Saturday, August 30, 2008

Galaxy Earn 2-2 Draw in New England

LA Galaxy 2, New England Revolution 2
August 30, 2008
Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, Mass.

Scoring Summary:
NE – Taylor Twellman 7 (Khano Smith 3, Wells Thompson 1) 22’
LA – Landon Donovan 15 (Peter Vagenas 3) 33’
LA – Landon Donovan 16 (Eddie Lewis 1) 55’
NE – Shalrie Joseph 1 (Michael Parkhurst 1) 71’

Misconduct Summary:
NE – Wells Thompson (Yellow Card) 14’
LA – Eddie Lewis (Yellow Card) 14’
LA – Greg Vanney (Yellow Card) 63’
NE – Jay Heaps (Yellow Card) 90+

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Steve Cronin (Josh Wicks 46’), Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Ante Jazic, Greg Vanney (Mike Randolph 65’), Peter Vagenas, Eddie Lewis (Eduardo Dominguez 81’), David Beckham©, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan.

Subs Not Used: Julian Valentin, Josh Tudela, Mike Munoz, Israel Sesay.

New England Revolution: Matt Reis, Jay Heaps, Gabriel Badilla, Michael Parkhurst, Chris Albright, Jeff Larentowicz, Pat Phelan (Sainey Nyassi 33’), Wells Thompson (Mauricio Castro 78’), Khano Smith, Shalrie Joseph©, Taylor Twellman.

Subs Not Used: Doug Warren, Amaechi Igwe, Chris Tierney, Rob Valentino, Brandon Tyler.

Notes:
· With the draw, the Galaxy are now to 6-9-7 on the season, giving them 25 points. The Galaxy are now alone in fourth place in the Western Conference, one point behind third place FC Dallas, who play later on Saturday night, and one point ahead of the Colorado Rapids.
· The draw gives Bruce Arena his first point as head coach of the Galaxy. He has begun his career with a 0-1-1 record with the club.
· Arena made three changes to his squad that lost 1-0 to Chicago on August 21. David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis were all brought in to the team, while Ely Allen, Alan Gordon and Alvaro Pires were dropped from the starting XI.
· With his two goals tonight, Landon Donovan now has five multi-goal games on the season and an MLS-best 16 on the season.
· Eddie Lewis made his Galaxy debut in the match, starting on the left-side of midfield. He played the opening 81 minutes and had an assist on Landon Donovan’s second half goal before being replaced by Eduardo Dominguez.
· Steve Cronin left the game at halftime as the result of a right pinkie injury. He was replaced in goal by Josh Wicks, who made his MLS debut in the match.
· By exiting the match, Cronin’s streak of playing every minute of every regular season Galaxy game this season came to an end. He had played the first 1935 minutes for the Galaxy this season.
· The Galaxy’s winless streak is now at ten games, tying the mark for the longest winless streak in club history. During this current streak, the Galaxy are 0-5-5 and have been outscored 24-14. The only other time the Galaxy went ten games without a win was in 2006 when the club went 0-8-2 from May 6 until June 24.
· The attendance for tonight’s game was 39,256. This is the third biggest crowd that the Galaxy have played in front of this season. Only the games in New York on July 19 (46,754) and in San Jose on June 14 (39,872) drew more fans than tonight’s game.
· For more about tonight’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
· The Galaxy are back in action on Saturday, September 6, when they are back home to host Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Center. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on FSN Prime Ticket. The match will also be available live on the radio starting on AM 570 (English) and KWKW 1330 ESPN Deportes (Spanish).

Underway at Gillette Stadium

We're underway in Foxborough between the Galaxy and Revolution.

Bruce Arena is looking for his first win with the Galaxy, and here is the lineup that he has put out there tonight.

-------------Donovan------Buddle----------------

Lewis------------------------------------Beckham

---------------Vanney-------Vagenas-------------

Jazic---------Franklin-------Roberts---------Klein

-----------------------Cronin----------------------

Subs: Wicks, Dominguez, Valentin, Randolph, Tudela, Munoz, Sesay

Friday, August 29, 2008

Ready for the Revs

The Galaxy trained at Gillette Stadium today as they prepared for Saturday evening's game against the New England Revolution. The Revs are currently busy as of late, having reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup, winning SuperLiga and also playing in the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League, so the Galaxy will be looking to catch them tomorrow and snap their nine-game winless streak.

Despite the good memories that all Galaxy fans have of Gillette Stadium, the home of the Galaxy's 2002 MLS Cup triumph, LA has never won a regular season game at the stadium, which opened in 2002. They'll be looking to snap that string with a nearly full strength squad on Saturday night.

Before we get to the video, photos and audio, first, a couple of notes...

  • Alvaro Pires and Alan Gordon did not make the trip East as each is dealing with an injury. Pires is hampered by a right groin injury while Gordon is struggling with a left heel issue. With those two out, a total of 18 players made the trip.

