Friday, November 28, 2008

Oceania All-Stars Add a Pair

The squad for our opponent in next weekend's friendly in New Zealand has grown by two as goalkeeper Mark Bosnich and midfielder Edgar Davids have been added to the squad. Bosnich hails from Australia, while Davids is from the South American nation of Suriname and played for Holland. He will serve as a guest player for the Oceania All-Stars.

We're bringing a guest player in Leonard Griffin, so I guess that it is only fair for our opponents to have one as well.

If you want to learn more about either of these players, check our their profiles here and here thanks to our good friends at wikipedia.

Also, in case you forgot, Davids spent a few days in Los Angeles earlier this summer training with the club and his good friend Ruud Gullit. It now appears that he was merely spying on us to provide a scouting report for his new team.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Travel Roster for New Zealand Friendly Finalized

Bruce Arena today unveiled the 19-man roster that will travel to New Zealand ahead of the friendly against the Oceania All-Stars on December 6. That game, which will be played at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel, starting at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, December 5. Fox Sports en Español will air the match on a half-hour delay at 11 p.m. (PT).

Nineteen players, including one guest player, will depart for Auckland on Monday, December 1 before returning to the United States on Sunday, December 7. The squad will hold three training sessions in Auckland ahead of the game against the Oceania All-Stars, who are led by 1998 FIFA World Cup winner Christian Karembeu, a native of New Caledonia.

The Galaxy’s complete travel squad for this match is…

Goalkeepers (2): Josh Saunders and Josh Wicks.
Defenders (7): Sean Franklin, Michael Gavin, Leonard Griffin*, Chris Klein, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts and Julian Valentin
Midfielders (6): Ely Allen, David Beckham, Eddie Lewis, Brandon McDonald, Mike Muñoz and Josh Tudela.
Forward (4): Tristan Bowen, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan and Jovan Kirovski.

* – Guest Player

Goalkeeper Steve Cronin will remain in Los Angeles to undergo surgery to remove a plate that was inserted to his right hand in a surgical procedure earlier this year. Cronin originally injured his hand in a game against the New England Revolution on August 30.

In addition to Cronin, Charles Alamo, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan and Ante Jazic will remain in the area to rest and receive treatment.

Jeremy Barlow, Joe Franchino and Alvaro Pires have been waived and will be available in this afternoon’s MLS Waiver Draft, while Vardan Adzemian, Eduardo Dominguez and Israel Sesay will not travel for the game.

Sounders Select Pete

The Galaxy roster shrunk by one this afternoon when Peter Vagenas was taken by the Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Expansion Draft.

The longest tenured player with the Galaxy this season, having been with the club since 2000, Vagenas appeared in 14 games for the club this season, making 11 starts, tallying one goal and adding three assists.

A native of Pasadena, Calif., Vagenas played four years at UCLA, winning a National Championship in 1997, before being drafted by the Galaxy in the second round (23rd overall) of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft. He would go on to play nine seasons with the Galaxy, helping the club win five titles, including two MLS Cup championships. His 183 regular games played and 164 games started in a Galaxy uniform are the fifth most in club history. In that time, Vagenas tallied 14 goals and 25 assists, which are the sixth most in club history.
The 30-year old enjoyed his best season with the Galaxy in 2005 when he captained the club to the MLS Cup/U.S. Open Cup Double. He appeared in 29 of the club’s 32 games that season, scoring a career-high five goals to go along with four assists.

With Pete now heading north to Seattle, Alan Gordon is now the Galaxy's longest tenured player, having joined the club in 2004.

New Zealand Friendly to be Aired Live on Fox Soccer Channel

In a never-ending effort to give Galaxy fans the chance to see all of the club's matches, wherever they are played, we have teamed with Fox Soccer Channel who will televise the upcoming friendly against the Oceania All-Stars live. Additionally, the game will be shown on Fox Sports en Español on a 30-minute delay.

The game, which will be played at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland, kicks off a 7:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 6, which means that it will be shown live here in Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m. on December 5. The game will begin at 11 p.m. (PT) on Fox Sports en Español.

Following this afternoon's Expansion and Waiver Drafts, we will have the final list of players who will make the 13 hour flight to New Zealand.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Interliga Returns to The HDC

The Galaxy will be square in the middle of their offseason, but The Home Depot Center will be busy in early January with the return of Interliga. The Home Depot Center will host the final round of group games on January 8 and 9, as well as the tournament finals on January 11.

Here are the groups for the tournament, along with the complete schedule of games.

