Prior to heading out to our final training session before playing New England, Boston media came out to talk to Bruce, Landon and David about tomorrow's match with the Revolution at Gillette Stadium (3 p.m., FSC).
Bruce Arena answers questions about the revamped Galaxy roster...
Bruce...
Landon...
David...
The guys held their last training session at the Home Depot Center ahead of Saturday's game against in New England on Wednesday. Following Tuesday's workout, the guys worked more on strategy this time around, focusing on 11v11 drills.
One of the positives from Thursday's workout was the sight of Dema Kovalenko going all out on the field. Dema, who payed 24 minutes on Saturday against Barcelona, continued to work his way back to match fitness with another full day's of work. We caught up with Dema afterward and here's what he had to say about his return...
Another player who continues to work his way back from injury is defender Sean Franklin. Sean, who's been out since May following surgery to repair a torn hamstring tendon, was out of the field working by himself. Sean has been out on the field before, but this was one of the first times we've seen him work out while out there.
After the session, we caught up with Mike Magee about Saturday's game. Also, David Beckham spoke with the media about facing the Revs, this year's squad in comparison to last years' and Seattle Sounders midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.
Here's what Mike and David had to say...
Mike...
David...
UPDATE: For those that preffer moving pictures, or talkies, here is video of the guys getting ready for New England.
If you missed Part 1 of our look back at last week, click here.
If you didn't, you know that we're up to game day and after all the hype in the day's leading up to the game, it was a welcome sight to see crowd's like these waiting for the stadium gates to open at 6 p.m.
And, with most having heeded all the warnings about traffic and the push for everyone to arrive early, the fans kept coming, filling up every corner of the stadium.
Including more than a few Argentines as pictured above, who came out to see one of their nation's heroes, Lionel Messi.
Speaking of Messi, he played a major role in helping his club win this...
this...
and this...
last season.
For those of you not sitting on the bench side of the field, these three beauties, the Champions League, Copa del Rey and La Liga trophies, were on display between the two benches all night long.
Quick trivia...which Galaxy players have lifted one of those pieces of silverware?
As for the game, Pedrito gave the visitors an early lead, slamming a shot through a sea of Galaxy defenders in the 11th minute before the Galaxy equalized just before halftime with this...in case you had forgotten.
The game remained 1-1 until Sergio Busquets played Jeffren Suarez in behind the LA defense and he slid a shot underneath Josh Saunders to give Barca a 2-1 win.
But words just don't do a game of that magnitude justice, so watch all the highlights here. Or, if that's not enough for you, click here to watch the whole game once again.
Well after the game had ended, the players had addressed the media, the media filed their stories and the crowds had long since gone home, the blog staff finally exited "the grand-daddy of them all" in the wee hours of Sunday morning, already thinking about a night, and a week, that we'll never forget.
Let's just hope that someone remembered to turn out the lights.
The players were back on the field this afternoon for the first time since the Barcelona game with fitness being the main point of the day as illustrated by the team's extensive runs that they went through at the end of the session.
But while Bruce and Co. were preparing the team for Saturday's battle with New England at Gillette Stadium, there were a number of interesting events going on off the field here at the HDC.
Right after training, the players were visited by Caroline Wozniacki, the No. 8 ranked player on the SonyEricsson WTA Tour. The Tour is in town for the LA Women's Tennis Championships and the 19-year old native of Denmark was sure to stop by training to take in some of the action, while also getting the chance to meet Landon, David and the rest of the guys. We'll hopefully have video of this for you tomorrow.
Also in attendance was one of the funniest writers around, Peter Mehlman. Formerly of the Washington Post, Mehlman worked with Howard Cosell before moving to television as a writer for Seinfeld and penning many of the hit show's most famous episodes.
After doing some work during the NBA Playoffs in 2008 (as seen in this clip, complete with David cameo), Mehlman is working on a new project, one that we'll have more information about in the coming weeks, that had him discussing the world of soccer with Landon. We can't give away any of the details, but suffice to say we're positive that you guys are going to be laughing.
Finally, everyone here was very happy to hear the news from North Korea that American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were pardoned and are now heading back to the United States. Bruce, Landon, David and the entire Galaxy family joined the cause to bring the two journalists back from North Korea by meeting with Laura's family prior to the friendly against Barcelona.
To read more about this breaking story, click here or visit the official website that was set up for Laura and Euna.
Now that we've all had a bit of time to unwind, let's look back at what was a truly unforgettable week that featured Landon and the MLS All-Stars taking on Everton, the European and La Liga champions Barcelona arriving in Los Angeles and beginning their quest to win those titles again. And it all culminated in Saturday night's game that saw the two sides go toe-to-toe for 90 minutes in front of more than 93,000 fans.
So join us as we look back at the week that was...