  • It's a busy sports weekend here in New England as, in addition to the Galaxy game, there is a PGA Tour event being held near Foxborough and the Red Sox are playing at Fenway. Also, the Patriots, who share Gillette Stadium with the Revs, were at Giants Stadium on Thursday night for a preseason rematch against the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

  • Speaking of the Patriots, a bunch of their players, including quarterback Tom Brady, safties John Lynch and Rodney Harrison and linebacker Mike Vrabel stopped by the field as the players were beginning to stretch at the start of practice. Despite the fact that the training session was closed at the time, all of the players and staff were happy to meet and chat with the NFL stars and compare some notes on life as professional athletes.

Now to the video...


And some photos...




And here is what Becks and Bruce had to say prior to Saturday's game.

Becks...


and Bruce, first with TV


and then with the print media

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wrapping Up on Wednesday

The Galaxy held their last training session of the week at The Home Depot Center this afternoon, as Bruce Arena put the group through a nearly two hour session under the California sun.

Like, Monday's session, the day ended with a tournament style 6v6 competition. However, unlike earlier in the week, when it was a straight 6v6 game, this time, the team that was not on the field played as two-way players (two on each endline and one on either touchline) who could only use one touch. Also, unlike Monday, the team in grey did not win, rather it was the boys in red, which featured Mike Munoz, Tristan Bowen, Mike Randolph, Klein, Izzy and as we were reminded this morning, Julian.

Here are some pictures from today's training, as well as some interviews with Vanney, Cronin and Edson.





And now the audio...


Greg Vanney...


Steve Cronin...


Edson Buddle...


Speak to you all next time from New England.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Tuesday Chat

Bruce, Landon and Eddie spoke with the media today after training and here is what they had to say.

Bruce:


Landon:


Eddie:


And a quick video of some of the above...



Lastly, we saw that a few of you were wondering who was wearing the #33 shorts at training on Monday, so we thought that we'd let you know that it in fact was goalkeeper Jordan King. A preseason trialist, King was not signed by the club back in February, but has been training with the team for much of the past two months, filling in for Josh Wicks, Charles Alamo and Vito Higgins when they were out injured. In fact, King is the only Galaxy goalkeeper with a win in the Reserve Division this season, as he played the full 90 minutes in the 5-3 win over Chivas USA on July 11. Alamo, Higgins and Wicks all missed that game through injury.

In addition to Jordan, the Galaxy also welcomed Tristan Bowen from the Galaxy Rios out to training today. However, the two young Gambians who had been training with the club for the last two weeks, Amadou Sanyang and Embrima Bojang have returned home.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Back on the Training Field

For the first time since taking the job a week ago, Bruce Arena had nearly his full team out on the field for training this morning as Becks, fresh off his appearance in Beijing and a morning arrival in Los Angeles, Eddie and Landon were all in uniform and participating in training.

Those three joined up with Ante, Pete and Troy (wearing grey) to win a 6v6 tournament that was held to close out the tactical side of the session. In the final round, the teams played five minute games with the first team to score twice declared the winner. In a winner take all final against the team of Klein, Munoz, Vanney, Franklin, Randolph and Buddle (wearing red), LD and Eddie scored to give their team the title and more importantly, bragging rights for the day.

However, despite their tournament win, those guys still had to run as much as the rest of the team to close the session, before Bruce got the group together for a quick chat.

Here is a series of photos that we took during today's session.

Bruce prepares to start one of the games during the 6v6 tournament.


The teams prepare for the final...

Greg Vanney get away from Pete...

Eddie Lewis, in his first practice with the club, goes at Chris Klein... (read more from Eddie here)

Josh Tudela leads his team in their section of the run...

While Greg Vanney and Mike Munoz lead the way for the defeated finalists...

Here are the champions...

So good that they get two photos...

Following the run, Bruce talked with his team as they stretched...

Eddie listens on now that training session number one is officially in the books.

Catching Up with Eddie Lewis

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze dropped by at training today to speak with the Galaxy's latest acquisition Eddie Lewis.

Here is a link to the conversation the two had and we'll be sure to get some audio from him this week as we begin to look ahead to Saturday's game against the Revs.

Speaking of the Revs, if you want to check out the Galaxy's next opponent and do some advance scouting of your own, tune in to Fox Soccer Channel at 5 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday night to see Steve Nicol's team take on Joe Public FC in the Preliminary Round of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Becks on Beijing

As most of you already know, the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games are one of the most watched spectacles in all of sports, with millions upon millions of people watching around the world. And with Beijing ready to pass the torch on to London, our own David Beckham will be there front and center.

What part he will play in the flag handover ceremony is still unknown, but we're sure, based on the reaction he received wherever we went in China this spring, the people of Beijing will cheer their hearts out for Becks.