Group A – Toluca, UAG, Morelia, Pachuca
Group B – Tigres UANL, CD Guadalajara, Atlas, América

INTERLIGA™ 2009 SCHEDULE (all times local)
All matches to be broadcast live in the United States by Fox Sports en Español.

Friday, January 2 – Pizza Hut Park (Dallas, Texas)
Game 1 – Group A –Toluca vs. Morelia– 19:00
Game 2 – Group A –UAG vs. Pachuca– 21:30

Saturday, January 3 – Robertson Stadium (Houston, Texas)
Game 3 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. Atlas– 19:00
Game 4 – Group B –CD Guadalajara vs. América– 21:30

Monday, January, 5 – Robertson Stadium (Houston, Texas)
Game 5 – Group A –UAG vs. Morelia– 19:00
Game 6 – Group A –Toluca vs. Pachuca– 21:30

Tuesday, January 6 – Pizza Hut Park (Dallas, Texas)
Game 7 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. América– 19:00
Game 8 – Group B –CD Guadalajara vs. Atlas– 21:30

Thursday, January 8 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)
Game 9 – Group A –Morelia vs. Pachuca– 18:00
Game 10– Group A –Toluca vs. UAG– 20:30

Friday, January 9 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)
Game 11 – Group B –Atlas vs. América– 18:30
Game 12 – Group B –Tigres UANL vs. CD Guadalajara– 21:00

Sunday, January 11 – Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)
Final 1 – 16:00
Final 2 – 18:30


For more about this tournament, please visit this site.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Protection TIme

Before we unveil the Galaxy's Protected and Unprotected Lists ahead of Wednesday's Expansion Draft, we'll tell you that the club today acquired Jovan Kirovski from San Jose for a conditional pick in the 2010 Supplemental Draft. Kirovski, who played with the Galaxy in 2004 and 2005, has trained with the club for the last couple of weeks and is expected to accompany the team to New Zealand (the final travel roster will be unveiled following Wednesday's Expansion Draft)next week.

And with no further adieu, here are the Galaxy's official Protected and Unprotected Lists. Just a reminder, all teams could only protect 11 players and the Galaxy could only leave one of their three international players unprotected. Additionally, all Generation adidas players were automatically protected but did not count against a team's 11-man list.

Protected
David Beckham – Midfielder (International Player)
Edson Buddle – Forward
Landon Donovan – Forward
Sean Franklin – Defender
Alan Gordon – Forward
Ante Jazic – Defender
Bryan Jordan – Forward
Eddie Lewis – Midfielder
Brandon McDonald – Midfielder
Alvaro Pires – Midfielder (International Player)
Troy Roberts – Defender

Additionally, forwards Israel Sesay and the newly-signed Tristan Bowen were automatically protected as members of the Generation adidas program.

That means that the following 17 Galaxy players will be available for selection by Seattle in Wednesday’s expansion draft.

Unprotected
Vardan Adzemian – Defender
Charles Alamo – Goalkeeper
Ely Allen – Midfielder
Jeremy Barlow – Midfielder
Steve Cronin – Goalkeeper
Eduardo Dominguez – Defender (International Player)
Joe Franchino – Midfielder
Michael Gavin – Defender
Jovan Kirovski – Forward
Chris Klein – Defender
Mike Munoz – Midfielder
Mike Randolph – Defender
Josh Saunders – Goalkeeper
Josh Tudela – Midfielder
Peter Vagenas – Midfielder
Julian Valentin – Defender
Josh Wicks – Goalkeeper

Defenders Scott Bolkan and Greg Vanney each retired after the season, meaning that they were on neither of the lists.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Bowen on the Scoresheet

Tristan Bowen is currently is Spain with the U.S. Under-20 National Team, and he got himself on the scoresheet on Wednesday against Real Madrid. Bowen scored the second goal of the game for the U.S., tying the score at 2-2 in the 29th minute.

However, Real led 4-2 at the half and went on to win 5-3, with Bowen playing the opening 45 minutes.

Then on Thursday, Bowen played 90 minutes up front for the U.S. in a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid.

The U.S. rounds out the trip on Saturday against Rayo Vallecano.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hitting the Road and Scrimmaging at Home

While the season has been over for nearly a month now, the coaching staff has remained busy taking in a series of college games around the country, preparing for January's MLS SuperDraft, as well as some internationals. While all of the coaches, as well as Paul Bravo, have been watching a series of local college games all year long, Bravo hit the road last week, along with Trevor James and Dave Sarachan to check out some of the conference tournaments that were held.