The entire team was given Monday and Tuesday off following the 1-1 draw at Kansas City, meaning that Wednesday was the first day back to work for the players.
While most of the squad was out on the training field being put through the paces, Landon was in Salt Lake City, where he had flown earlier in the day, for the All-Star Game.
He came on for Seattle's Fredy Montero at halftime, much to the delight of the Galaxy fans who had gathered at a block party in Pasadena to watch the game, and twice nearly gave his side a 2-1 lead, only to see Tim Howard deny him in the 67th minute and the post deny him eight minutes later.
The match would go to penalties, where Landon, who became the first athlete in a major U.S. sport to appear in nine All-Star Games before his 28th birthday, was able to convert his, but it was not enough as Tim Howard stopped Freddie Ljungberg's final attempt, to give the visitors the win, 4-3 on penalties.
On Thursday, Barcelona held two training sessions at UCLA in their first full day in the Southland. In between the two session, head coach Pep Guardiola and defenders Dani Alves and Carles Puyol met the media for a press conference at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.
Down in Carson, the Galaxy were back in training, but neither David or Landon were on the field as Landon was flying back from Utah and David was in getting some treatment on a sore back. While some were worried that his back would limit his involvement against Barcelona, David remained optimistic about his availability and both he and Bruce talked about how much they were looking forward to the game.
Once Friday came around, it became clearly to all of us that something special was upon us as the tickets continued to pour out of the box office, with more than 80,000 having already been sold more than 48 hours before kickoff.
Despite the big numbers, the media push continued as Landon, who was named the MLS Player of the Month for July, visited with Kevin and Bean at KROQ before training...
and later in the day, David stopped in at the new ESPN Studios at LA Live for the taping of that night's SportsCenter.
While David was speaking with Stan Verrett, Barcelona was wowing the Galaxy season ticket holders with a training session at the Rose Bowl. Messi, Marquez, Henry, Xavi and the rest went through the paces as they prepared for the first game of their three-game U.S. tour.
Or if all of that was too much for you, look back at both team's preparation for the game with This Week Inside the Galaxy.
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the team’s performance
I thought, in the second half, we played better, yet I give them credit for a very good second goal. Overall, it is a good night for a team that had the opportunity to step on the field with one of the greatest club teams in the world, and understand a little bit more about the things that we talk about that sometimes you can’t quite comprehend but when you get caught in the middle of it, finally, you see that speed of play with some of those players of quality, it’s a great learn, so I thought a number of our guys did well tonight, and David Beckham’s goal was fantastic. They are a great team, without intent to make much out of this game besides the fact it’s a fabulous exhibition for the people that came out tonight, I think a great experience for our team, and certainly we wish Barcelona the very best, the best fabulous team, and I am sure they gonna be right in the thick of things in La Liga as well as in Champions League this year.
On his overall thoughts on the game:
“Overall it was a good night. Fro our team to have the opportunity to step onto the field with one of the great club teams in the world, and understand a little bit more about the things we talk about, but when you get caught in the middle of it, finally, you see that speed of play with some of those players of quality it’s a great learning experience.”
On the positives from the game:
“I thought a number of our guys did well tonight. David Beckham’s goal was fantastic. Landon came into the game 20-25 minutes in (and became) dangerous, and certainly had a couple of good opportunities. But we don’t intend to make much out of this game, besides that is a fabulous exhibition for the people that came out tonight. I think it was a great experience for our team and we certainly wish Barcelona the very best, they have a fabulous team and I’m sure they are going to be right in the thick of things in La Liga as well as Champions League this year.”
On A.J. DELAGARZA’s second half performance
A.J. DeLaGarza might have been our best player of the night. I was very impressed with the confidence he came out. He obviously played against some outstanding players, and obviously Henry was a handful for him in the second half, but for a young kid, in his first year of professional soccer, and play with the kind of confidence he had I thought it was fantastic. I was really pleased that our two young defenders, Gonzalez and DeLaGarza really took advantage of the opportunity, and it was a good experience for them.
LA GALAXY DEFENDER TODD DUNIVANT
On the game
We defended pretty well, [Barcelona] did not have ton of chances, but obviously they had the ball most of the time, and they are an incredible skillful team, good passing team, and keep the ball really well. We are lucky to get a result that is not that bad, so it was a good game for us.
On the result
When you play Barcelona like that, play against those types of players, this type of team, the best team of the World, we gained a lot out of it. Score aside, it was a great game and a very high level for us to play on, and if we carry that on the league play, that is only going to be a benefit for us.
On David Beckham’s freekick
[David] is a world class at [freekicks], I don’t think there is anyone better in the world at it than him. If he keeps hitting freekicks like that, we are going to be a tough team to beat.
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER STEFANI MIGLIORANZI
On playing against players like Thierry Henry
What a player huh? He is tremendous, sometimes in the game I was paying more attention on the way he played than on doing my job.
