The San Jose Earthquakes launch their 2025 Major League Soccer season against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, Feb. 22. Kickoff from PayPal Park will take place at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally here via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as on local radio via KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM (English) and La Kaliente 1370 AM (Spanish).
Excitement is in the air for Saturday due to a variety of reasons, and it’s not just because of the Hernán López bobblehead giveaway, or the expected 70-degree weather at kickoff, or all the upgrades at PayPal Park designed to bring the fans an even more elevated experience.
Rather, the offseason changes on the field have the Bay Area buzzing. Bruce Arena, the winningest coach in North American history, has taken the reins in San Jose. In his dual role as sporting director and head coach, the five-time Audi MLS Cup champion has acquired some firepower to bolster the attack. MLS All-Star Cristian “Chicho” Arango and former league MVP Josef Martínez are bringing a combined 31 goals across all competitions last season to the Black and Blue.
With two of the top seven goalscorers per 90 minutes in MLS history now on the roster, the Argentine duo of López and Cristian Espinoza are slated to give the new duo up front plenty of opportunities to add to their totals. López, acquired for a club-record fee midway through last season from Godoy Cruz, showed flashes of being an electrifying playmaker with 12 goal contributions in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Espinoza was once again among the league leaders in assists with 14 in MLS play alone, while displaying his durability. Currently possessing the league’s longest consecutive games played streak with 109, the Argentine winger has led by example since assuming the team captaincy to turn things around after a challenging 2024.
“First of all, let’s forget about what happened last year,” Espinoza said. “Let’s try to face the future, and try to do the right things, simple things. Bruce is a winner, and we are expecting to be able to achieve good things this year.”
Real Salt Lake arrives in the South Bay after a 0-0 midweek Concacaf Champions Cup draw in Costa Rica with C.S. Herediano. Coming off a third-place finish in the 2024 Western Conference table, the Claret and Cobalt will be looking to continue their winning ways under head coach Pablo Mastroeni — a former midfielder for Arena during his U.S. Men’s National Team playing days.
RSL has thrived off transition, with Emeka Eneli and Braian Ojeda projected to feed Diego Luna and Diogo Gonçalves for opportunities to distribute in attack. However, with one of their top scoring options now on the other side in Arango, the burden will have to fall on their new reinforcements up front, like former Nashville SC striker Forster Ajago.
Arena got a look at RSL when both teams played preseason games at the Coachella Valley Invitational in Indio, California, and came away impressed.
“When I looked at the teams at Coachella, I thought Real Salt Lake was among the best teams. To open with them will be a real challenge and it will be interesting to see how we stand up to a team of that quality.”
With a raucous crowd expected at PayPal Park, the Quakes aim to turn over a new leaf and start the Bruce Arena era with three points Saturday night.