Bravo went to Dallas for the Conference USA Tournament, while James went north to Madison, Wisc. for the Big 10 Tournament. Sarachan pulled double duty on the East Coast, first heading to Tampa for the Big East Tournament and then up to Cary, N.C. for the ACC Tournament.

Here on the home front, the Galaxy once again wrapped up the week with a inter-squad scrimmage.

Here were the two sides.

Grey: Matt Jordan, Leonard Griffin, Eduardo Dominguez, Brandon McDonald, Jack Stewart, Michael Gavin, Josh Tudela, Simon Elliott, Chris Klein, Ely Allen, Bryan Jordan.

Orange: Josh Wicks (Josh Saunders 46'), Ante Jazic, Cedric Uras, Julian Valentin, Troy Roberts, Mike Randolph, Alvaro Pires, Greg Vanney, Mike Munoz, Jovan Kirovski, Israel Sesay.

Simon Elliott left the game after 60 minutes as a precaution with a leg injury, leaving his team down a man. As a result, Greg Vanney played the final 15 minutes with the Grey team, meaning that each team played with 10 men for 15 minutes.

Michael Gavin and Israel Seasy each had goal called back for offside late in the first half and the game would end scoreless. However, with a weekend's worth of bragging rights on the line, the game went to penalties.

The first 14 penalty takers converted their spot kicks, leaving the score tied at 7-7 before Cedric Uras, a guest player from Litex Lovech in Bulgaria who played with Greg Vanney at Bastia from 2002-2005, hit the post. That left Josh Tudela to calmly score the winner and give his team bragging rights for a few days at least.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

No Cap for Sean

Bob Bradley had 20 players in camp and available for selection ahead of tonight's World Cup Qualifier against Guatemala, but only 18 of them can dress for the game.

Unfortunately, we just learned that Sean Franklin will be one of the two players who do not dress for tonight's game, meaning that he will have to wait a bit longer to get his first cap with the U.S.

Awards Day

U.S. Soccer today announced the finalists for the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year and it is no surprise that Landon Donovan is one of six finalists. A two-time winner of the award (2003 and 2004), Donovan will look to take this prize after winning the Honda Player of the Year award earlier this month.

The other finalists are: Carlos Bocanegra, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu.

Additionally, former Galaxy defender Jorge Salcedo was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year as he led UCLA to a 10-4-6 record (7-1-2 in the Pac-10) and a fifth conference title in the last seven years. This was the second time that Salcedo has won this award.

Helping to win Salcedo the award were four players who were named All-Pac-10 while also playing for the Galaxy U-20's this summer.

Michael Stephens was the Pac-10 Player of the Year, scoring seven goals and adding nine assists from the Bruins midfield. He was the U-20's only representative on the Pac-10 First Team, while goalkeeper Brian Perk (9-4-4, 0.96 GAA) claimed a spot on the Second Team. Forward David Estrada (4 goals and 3 assists) and defender Danny Suits (started all 20 games and played and a team-high 1,850 minutes played) were named Honorable Mention All-Pac 10

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sean Stays

Bob Bradley announced his final roster for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier against Guatemala in Colorado and Sean Franklin has been included. He was called up for a four day training camp last week and will now remain in Denver through Wednesday night's game, which can be seen on ESPN2 and Galavision starting at 5 p.m. (PT).

U.S. Soccer unveiled the roster this afternoon in a rather unorthodox way with an homage to Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. Check it out.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Taking The Weekend Off

But, before we do, here is more than enough audio, video and links to keep you happy until Monday.

First, 2008 MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year Sean Franklin spoke with the media yesterday via conference call shortly after the announcement was made. Sean also sat down with us last month for a Q&A that ended up on ESPNDeportes.com-- The headline reads "Galaxy to the core."

Here's a sampling of that Q&A, as well as audio of the conference call.



Do you still remember the day you got drafted?
"Yeah, I was with the draft out in Baltimore, Md., with my mom and girlfriend. I remember the night before, me and my roommate (Eric Avila, who was drafted by FC Dallas) were messing around about what we would say if we got drafted and by whom. It was a fun experience. (Laugh)"


Where you a fan of the Galaxy growing up?
"I was. I didn’t always watch soccer, but I always played it and liked it and I was a huge Cobi Jones fan growing up, so the Galaxy was all I knew."