Here's what he had to say about the event last week,

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Galaxy Fall 1-0 in Arena's Debut

LA Galaxy 0, Chicago Fire 1
August 21, 2008
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
CHI – John Thorrington 5 (Brian McBride 1) 65’

Misconduct Summary:
CHI – Bakary Soumare (Yellow Card) 40’
CHI – Brandon Prideaux (Yellow Card) 74’
LA – Josh Tudela (Yellow Card) 92+

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Greg Vanney, Ante Jazic, Alvaro Pires (Josh Tudela 50’), Peter Vagenas, Chris Klein©, Ely Allen (Mike Randolph 67’), Edson Buddle, Alan Gordon (Israel Sesay 86’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Wicks, Eduardo Dominguez, Julian Valentin, Mike Munoz.

Chicago Fire: Jon Busch, Brandon Prideaux, Wilman Conde, Bakary Soumare, Diego Gutierrez, Logan Pause©, John Thorrington, Stephen King (Andy Herron 63’), Patrick Nyarko (Justin Mapp 22’), Chris Rolfe (Dasan Robinson 90’), Brian McBride.

Subs Not Used: Nick Noble, Lider Marmol, Mike Banner, Tomasz Frankowski.

Notes:
· With the loss, the Galaxy are now to 6-9-6 on the season and remain on 24 points. They remain tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with the Colorado Rapids who play at D.C. United on Saturday. LA is still eight points behind the first place Houston Dynamo.
· This game marks Bruce Arena’s first game as Galaxy head coach. He is the seventh head coach in Galaxy history. He is the fourth consecutive Galaxy head coach who has failed to win in his debut with the club.
· Arena made two changes to the lineup that played to a 2-2 draw last Thursday against Chivas USA. Alan Gordon, who scored the game-tying goal late in the game was back in the starting lineup, as was Troy Roberts who was making his first appearance in more than a month after recovering from a heel injury. They replaced David Beckham and Landon Donovan.
· Landon Donovan and Eddie Lewis were not available for the Galaxy after having played for the U.S. National Team on Wednesday night in Guatemala.
· David Beckham was not available for selection after having played for England on Wednesday against the Czech Republic.
· This is just the second time this season that the Galaxy have played without both Beckham and Donovan and the first time that neither of them have been in the 18-man squad.
· With both Beckham and Donovan out of the lineup, Chris Klein wore the captain’s armband for the second time this season. He was also the Galaxy captain in the 2-0 loss at Toronto FC on May 31.
· Today’s game was scoreless at the half, which was just the second time this year that the opening 45 minutes of a Galaxy game finished 0-0. The only other time was in the 2-0 loss at Toronto FC on May 31.
· Josh Tudela came on in the 50th minute when he replace Alvaro Pires. It was his first appearance since June 29 at D.C. United.
· Israel Sesay entered the game in the 86th minute, making his 2008 debut. It was the second game of Sesay’s MLS career after playing the final minute a game against Chivas USA on September 13, 2007. At 17-years of age, he is the youngest player on the Galaxy roster.
· The Fire’s John Thorrington, a native of Palos Verdes, Calif., has now scored in each of his last two games against the Galaxy. He also scored the game’s opening goal in Chicago’s 1-0 win over the Galaxy in the final game of the 2007 season.
· The Galaxy’s winless streak is now at nine games, setting the mark for the second longest winless streak in club history. During this current streak, the Galaxy are 0-5-4 and have been outscored 22-12.
· The attendance for tonight’s game was 27,000. This is the fourth consecutive home sellout for the Galaxy and the seventh in 11 home games this year.
· For more about tonight’s game, please visit http://www.lagalaxy.com/.
· The Galaxy are back in action on Saturday, August 30, when travel East to take on the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. The match will kick off at 4:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on FSN West and HDNet. The match will also be available live on the radio starting on AM 570 (English) and KWKW 1330 ESPN Deportes (Spanish).

The Bruce Arena Era is Officially Underway

We've kicked off at The Home Depot Center with the Galaxy looking to snap an eight-game winless streak and get their first win since June 14.

Here is the team that Bruce has put on the field tonight.

-----------Buddle------------Gordon-------------

Allen----------Vagenas----Pires-------------Klein

Jazic----------Vanney-------Roberts------Franklin

---------------------Cronin------------------------

Subs: Wicks, Dominguez, Valentin, Randolph, Tudela, Munoz, Sesay.

Deals Completed

A couple of moves that have been talked about in the media over the last couple of days have just become official.

The Galaxy have signed Eddie Lewis and traded Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC in exchange for a first and second round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and salary budget considerations.

As most of you probably already know, Eddie played for the U.S. National Team last night in the 1-0 win over Guatemala, but had to leave the game in the 65th minute after being violently elbowed in the face by Gustavo Cabrera, who was sent off for the host.

Both Lewis, and Landon Donovan who played 90 minutes in that game, are expected to be at The Home Depot Center tonight, with Bruce Arena deciding upon their availability.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Ready for the Fire

The Galaxy had their last practice today before their match tomorrow night against the Chicago Fire, which will be their first test under new Head Coach Bruce Arena. We caught up with some of the players, as well as the new Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan, who used to coach the Fire, to get their thoughts on tomorrow’s tilt…

First, here is a quick video looking back at the SuperClasico and looking ahead to Thursday night's game.



