game mean in the larger context of your career.
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: For me personally?

Q. Yeah.
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: Yeah, obviously, when you get older, you understand what it means, and you understand what it takes to get to a final. When you're young and you're 17 or 18, you just play. You don't think about the work that you did in preseason or the work that you do off the field to make sure your body's right, you just play. You don't really think about, oh, it's a long season. You just want to play. You want to keep playing throughout the whole 12 months.

But when you get older and things are winding down, it means a lot more to reach a final and to have a chance to win something. So for me -- and I'm sure speaking for all the older guys -- we know it's not easy to get into finals. The fact that we've made it this far, we want to take it with both hands, and hopefully we're celebrating tomorrow.

Q. Not to be cliche, but with a victory, taking the Cup, keeping it in Houston, would that -- I don't want to say save the regular season, but would that make the season a little bit less -- I mean, more digestible, more -- would this be like the highlight of the season, in your opinion?
WILMER CABRERA: Well, definitely, during the MLS season right now, we've been having difficulties, but at the moment, we -- like I said, by the moment we beat Sporting Kansas City, which was the reigning champion during the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal, we will look at each other, we spoke with the players, and we decided, okay, we have to go for it because it's not easy, but I think we need to go for the U.S. Open Cup, and we continue for our goal, which is the playoffs.

So right now we're going to play the final, which has been positive, but we've been having difficulties with the other tournament. We've been struggling with different, other situations throughout the season. So it's a great opportunity for us to win something throughout the year, of course. When you're in the final, when you win a trophy, when you win a tournament as important as the U.S. Open Cup, it's going to be a huge, huge success for a franchise who, first, Houston hasn't won the U.S. Open Cup Final at all, and it's the first time for the club to be in the final. So it's important.

The players -- it's not easy to be in a final, first. And then to get over here means a lot for this franchise. So it is really positive for all of us to be in a final. Still, we need to win it. But if we win, definitely, it's a great achievement for a club that hasn't been in this competition and hasn't won the competition at all.

Q. Well said. And DaMarcus, you have experience on this level of picking up Cups, losing finals as well. What do you tell to your teammates, who perhaps have never been in this scenario, that this game is different, that this is not any regular game? You guys are actually playing for a Cup, a championship, making history. What do you tell to your fellow teammates that have not been in this situation before?
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: I mean, I tell them exactly kind of what you said, your question. This isn't like any other game. This isn't a game that's three points. It isn't a game that can be a draw. And there's no tomorrow in this. Whatever you put into this game is what you're going to get out of it because it's one and done. It's one and done, and that's what I told most of the -- well, all the players.

It's one night. You get one night, 90 minutes, or 120 with penalties or whatever. You get 90 minutes to prove that you're the best team on that day. That's it. That's all you get. And to hopefully put -- I know they put everything with heart and running and fighting and this and that, but obviously, to put your brain into the game as well because football is played up here.

But, yeah, for me that was the main message that I told them during the week. You get 90 minutes, and you put everything you can into that game to making sure that, at the end of the game, win or lose, you know you can say that you did everything you could possibly to help the team win. Your job, whatever role you're playing -- if you're a starter, if you're on the bench, whatever role it is -- make sure you put everything you can in those 90 to 120 minutes to make sure that our team wins and we're holding the Cup at the end of the night.

Q. This one is for both you guys. Jim Curtin just mentioned the biggest threat are for you guys containing the front four. From your perspective, what do you see as the biggest key defensively shutting down the Union's attack?
WILMER CABRERA: They've been in very good shape lately. They've been a very solid team, not only defensively, but also attacking-wise. And I don't say they're similar to us because they have different players, but the structure and how they try to approach the attacking mentality, they're fast up front. The three up front, C.J. Sapong, Fafa Picault, and Burke, they have speed, and they're strong. Very good athletes, very fast, very skillful. So they're very good at that.

And in the middle they have very talented players with good experience. Starting with the captain, Alejandro Bedoya, has been a key component for this team in all aspects, attacking and defending. And they've been finding a good, good, solid momentum with the back four. So that's why this team not only has been in the final of the U.S. Open Cup, but also this team is in a very good position right now on the Western Conference to qualify to the playoff after a few years they've been struggling with that situation.

So it's a good momentum for them. Jim Curtin has been working hard to put this team and this momentum, and they've been having a good depth also. They just -- on Sunday they played the second team, and they beat Sporting Kansas City, so that's very excellent timing for them. For us, if we want to play in a final, we're going to find the best opponent possible to play in the final, and when you find the best opponent possible, it means this is a good final to play.

Q. DaMarcus, for a guy like you and Boniek also in that group.
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: The old group?

Q. No, just guys who have been here for a couple seasons. How important is it to get a trophy with the Houston Dynamo? And have you noticed maybe the younger guys rallying around that objective?
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: I mean, just speaking about this Cup, I mean, the whole thing of any start of the season is to win a championship. I wouldn't use the word rally. That wouldn't really be a word I would use, but they know it's important. Regardless if they have ever played in one or been a part of one or whatever, they know how important it is for themselves, you know, as a player and for this club.

A lot of the players here know the history of Houston. They won two championships back in '06 and '07, and they went to the finals after that a couple times, and since then, they haven't done that. So the history of this club is a club that used to get to finals, used to be a real force to reckon with in the league, and now that we have a chance to put that taste back into our mouths and to the fans and to the city of Houston, as far as soccer-wise, it's a great opportunity.