Years later your favorite player growing up is now your coach, how’s that working out?
"He’s been nothing but helpful. He’s been the assistant coach and was head coach for one game and done a great job. It’s nice to be able to play for him and it was an honor getting to meet him at the draft."


Your first Beckham encounter?
"Real casual. I was trying to be as professional as I can so I was like, 'hey,' and said, 'What’s up?' My friends make fun of me because they’re like, 'you didn’t go crazy?' And no. I was 'Hey, Hello.' I know he’s my teammate, I know all the stuff he’s accomplished so I just tried to be as professional as I can."


What is the most frequently asked question you get?
"That one. That’s like the first question I get (from people). Friends and family want to know what Beckham is like. Did I shake his hand? Was he like, “what’s up?” It’s pretty crazy."


Have you been able to absorb everything that’s happened to you yet?
"I did not think it was going to happen. This is crazy still. It’s like a shock still. It’s a shock to all my family. All my friends are, “it’s so crazy that you are really playing."


What is more important to you, winning an award or playoffs?
"Playoffs. I’ve said it a couple of times already, I’d rather go to playoffs than win an award."


What does Sean Franklin’s future look like?
"My future? Hopefully good. I’m enjoying being in L.A. The fans have been good, the facilities are great. I’m glad my family and girlfriend are here and that they get to come to see me play. I like it here in L.A."


Any aspiration of playing in Europe?
"Oh definitely. I would love to have a chance to go to Europe one day, whether it’s in a couple of years or three years from now. But if I don’t, MLS is great, and I wouldn’t mind starting my career here and ending it here."

The National Team?
"That would be the highlight of my career. I played with the youth 20s and the Youth 23s and there’s only one more step, which is the full team. Playing for my country in a World Cup would just be icing, icing on the cake."




Good news involving the Galaxy's young guys was abundant this week at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy also announced the signing of 17-year-old Tristan Bowen. Here's audio of an interview with Tristan.



Also, two players on our Youth Development Program, Alejandro Covarrubias (pictured) and David Velasquez, were invited to participate in an upcoming U.S. Under-18 National Team Mega-Camp, from which 18 players will be selected to represent the Red, White and Blue in a tournament in Australia.

One of those players, Covarrubias, was discovered back in June at one of the LA Galaxy's Serie de Campeones tournaments in San Bernardino. Serie de Campeones is a program that provides independent Hispanic teams a place to play in. Since joining up with us, Covarrubias has become a regular on the club's U-18 Academy Tam and been added to the U.S. U-18 Player Poll.

Listen to the audio to learn more about Covarrubias and click on the links to find out more about Serie de Campeones and the tournament's finals, which are taking place this weekend at the HDC.



Finally, if you missed out on attending the Los Angeles Galaxy Foundation's Day on the Links tournament this year, then you really missed out. Check out this video for a recap of this year's activities.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Gearing up for New Zealand

At training, the guys were divided into two sides today for an intrasquad scrimmage game ahead of the club's trip to Auckland, New Zealand in December.

The squads:

In Black: Josh Saunders, Ante Jazic, Eduardo Dominguez, Troy Roberts, Jack Stewart, Michael Gavin, Alvaro Pires, Mike Muñoz, Chris Klein, Bryan Jordan, Jovan Kirovski.

In White: Josh Wicks, Mike Randolph, Brandon McDonald, Julian Valentin, Leo Griffin, Eddie Lewis, Josh Tudela, David Beckham, Tristan Bowen, Elly Allen, Allan Gordon.

Second Half Subs: Israel Sesay (White) and Greg Vanney (Black).

The recap:

The Black Squad won an evenly played match, 1-0, on a first half goal from Mike Muñoz.

The goal came down in the 18th minute, on a play that started when Jovan Kirovski whipped a ball into the box to Chris Klein. Klein then played the ball back to Muñoz, who was crashing the box from the midfield and gave the Black Squad the lead.

Kirovski, who registered an assist on the goal, had a chance to add to the sqaud's lead when the referee awarded them with a penalty kick late in the second half. White Squad goalkeeper Josh Wicks, however, stopped Kirovski's attempt to keep the score 1-0.

The team will train three days again next week at The Home Depot Center.

Sean Franklin Named 2008 MLS Rookie of the Year

Official word just came down, Sean Franklin has been named the 2008 MLS Rookie of the Year. The Palmdale native is now the first player in Galaxy history to be named MLS Rookie of the Year.


He is currently in Colorado with the National Team, but we will speak with him later today to discuss the award.

Here is the press release announcing the award, but first, a quick video from the folks at MLS.