Peter Vagenas on the team moving on and what they need to do to get back to their winning ways…



Ely Allen on tomorrow’s game...



Alan Gordon on the preparation the squad has done under Bruce…



Dave Sarachan on coaching against his former team…

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Day Two With Bruce

After day two of training under new Head Coach Bruce Arena, some of the guys shared their thoughts on the new man in charge and all the excitement that has been taking place at the HDC these past few days. Here is what they had to say...

Edson:


Gordo:


Franklin:


Roberts

Monday, August 18, 2008

Welcome Bruce

Bruce Arena addressed the media for the first time today as the Galaxy's Head Coach and General Manager, so we thought that we'd share that with you here.


Here is a video from today's session...



Also, Landon Donovan checked in from Guatemala City and had this to say about his former National Team head coach and now his club side's head coach.

"In my opinion, Bruce is the right choice. This organization has been searching for a vision, and I think Bruce will give us that. People shouldn't expect miracles overnight. While in the short term hiring Bruce is going to benefit us, the long term effects of having him lead the organization will be even greater. I also want to thank Cobi Jones for his professionalism in a difficult time, and for bringing stability to a difficult situation."

"I think Bruce's greatest attributes are that he treats the players respectfully and he knows how to get the most out of them. Bruce gave me my first opportunity with the National Team, and I look forward to many more successful years together."

Here is what Landon said when asked about Bruce on Thursday night after the 2-2 draw with Chivas USA.



We'll check back in tomorrow afternoon with some more player reactions and looking ahead to Thursday night's game with Chicago.

It's Official


Bruce Arena is the new General Manager and Head Coach of the Galaxy.

We're heading out to his first training session with the club and will have more for you later in the day.

After today's session and media availabilities, we had Bruce pose for a few quick pictures with his new Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan along with the man who was the Galaxy's interim head coach, assistant coach Cobi Jones.


Sunday, August 17, 2008

New Head Coach To Be Introduced!

The Galaxy will introduce the new head coach of the club tomorrow. The new head coach will immediately take over the reigns of the team; beginning with Monday’s training session.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Beckham, Donovan and Ruiz Earn Callups

Beckham is the latest Galaxy player to earn a national team callup this week, joining teammates Donovan and Ruiz. He was named today to Capello’s 23-man England squad that will face off against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Wednesday. Following the game, Beckham will head to China to participate in the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Donovan and Ruiz will face off versus each other with their respective national teams on Aug. 20 in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier. The all-time leading scorer with the U.S. National Team, Donovan was one of 17 players called into the squad by U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. He will join the rest of the National Team in Miami on Sunday before departing for Guatemala on Monday, while Ruiz departed for Guatemala following the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw with Chivas USA on Thursday night.

Following the game, which will be played at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City and aired live on ESPN2 and Galavision at 7 p.m. (PT), Donovan and Ruiz will return to Los Angeles in time for the Galaxy’s game against the Chicago Fire on Thursday, August 21 at The Home Depot Center, a game that will be shown live on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

2-2 Draw Gives the Galaxy the SuperClasico

LA Galaxy 2, Chivas USA 2
August 14, 2008
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
LA – Landon Donovan 14 (Chris Klein 3) 8’
CHV – Atiba Harris 2 (Paulo Nagamura 3) 50’
CHV – Paulo Nagamura 2 (Atiba Harris 4) 63’
LA – Alan Gordon 4 (Ante Jazic 3) 92+

Misconduct Summary:
CHV – Jesse Marsch (Yellow Card) 59’
LA – David Beckham (Yellow Card) 61’
LA – Ely Allen (Yellow Card) 74’
CHV – Paulo Nagamura (Yellow Card) 85’
CHV – Carey Talley (Yellow Card) 92+

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Chris Klein, Greg Vanney, Sean Franklin, Ante Jazic, Alvaro Pires (Alan Gordon 74’), Peter Vagenas, Ely Allen (Mike Randolph 82’), David Beckham©, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle (Carlos Ruiz 87’).

Subs Not Used: Josh Wicks, Eduardo Dominguez, Josh Tudela, Mike Munoz.

Chivas USA: Zach Thornton, Carey Talley, Bobby Burling, Shavar Thomas (Jim Curtin 78’), Francisco Mendoza, Keith Savage (Maykel Galindo 64’), Jesse Marsch©, Paulo Nagamura, Daniel Paladini, Justin Braun (Roberto Nurse 18’), Atiba Harris.

Subs Not Used: Dan Kennedy, Eric Ebert, Kraig Chiles, Anthony Hamilton.