So, yeah, I think everyone knows how important this is. Like I said, what I answered before, myself, Boniek, Philippe, the older guys that are the careers that are winding down -- not going up, going down -- it means a lot to us. I mean, don't get me wrong. It means a lot to everybody. But for us, it means more because we know what it takes throughout the year, throughout our whole career, how many finals you've ever been to, and it's not that many, you know -- unless you play for like Barcelona or something, then it's a little bit different. You don't get to many.

I know that -- like I said, they'll be ready, and it's going to be a great night. Like I said, something that I'll always remember being with this club, and like I said, hopefully, it will bring back great memories if we win it tomorrow.

Q. I wanted to ask you also about the importance of Juan David Cabezas to this lineup, to this team. What difference does a guy like that make for you on the field, and how much do you think his absence hurt the Houston Dynamo this season?
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: I mean, for one, it's great to have him back. He was our MVP last season, and he was -- he's a player that gets around the field. He wreaks havoc in the midfield. He's a nightmare for any No. 9, No. 10, around the middle of the park. He's a guy that's always giving 110 percent on the field -- attacking, defending, more so defending.

But we know that in front of us, being in the back four, if he's in the lineup, then that part of the field is going to be secure. He's that good, and he's that important to this team.

If he plays or if he doesn't play, his presence, being around the team, being around the boys again, since he was off pretty much this whole season, is important because he's one of our leaders. He's only been here -- like I said, this is the second season, and a lot of times he was away, but just him being here, his presence, being around the team, being around the young boys, is important because it's not just what you do on the field, it's what you do off the field as well. To get the team, the camaraderie right, the unity in the group, and he starts that a lot, you know.

He speaks very, very good English. He's taken English courses. So my point is that he wants to be a part of the group. He wants to -- and that's important. That's important for the American players and the guys that don't speak Spanish to know that, oh, this guy is really trying to be a part of our culture, our team. Like I said, it goes -- Juan goes beyond just a guy that we missed on the field. It's off the field as well, and, yeah, it was good to have him back.

Q. This question is for both of you. The city of Houston hasn't lifted a trophy since the Comets, since the Rockets. It's been a long time coming for a trophy to be lifted on home ground. My question to you guys is, is this a great opportunity to -- we know what it means to soccer fans. We know what it means to Houston Dynamo fans, the ones that keep up with the regular season, the ones that keep up with the Cup. But for those that are rallying around the team, for those that are following what's going on and are ready to party and to have a winning story line here in Houston, is this an opportunity as a coach and as a player to showcase the team, showcase the rest of the Houston Dynamo to the rest of the city to bring more people, bring more fans?
DaMARCUS BEASLEY: I mean, yeah, obviously, we want as many fans as we can get. Obviously, having a winning team is important. Last year we had a really good run in the playoffs, and the fans came out and supported at the end of the season. This year, obviously, has been up and down. It's been tough. We've struggled a bit.

So, yeah, of course we want to win this for the city of Houston. We want to win it for the city of Houston, ourselves, our families, our teammates, coaches, president. We want to win it for everybody. Everybody that's a part of this club, that's who we want to win it for because, when we win -- and I mean we, it's not just the players, it's everyone. It's everyone that's involved with the Houston Dynamo. That's who wins this championship.

So, yeah, we want to put on a good show. We want to set our ultimate goal as athletes, as players, is to win, end of story. It's to win. So now that we've gotten to a final, regardless of how our regular season has gone, we've gotten to a final. And like I said, finals are different. Finals are one game, and the better team on that day will win.

So, yes, we want to put on a good show, but at the end of the day we want to win. So if fans come out and see us, that's great. If they don't, that's okay too, but we're going to win it for them anyway, and hopefully we do.

Q. Coach, your thoughts?
WILMER CABRERA: In order for any team from any sport to have a winning mentality and to have trophies, you have to have a good team to be in the final. You have to have good support from fans. If you don't have both, you cannot have a good history. So we need the fans tomorrow, and we know that we have fans, and that is important.

We've been doing this -- we don't do this for ourselves. It's impossible to play soccer for ourselves because we know how important it is to have our fans over here. We know how important has been the support of our fans and our city. So that's why we are putting everything that we have in order for us to complement because it's impossible to do it by ourselves. We need that complement.

Q. I think it was Wenger said earlier this week that Wednesday isn't the finish line, that there's still more to accomplish after this. What can you say about, in your first two seasons with the club, reaching the Western Conference Final and regardless of how the regular season has gone, that you're still reaching The Open Cup and that you're starting to build, like DaMarcus alluded to, that culture of success and winning here at the Dynamo?
WILMER CABRERA: Well, for us it's -- you know, again, understand the winning mentality, how to bring winning mentality to a city where everyone wants to win in any sports, and we are surrounded by winners. Astros won. Rockets has won. So Houston Dynamo has won. It is important, and that is contagious.

But then we need to bring ourselves, so that's why having players like DaMarcus Beasley because four workouts, you have to take your hat off because it's unprecedented. It's not normal. And then having the possibility to bring young players and gather players with maybe not great experience, but very hungry to be in a city where we're hungry to win. We are hungry to change things. It's been important.

So last year was positive. This year, despite all the problems that we've been having, we're in the final. So that shows our players' character and our players' sacrifice because it hasn't been easy. And no excuses. We're not going to make excuses. But tomorrow we're in the final, and we're going to try to do our best to win the final.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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