CARSON, Calif. (Thursday, November 13, 2008) – LA Galaxy defender Sean Franklin has been named the 2008 MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year as announced today by Major League Soccer. The 23-year old Palmdale, Calif. native appeared in 27 games for the Galaxy this season, making 26 starts and playing 2,385 minutes, which were the second most on the club. Franklin, who was the Galaxy’s highest draft pick since 2003, is the club’s first-ever winner of the Rookie of the Year award.

“I am honored to be named the MLS Rookie of the Year and would like to thank my family, friends, teammates and everyone who voted for me for this award,” Franklin said. “A number of great players have won this award in the past and I look forward to following in their footsteps in this league and continuing to improve as player with the Galaxy next season and in the future.”

The No. 4 pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft after a successful college career at Cal State-Northridge, Franklin emerged as one of the best young defenders in MLS during his rookie season. After being an unused substitute in the Galaxy’s first game of the season, Franklin stepped in and quickly established himself as one of the league’s top young defenders. Despite being a natural right back, Franklin, who was almost unanimously voted the Galaxy’s Defender of the Year, spent most of the season playing in central defense, tallying the first and only assist of his MLS career on Edson Buddle’s first half goal in the 3-2 home win over Colorado on October 12. Additionally, Franklin’s pace, poise and positional sense saw him commit just 22 fouls and earn only three cautions.

“Sean had a very good season for the Galaxy and is deserving of this award,” Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. “Despite being played out of position for a majority of the season, Sean was still able to demonstrate his skills and strengths as a player and I’m confident that he will continue to improve in MLS.”

Franklin is currently in Colorado with the U.S. National Team for a four day training camp at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, which began on Wednesday. This is the first time in his career that Franklin, who had previously played for the U.S. Under-20 and Under-23 National Teams, has been called in to the full National Team.

The MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year winner received the most votes from polling of media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers. All first-year players in MLS without previous professional experience were considered for the Gatorade Rookie of the Year award.

Gatorade Rookie of the Year Winners

2008: Sean Franklin – Los Angeles Galaxy
2007: Maurice Edu – Toronto FC
2006: Jonathan Bornstein – Chivas USA
2005: Michael Parkhurst – New England Revolution
2004: Clint Dempsey – New England Revolution
2003: Damani Ralph – Chicago Fire
2002: Kyle Martino – Columbus Crew
2001: Rodrigo Faria - MetroStars
2000: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire
1999: Jay Heaps – Miami Fusion
1998: Ben Olsen – D.C. United
1997: Mike Duhaney – Tampa Bay Mutiny
1996: Steve Ralston – Tampa Bay Mutiny

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wednesday Roundup

The team had the day off today, but we've got plenty of notes to pass along to you. So without further adieu...

That's it for now, but we'll be back tomorrow with an interview with Tristan and more as we await tomorrow's announcement of the Rookie of the Year award, for which Sean Franklin is a finalist.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Landon to Train Abroad; Franklin Gets the Call

Two big pieces of news have been announced today as Landon Donovan will train in Germany with Bayern Munich for 10 days and Sean Franklin has been called in to the U.S. National Team for a four day training camp in Denver.

Here is the press release regarding Landon.

And here is the one regarding Sean, who will find out on Thursday if he is the first Galaxy player ever to be named Rookie of the Year.

Good luck to both guys!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Rios Sweep SuperClasico

All Galaxy fans know that games against Chivas USA are battles from the start to the finish. No matter where the teams sit in the standings and what players are on the field, it is going to be a 90 minute battle each and every time...

And usually the Galaxy come out on top!

That was the case yesterday as the Galaxy Rios U-16's and the U-18's won their first-ever meetings with Chivas USA.

The U-16's were able to stretch their lead atop the league with a 1-0 win, improving their record to 6-3-0 on the season.

Following that game, the U-18's put together one of their best games of the season en route to a clinical 3-0 win over first place Chivas USA. The U-18's are now 4-5-0 on the season and have won two of their last three.

We'll catch up with the coaches and a few of the players when they return to trainig this week.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Two Cut, One Remains in Goal of the Year Voting

Major League Soccer today announced the 10 semifinalists for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Year award. There were three Galaxy goals in the original list of 35, but following a week of online voting, only one of the three advanced to the next round.


The good news is that David Beckham's 70-yard goal against Kansas City on May 24 made it through to the final 10. Unfortunately, we saw Landon Donovan's diving header against Houston and Brandon McDonald's long range rocket against Colorado eliminated from the voting.