Notes:
· With the draw, the Galaxy are now 6-8-6 on the season leaving them with 24 points. The Galaxy remain in fourth place in the Western Conference, one point behind third place FC Dallas and one point ahead fifth place Chivas USA.
· Tonight’s game was Cobi Jones’ first game in charge as the Galaxy’s interim head coach. He is just the second interim head coach in Galaxy history, following Ralph Perez who won his only game in charge during the 1999 season.
· Jones made one change to his starting lineup from the Galaxy’s last game, a 3-2 loss at San Jose on August 3. Alvaro Pires was brought back into the starting lineup, replacing Alan Gordon who began the game on the bench.
· With the draw, the Galaxy’s season-long winless streak has been stretched to eight games. The Galaxy are 0-4-4 in those eight games and have been outscored 21-12 in that stretch, allowing two or more goals in seven of the eight games.
· With the draw, the Galaxy won the Honda SuperClasico trophy, which is the season series between the Galaxy and Chivas USA. The Galaxy won once and earned draws in the other two matches, for five points compared to the two for Chivas USA. The Galaxy have now won the Honda SuperClasico in three of the four years that the competition has been contested.
· Landon Donovan scored the game’s opening goal in the eighth minute to regain sole possession of the MLS lead in goals. The goal was Donovan’s career-best 14th goal of the season, one more than FC Dallas’ Kenny Cooper.
· Alan Gordon’s game-tying goal in the second minute of second half stoppage time was his fourth of the season, tying a career-high. Three of his four goals have come against Chivas USA.
· Gordon’s goal was the second time this season that the Galaxy have scored a second half stoppage time goal to turn a defeat into a tie. Landon Donovan also scored in the 92nd minute to give LA a 2-2 draw in New York on July 19.
· The attendance for today’s game was 27,000.
· The Galaxy are back in action on Thursday, August 21, when they take on the Chicago Fire at The Home Depot Center. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2. The match will also be available live on the radio in English on 1150 AM and in Spanish on KWKW 1330 ESPN Deportes.

Underway in the SuperClasico

Cobi's first game as the interim head coach is underway at The HDC.

Here is the team that Cobi has put out there tonight against Chivas USA.

------------------Donovan--------Buddle-----------------------

Allen---------------------------------------------------Beckham

----------------------Pires-----------Vagenas-------------------

Jazic--------------Vanney-------------Franklin------------Klein

-----------------------------Cronin------------------------------

Subs: Wicks, Randolph, Dominguez, Tudela, Munoz, Gordon, Ruiz.

Tune in to ESPN2 or ESPN Deportes for all the action!

Notes Ahead of the SuperClasico

Two quick notes to pass on as we edge closer to the start of tonight's Honda SuperClasico against Chivas USA.


  • The Galaxy traded the rights to Clint Mathis to Real Salt Lake for a conditional fourth round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
  • Landon has been called into the U.S. National Team for Wednesday night's qualifier agianst Guatemala. He should be back in LA for the game against the Fire on Thursday night.
  • The SuperClasico trophy will be handed out tonight with the Galaxy currently leading the series four points to one. A win, draw or loss by two goals or less will see the Galaxy again named SuperClasico champions, while a loss by three goals or more will see the trophy stay with Chivas USA.

Lastly, here is a video looking at tonight's game...



Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Reserve Game Cancelled

We just got word that Friday's reserve game between the Galaxy and Chivas USA has been cancelled and will be made up at a later date.

With that game cancelled, the next chance that fans will have to see the Galaxy reserves, who are 1-4-2 through their first seven games this season, will be on Sunday, Sept. 7 when they host Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Center at 10 a.m.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Audio Dump

There was a good cross section of media out for today's training session and press conference. As a result we've got plenty of audio for you.

Here is what Cobi had to say as he addressed the media for the first time as the Galaxy's interim head coach during the Honda SuperClasico press conference.

Cobi...


And here is some video from that same press conference.



We also caught up with a few players after training to see their thoughts on what the team needs to do now ahead of the Chivas USA game.

David...


Landon...


Peter...


Edson...

Tuesday Morning Call

Another busy day is anticipated here at The Home Depot Center as the players will be back on the field today preparing for Thursday night's game against Chivas USA. Additionally, Cobi will address the media for the first time as the club's interim head coach.

With that said, here are a couple of notes to tide you over until we have post-training audio posted later in the day.

  • There are two new trialists in with the club today as 17-year old defender Amadou Sanyang and 16-year old forward Ebrima Bojang have arrived from Gambia. The length of their trial has not been established, but both will have the chance to train with the squad and show what they're capable of. Both are currently members of the Gambian U-20 National Team.
  • Mondou Bojang, who was on trial over the past two weeks has returned to Gambia following the completion of his trial.
  • Michael Gavin underwent surgery to repair a right foot fracture and will miss the next 6-8 weeks.
  • Charles Alamo is awaiting surgery after partially tearing his left ACL. He has been place on the club's Season Ending Injury List.
  • Joe Franchino, Brandon McDonald and Troy Roberts will all miss Thursday's game through injury. All three players were out at training on Monday and are expected to be again today, working on the side with John Ireland and the rest of the medical staff.
  • Bryan Jordan scored again for the Portland Timbers, helping them earn a 1-1 draw with Charleston over the weekend. BJ now has two goals and an assist in his last three games to help Portland hold on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the USL-1 with seven games left on the season.
  • Lastly, remember that Landon will be available to chat today around noon on ESPN.com. Follow this link to the chat and to post your questions.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Landon to Chat Today at ESPN.com

Fans looking to see what Landon has to say about everything from the Honda SuperClasico, the recent changes at the club, the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers or anything in between can head over to ESPN's SportsNation at 12 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday.

