Donovan Officially Named, Cronin to Join Galaxy for First Day of Preseason Training

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley named the 22 players on Sunday afternoon that will travel to Houston to prepare for the upcoming showdown with Mexico at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Galaxy Forward Landon Donovan, as expected, was named to the roster, while goalkeeper Steve Cronin will join his club teammates on Monday for the first day of preseason training.

The U.S.-Mexico match will be part of a two-and-half-hour broadcast window on both ESPN2 and Univision beginning at 8 p.m. CT. Fans will also be able to listen to the match on 75 affiliates of the Fútbol de Primera Radio Network, and can follow live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. More than 53,000 tickets have been sold for the second-ever meeting between the teams at Reliant Stadium. On May 8, 2003, nearly 70,000 fans packed the house to witness a fiercely contested 0-0 draw. The U.S. is currently riding an 8-0-1 unbeaten run on home soil against Mexico.

Donovan is the leading capwinner on the squad, the 25-year-old having earned 97appearances. With his goal against Sweden last month, he claimed the top spot on the USA’s all-time scoring list with 35 career goals. Donovan has been a particular nemesis to El Tri, having scored four times in his career against Mexico, highlighted by the goal in 2-0 win in the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored in both meetings last year, notching the game-tying goal in the Gold Cup final.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION -
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pat Noonan (Aalesund FK)

Passing with Flying Colors

The Galaxy players completed their physicals and testing today, passing with flying colors. Here are a few shots of players getting checked out by our team of doctor's led by new Team Physcian Dr. Bert Mandelbaum. Defener Troy Roberts (Pictured above) has his knee examined by one of the Docs.

Forward Edson Buddle, who is excited about his first full season with the Galaxy after being acquired mid-season last year, chats with one of the new Docs.

Finally, Supplemental Draft Pick and goalkeeper Charles Alamo (Pictured above left) is the only goalkeeper in camp with Steve Cronin in the USA camp and MLS SuperDraft pick Matt Allen signing overseas. Rumor has it that Alamo may have quit his job in New Orleans the day after learning that he was chosen by the club. He then spent the next two days driving straight to LA. Looks like it may pay off by getting here on time. We hope to catch up with Alamo and find what really happened and maybe even show you his whole face.

Who's Back and Who's Not

With preseason training camp opening on Monday, here is the latest list of players on the 2008 preseason roster.
Goalkeepers- Steve Cronin, Charles Alamo
Defenders- Kelly Gray, Ty Harden, Ante Jazic, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts, Abel Xavier, Julian Valentin, Greg Folk, Sean Franklin, Michael Gavin,
Midfielders- David Beckham, Kyle Martino, Kevin Harmse, Chris Klein, Quavas Kirk, Josh Tudela, Peter Vagenas, Brandon McDonald, Matt Hatzke, Daniel DeGeer, Elly Allen
Forwards- Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Carlos Ruiz, Israel Sesay

Not to be forgotten, here are the players who have left the club since the end of last season.
Not Returning: Chris Albright (Trade - NE), Joe Cannon (Trade – SJ) Mike Caso (Waived), Lance Friesz (Waived), Gavin Glinton (Expansion – SJ), Clint Mathis (Greece), Carlos Pavon (Waived), Kyle Veris (Waived).

The club will also have several non-roster invitees at camp on Monday, we hope have more information on them later in the week.

Missing in Action

Missing from Monday's training will be Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, goalkeeper Steve Cronin and midfielder Kevin Harmse, who are with their respective national teams. Donovan and Cronin are currently with the U.S. National Team as they prepare to take on Mexico in Houston on February 6. Harmse is with the Canadian National Team for their match against Danish pro club Vejle Boldklub this Sunday morning in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Also absent on Monday will be defender Greg Folk as he works to complete his degree at UCLA this spring, and goalkeeper Matt Allen, who has signed overseas.

Players Report For Preseason

The LA Galaxy will hold their first training session of 2008 on Monday, February 4 at 10:30 a.m. on University Field #1 at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University - Dominguez Hills. This will be the first chance for the club to train in the U.S. under new head coach Ruud Gullit, who was hired in November. All Galaxy players are required to report for physicals and testing by Saturday at 10 a.m. ahead of Monday's first training session.

Preseason Plans Announced

The LA Galaxy have announced their 2008 preseason training plans, which will officially begin on Monday, February 4, leading up to the start of the 2008 MLS season. New Galaxy Head Coach Ruud Gullit has five matches scheduled in February and March, highlighted by the Pan-Pacific Championship and Asia Tour 2008 presented by Herbalife, as the club prepares for the 13th season of Major League Soccer.

LA Galaxy Preseason Match Schedule (All times Pacific)
Date Opponent Time (local)/Location
Wed., Feb. 20 Gamba Osaka (J-League) 6:00 p.m., Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Sat., Feb. 23 Third Place/Final 6:00 / 8:30 p.m., Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Sat., March 1 FC Seoul TBD, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, Korea
Wed, March 5 China All-Star Union 7:30 p.m., Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China
Sat., March 15 FC Dallas 7:30 p.m., Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas

Ruiz to Remain in LA in Preparation for Preseason Training

Recently acquired LA Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz will remain in Los Angeles to prepare for the club’s preseason training and to continue to rehabilitate his right knee which underwent successful arthroscopic surgery in November to clean up his lateral meniscus. Therefore Ruiz, who was acquired by the Galaxy on January 15, was not part of Guatemalan National Team head coach Hernán Darío Gómez’s 35-man roster which reported for training camp on Monday in Guatemala.

Ruiz initially began to feel discomfort in his right knee in September while with his former team, FC Dallas, following a U.S. Open Cup Semifinal win in Seattle. An MRI after that game revealed loose fragments in his knee, but no extensive damage. The 28-year old missed one game as a result of the injury but did not miss any more time for the rest of the regular season and postseason as a result of it.