So do your part to give David the Goal of the Year award by voting as much as you can here.

Bruce Arena Nominated for the National Soccer Hall of Fame

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of telling you that Galaxy legends Mauricio Cienfuegos and Robin Fraser had been nominated on the Player Ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.


Today, it was announced that our General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena is one of 15 people named to the Hall of Fame's Builder Ballot. Builder candidates were selected from a list of over 50 eligible candidates by vote of the Builder’s Screening Committee, a 16-member committee made up of selected Hall of Famers.

Arena, who is the ninth winningest coach in MLS history despite coaching less than five years in the league, won two MLS Cup titles (1996-97) with D.C. United before becoming the U.S. National Team head coach after the 1998 MLS season when he helped United reach the MLS Cup, as well as becoming the first MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the Interamerican Cup.

Arena is also the all-time winningest coach in U.S. National Team history, leading the U.S. to the FIFA World Cup twice, including an historic quarterfinal berth in 2002 in Japan/Korea. Arena took over as head coach in November 1998 and was in charge for nearly eight years, collecting a 71-30-29 all-time record, while leading the U.S. to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title in 2002 and 2005, the 2000 Nike U.S. Cup championship, as well as a third place finish in the 1999 Confederations Cup in Mexico.

More information about each of the Builder candidates is on the Hall of Fame and Museum’s web site, http://www.soccerhall.org/.

The Ballot will be submitted to all Hall of Famers and a select group of soccer administrators for their vote. The builder candidate who receives the most votes, as long as the total represents at least 50% of the ballots cast, will be elected to the Hall of Fame. In 2008, University of North Carolina coach and former U.S. Women's National Team coach Anson Dorrance was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Thank You Greg Vanney

As you all already know, Greg Vanney retired from professional soccer after the season finale against FC Dallas last month. A Galaxy original, join us in looking back over his fantastic career and congratulating him for all that he accomplished in the game.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Mauricio Cienfuegos and Robin Fraser on the National Soccer Hall of Fame Ballot

The National Soccer Hall of Fame today unveiled the ballot for the 2009 Induction Class, with a pair of Galaxy greats headlining the nominees.

Mauricio Cienfuegos and Robin Fraser, who were each with the Galaxy in the early days of the club, are each up for nomination. Ranking third and seventh in club history in games played with 206 and 129 games respectively, Cienfuegos and Fraser were integral members of the spine of the early Galaxy squads.

Cien played eight years with the club (1996-2003) before retiring and remains a fan favorite, as illustrated by his inclusion on the Galaxy's Wall of Legends. He helped the club to the 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 2001 U.S. Open Cup and the 2002 MLS Cup.

Fraser played for the Galaxy from 1996-2000, helping the team reach a pair of MLS Cup Finals before being traded to the Colorado Rapids prior to the start of the 2001 season. He played for the Rapids until 2004 when he joined the Columbus Crew before retiring after the end of the 2005 season. He is now an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake.

To read more about the 2009 National Soccer Hall of Fame nominations, click here.

Voting opens on November 3 and runs until December 3, with the inductees being unveiled on January 15 at the NSCAA Convention in St. Louis and live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Election Day [with Rios Update]

It is a fairly quiet news day here in Carson so we thought that we would pass along a few small items.

First, with David's loan deal to Milan finalized, here is what he had to say about the club that he will be joining for a short time this winter and how it will help him and the Galaxy.



We also caught up with the coaches of the Galaxy Rios U-16 and U-18 teams ahead of their trip to Washington last weekend to talk about the steps that the teams have taken since the start of the year.

The U-16 coach is Steve Myles, who is also currently the Assistant Director of Coaching at The David Beckham Academy and a former coach at Sheffield United, as well as with the San Jose CyberRays of the WUSA. Here is what he had to say about his team.



The U-18 coach is Warren Barton (seen above at a recent game), a former England international who now lives in Southern California and works for Fox Soccer Channel. Barton, who spent most of his career in the Premier League with Wimbledon and Newcastle, was capped three times by England. Here is what he had to say about his team and the progress that they have made since the start of the season.



If you want to catch the Rios in action this weekend, they are playing on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (U-16) and 2:30 p.m. (U-18) against Chivas USA on University Field #1 at The Home Depot Center. This is the first installment of the SuperClasico in Development Academy play, so come on out and help cheer the Galaxy on to victory.

Lastly, we don't typically get political on this site, but make sure that you get out and vote today.