Here is the direct link and be sure to get your questions in early!

Galaxy Announce Changes for Head Coach and President/General Manager Positions

As has been reported in various media outlets this morning, the Galaxy have made a pair of changes today, with Ruud Gullit leaving the club for personal reasons and Alexi Lalas having been relieved of his duties as President/General Manager.

Cobi will take the reins as the interim head coach while a search for Ruud's replacement is undertaken.

Here is the official word from the club today...

LOS ANGELES GALAXY ANNOUNCE CHANGES FOR HEAD COACH AND PRESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGER POSITIONS

CARSON, Calif. (Monday, August 11, 2008) – Ruud Gullit, the head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer (MLS) club, will leave the team for personal reasons it was announced today.

"Both parties have agreed on mutually-agreeable terms to part company,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO AEG, investor/operators of the Galaxy. “It is an amicable arrangement and we appreciate and respect the issues that Ruud has highlighted with the club and are very grateful for all the hard work he has contributed while with the organization. Hopefully, he has laid the foundations for future success for the Los Angeles Galaxy."

Gullit, 45, the world-renowned soccer player who was named world player of the year in 1987 and 1989, joined the club in November last year. He commented: "In truth, it has proved a lot more difficult than I anticipated for my family to settle in the area and the club has been very supportive and understanding of my decision. I would like to thank the players and the fans for their fantastic support and I wish the LA Galaxy much success in the future. I would now like to spend some time with my family before considering any other position in football."

Galaxy assistant coach Cobi Jones will serve as the club’s interim head coach while a search for a new head coach is undertaken. He will be assisted by current Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development Trevor James and Goalkeeper Coach Ian Feuer.

Jones, 37, an original member of the Galaxy, is in his first year on the team’s coaching staff. A Los Angeles native, Jones played more than 300 games for the Galaxy during his 12-year MLS career (1996-2007). Before joining the Galaxy, Jones played college soccer at UCLA as well as playing professionally abroad with Coventry City of the English Premier League and Brazilian side Vasco de Gama. Jones was also a member of the U.S. National Team with whom he appeared a record 164 times. He played in three FIFA World Cups for the Red, White and Blue (1994, 1998 and 2002), twice helping his country advance past the tournament’s group stage.

Jones is the Galaxy’s all-time leader in nearly every statistical category, including goals (70), assists (91) and games played (306), making him one of just four MLS players to have appeared in more than 300 games and one of three players to have both 70 goals and 90 assists.

His first game in charge of the Galaxy will come on Thursday, August 14 when the Galaxy take on intra-city rivals Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center in a game that can be seen live on ESPN2 starting at 8 p.m. (PT).

It was also announced that Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas has been relieved of his duties effective immediately. Lalas joined the team in April 2006 after serving in the same capacity with the New York Red Bulls (formerly MetroStars).

“With Ruud moving on, we believe that this is the right time to make more sweeping changes throughout the organization,” said Leiweke. “Our commitment continues to be focused on not only winning the MLS Cup this and every season but to build a club capable of competing at the international level. This decision is the right one for the organization, the right one for the players and the right one for our fans. We thank Alexi for the tremendous hard work and dedication he brought to his job each and every day.”

Paul Bravo, the Galaxy’s Director of Soccer, will continue in this role overseeing all issues related to the Galaxy’s roster including scouting and evaluating players (collegiate and professional), overseeing the club’s development system and other team administrative functions.

Assistant General Manager Tom Payne will continue to oversee the Galaxy front office, including corporate partnerships, ticket sales, marketing, programming, communications, operations and community development. Payne has been with the organization for six seasons.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Vacation Time


With the team taking the weekend off, we here at The LA Galaxy have decided to do the same.

We'll be back on Monday with a series of posts, pictures, audio and video as we look ahead to Chivas USA and the Honda SuperClasico.

We'll also have some behind the scenes footage from the Galaxy Fantasy Camps that have been running here at The Home Depot Center over the last two weeks, as well as catching up with some members of the Galaxy Rios program as they prepare for the start of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy this fall.

Enjoy your weekend, we know that we will!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Olympic Memories

With the Beijing Olympics starting on Friday, we caught up with a few players and staff who have participated in an Olympic Games to learn about their experience and their thoughts on the 2008 edition of the summer games.

First up are Peter and Landon. Both were a part of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team which played in Syndey. In those games, Peter played in all six matches, scoring three goals. Landon, who at 18 years old was the youngest player on the squad, came off the bench for Rapids foward Conor Casey against Kuwait to score the final goal in a 3-1 win, helping the team reach the quarterfinals. The 2000 Olympics was the best showing ever for the U.S. as the team made it all the way to the semifinals before losing 3-1 to Spain, with Pete scoring the lone U.S. goal. It should also be noted that besides Landon and Pete, two other former Galaxy players, Chris Albright and Danny Califf, scored goals during the tournament, making Josh Wolff the only non-Galaxy player to score. Of course, the U.S. squad was led by legendary University of Portland head coach Clive Charles, who passed away in 2003.

Peter...


Landon...


After those two, we tracked down 1992 Barcelona Olympic teammates and Galaxy coaches Ian Feuer and Cobi Jones. While Ian didn't get to see any playing time in Barcelona, as he was behind Brad Friedal in the pecking order, Cobi played in all three matches.

Ian...


Cobi...


Finally, we spoke to Klein. Although he never participated in an Olympic games, we just wanted to see what he's looking forward to seeing come Friday.
Klein

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Tuesday Roundup

The players were back in training this morning after they (and the blog staff) received a day off on Monday.

However, we did receive a bit of bad news on Monday as both Charles Alamo and Michael Gavin were ruled out for extended periods through injury. In the second half of Sunday's reserve game, Alamo suffered a partial tear of the ACL in his left knee, the same knee he injured in Hawaii back in February, and will be placed on the Season Ending Injury List.

Gavin was also injured in that game, suffering a right foot fracture that is expected to keep him on the sidelines for at least two months. He underwent surgery on Tuesday and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.

On a brighter note, Bryan Jordan scored one and set up another last weekend as the Portland Timbers played to a 2-2 draw with the Minnesota Thunder in USL First Division action. As a result of his performance, Jordan was named to the First Division Team of the Week. Fans wanting to follow BJ's progress can watch him in action on Thursday night at 8 p.m. (PT).

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Galaxy Fall to San Jose 3-2

LA Galaxy 2, San Jose Earthquakes 3
August 3, 2008
McAfee Coliseum – Oakland, Calif.

Scoring Summary:
SJ – Arturo Alvarez 4 (Scott Sealy 1, Darren Huckerby 1) 8’
SJ – Darren Huckerby 2 (Eric Denton 1) 40’
LA – Landon Donovan 13 (David Beckham 8) 42’
LA – Edson Buddle 12 (Unassisted) 76’
SJ – Ryan Cochrane 1 (Unassisted) 90’

Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Ryan Cochrane (Yellow Card) 46’
LA – Landon Donovan (Yellow Card) 73’

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Steve Cronin, Chris Klein (Carlos Ruiz 76’), Greg Vanney, Sean Franklin, Ante Jazic, Peter Vagenas, Ely Allen (Mike Randolph 46’), David Beckham©, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, Alan Gordon.

Subs Not Used: Josh Wicks, Eduardo Dominguez, Alvaro Pires, Mike Munoz.

FC Dallas: Joe Cannon, Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia©, Eric Denton, Francisco Lima, Ramiro Corrales, Ronnie O’Brien (Ryan Johnson 82’), Arturo Alvarez, Darren Huckerby, Scott Sealy (Jovan Kirovski 92+).

Subs Not Used: Michael Gustavson, James Riley, Kelly Gray, Shea Salinas, John Cunliffe.

Notes:
· With the loss, the Galaxy are now 6-8-5 on the season leaving them with 23 points. They are now in fourth place in the Western Conference, four points behind first place Real Salt Lake, three points behind the Houston Dynamo and two points behind FC Dallas.
· Ruud Gullit made three changes to his starting from last weekend’s 4-0 loss at FC Dallas. Sean Franklin was brought in to central defense in place of Eduardo Dominguez, while Ely Allen was added to the midfield in place of Alvaro Pires and Alan Gordon started up front instead of Carlos Ruiz.
· Brandon McDonald was originally in the starting lineup in central midfield, but was a late scratch because of a recurrence of a foot problem that had kept him out of the lineup for the past month and a half. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Peter Vagenas.
· Midfielder Mike Munoz was in the 18-man squad for the first time this season after being signed by the club on Friday. He did not play in the match.
· Landon Donovan’s 42nd minute goal was his 13th of the season, setting a new career-high. Donovan is now tied for the MLS lead in goals with 13, equal to the number scored by FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper who scored twice this afternoon in Toronto.
· Buddle’s goal in the 76th minute was his 12th of the season, setting a new career-high.
· David Beckham’s assist on Donovan’s goal was his eighth of the season, good for the most on the Galaxy and the second most in MLS.
· The Galaxy are now winless in their last seven games, going 0-4-3 over the span with losses to D.C. United, FC Dallas, New England and San Jose, as well as draws with Chivas USA, Columbus and New York. They have allowed two or more goals in six of those seven games. This ties the mark for the fourth longest winless streak in club history.
· Two of the three players who scored for the Earthquakes in today's game were not on the San Jose roster the last time these two teams played on June 14, a 3-0 Galaxy win.
· The attendance for today’s game was 26,071.
· After the game, the entire Galaxy squad will bus to Santa Clara University for a Reserve Division match against the Earthquakes. The two sides played a Reserve Division game in April, with San Jose winning 2-1.
· The Galaxy are back in action on Thursday, August 14, when they take on Chivas USA in the third and final installment of the Honda SuperClasico at The Home Depot Center. The match will kick off at 8 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on ESPN2. The match will also be available live on the radio in English on 1150 AM and in Spanish on KWKW 1330 ESPN Deportes.

The Lineups Are In [UPDATED]

We're ready to go here in San Jose as the Galaxy will look to snap a six-game winless streak and move to within one point of first place Real Salt Lake.

Here is the team that Ruud will put out there...

------------------Buddle------Gordon-------------

------------------------Donovan-------------------

Allen----------------------------------------Beckham

------------------------Vagenas--------------------

Jazic--------------Vanney-------Franklin-------Klein

-------------------------Cronin----------------------

Subs: Wicks, Dominguez, Randolph, Pires, Vagenas, Munoz, Ruiz.

Gordo is brought in for Carlos while Ely and Brandon are back in midfield, with Pete and Alavro going to the bench. Lastly, Sean Franklin is back in the starting lineup after playing 45 minutes last weekend, replacing Eduardo Dominguez. [UPDATED] Brandon has had to be removed from the lineup becuase of a recurrance of his foot injury, so he will be replaced by Peter.

Also, Mike Munoz, who was signed on Friday afternoon, is in the 18-man squad for the first time.
Enjoy the match.

Matchday Has Arrived

Good morning from San Jose as we look to complete a three-game sweep of the Earthquakes this season. For those that don't remember, Landon and David scored in a 2-0 win at the HDC back in April before Edson Buddle scored his second hat trick of the year, grabbing all three goals in a 3-0 win in Oakland on June 14.

As we had said earlier, the whole squad made the short trip north for today's games with the exception of Joe Franchino and Troy Roberts who have been ruled out through injury.

Here's a video looking at the match...



It'll be a long day for the players (and staff) with an 8:30 a.m. pregame meal followed by a 9:30 a.m. departure for Oakland's McAfee Coliseum where today's game will again be played. Immediately after the game, the whole squad will get back on the bus and head to Santa Clara where the reserves will play, before getting back on the bus and heading to the airport for tonight's flight home.

As long and arduous as this will be for most of us, spare a thought for Raul Vargas, our equipment manager extraordinaire.

Not only was he at the stadium at 6 a.m. this morning to begin setting the locker room up, but he was in Santa Clara last night preparing that locker room in advance of the reserve game. Suffice to say, I'm fairly certain that we'll see Raul fast asleep on the flight home - and who could blame him.

Friday, August 1, 2008

On the Way to San Jose

Well, not quite yet, but we're getting close.

The Galaxy has one more day of training before we take an afternoon flight up to No-Cal to face our longtime rivals, the Earthquakes. We were able to catch up with Landon, David and Ruud after practice to see what they had to say about what's been going on around the HDC, playing San Jose and the team's performance in Dallas.

That laughter you heard in the background of David's audio is Eduardo, Fish and Pires playing a juggling game, that is equal parts juggling and the ability to listen.

It starts with the players saying how many times they will juggle before passing it on to someone else. If you aren't able to control the ball, or juggle it too few or too many times, your the loser and the others get to give a quick, but painful slap on the back of the leg. If you don't understand what we're talking about, be sure to tune in to Galaxy Deportivo on Saturday at 6 p.m. on KWHY-22.

Here is Eduardo speaking with the Deportivo crew after his game.


Here is Ruud talking with the media, as well as what he had to say...




Here is Landon...



And lastly, here is what David had to say before he went it to watch some of the X Games, which as you can see from the photo below, are at The HDC this weekend...




If you want to see action like what you see above, come on out to The HDC this weekend for X Games 14, just make sure that you're home on time to catch Sunday afternoon's game against the Earthquakes!

Mike Munoz Added to the Roster; Carlos Receives Green Card

The Galaxy made a roster move this afternoon when they signed midfielder Mike Munoz to a developmental contract. Munoz, who played one game for Chivas USA in 2005, has played for the Galaxy Reserves this season and impressed the coaching staff with his play.

To make room on the roster for Mike, goalkeeper Vito Higgins has been waived. Vito has missed the last couple of weeks with a right foot fracture and will be returning to his alma mater, Gonzaga University, to do some coaching. We of course wish Vito all the best going forward.

Lastly, six years after making his Galaxy debut, Carlos Ruiz has received his Green Card and will no longer be counted as an international player. It was a long process, but a pair of recent visits to Guatemala helped to put the final touches on his paperwork. Congrats to Carlos!

We'll have more on this and a training recap shortly.