On the attendance record
It was amazing. It is very important for the American soccer, and it’s nice to know that Galaxy is part of this process. It was definitely a great event.
LA GALAXY DEFENDER GREGG BERHALTER
On playing against FC Barcelona
Obviously, it’s a class team, it is the best team of the world, and any time you get to compete against a team like that, it is special, and I think tonight with the fans alone, with the opponents, it was a great game, a fun game to play.
On the team’s performance in the last games
We’ve been talking about how it is a process; I don’t want to say that we are there yet because we are not. We still have ways to go, and keep making strides, but we have a good group of guys, and the guys seem to stick together, we seem to be able to play for each other, and know how each other moves, so it’s going well.
LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan
On the team’s performance tonight:
“It was a good experience a lot of the guys didn’t realize how good a team like that is. How fast they move the ball how they are always in the correct positions a lot of guys learned a lot from this game.”
On DeLaGarza defending against Thierry Henry:
“Yeah it is good learning experience. Not the easiest match up but he did a good job. In a couple of weeks now he has played against Ronaldinho and Henry and he has done pretty well.”
On the scheduling of the game:
“It comes at a good time it is on a weekend that we don’t have a game and it is not midweek game. We are clearly going to be a fitter team from running a lot tonight. Hopefully we learned a lot from it.”
Toughest part of tonight game:
“The toughest part was chasing them around the field for ninety minutes. They are very good, they move the ball a lot and we end up doing a lot of running so that is hard.”
On Thierry Henry:
“He is big, fast, he is athletic, he is good on the ball technically he is good and he is good in front of the goal and as a forward that is ideal.”
LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez
On his performance tonight:
“I was a little nervous in the first half and I came out big in the second half and I really showed myself. I am really happy with my performance and this is just an amazing experience.”
On the play of A.J. DeLaGarza:
“A.J. did a fantastic job. I don’t think he could have done any better, but I wish I could have been over there to help him more but I was busy with (Eidur) Gudjohnsen”
LA Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza
On his thoughts of tonight’s game:
“It is a great opportunity for myself playing against some of the best players in the world, A couple of weeks ago against Milan I didn’t play that well, but I came out here today with confidence and went in to win some tackles, won some tackles and I think I did well enough to stay in there. I think I did well.
On the play of Omar Gonzalez:
“I thought he did well, obviously he was dominant in the air and he was good not letting people get passed him or around him. It is good for his confidence as well going into the second half of the season.”
On tonight’s atmosphere:
“When we first got hear there were already 20,000 people in the stands screaming I mean when there are 93,000 that is crazy you can’t hear yourself talk or screaming to the player that is ten yards ahead of you. It was a great atmosphere and a great game.”
Barcelona Head Coach Jose “Pep” Guardiola
On the game:
“This was a great test for us and I had a great impression of the opponent. It was a good game, I was very satisfied to see the players on the field given that we are coming off a vacation.”
On the play of the Galaxy:
“They are strong players, physically strong, so for us it was difficult on one-on-one (situations). Beckham’s foot is always impressive, and Donovan is so fast that he created some problems in the second half, but I am impressed and I’m glad to see that soccer in the States is getting better. I hope it keeps going like this.”
FC Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol:
On his thoughts of the Galaxy:
“It is a good team that is well organized and has a lot of quality players. We suffered to get the victory.”
On Barcelona’s pre-season:
“The team has played two pre-season games and little by little we are building momentum. I think the team is playing well but it is still early.”
More than 93,000 fans were at the Rose Bowl tonight to see the Galaxy go toe-to-toe with the reigning European Champions, Barcelona. In the end, the Galaxy fell 2-1 but it would be safe to say that everybody went home happy.
LA Galaxy 1, FC Barcelona 2
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rose Bowl – Pasadena Calif.
Scoring Summary:
FCB – Pedro Rodriguez (Unassisted) 11'
LA – David Beckham (Unassisted) 45’
FCB – Jeffren Suarez (Sergio Busquets) 67’
Misconduct Summary:
FCB – Toure Yaya (Yellow Card) 43’
LA – Alan Gordon (Yellow Card) 55’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Tony Sanneh (Gregg Berhalter 46’), Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant (Leonard Griffin 84’), Stefani Miglioranzi (Dema Kovalenko 66’), Chris Birchall (Chris Klein 46’), Eddie Lewis (Bryan Jordan 77’), Landon Donovan©, David Beckham (Mike Magee 88’), Jovan Kirovski (Alan Gordon 46’/Kyle Patterson 88’).
Subs Not Used: Kevin Guppy, Yohance Marshall, Tristan Bowen.
FC Barcelona: Jose Manuel Pinto (Victor Valdes 46’), Marc Muniesa (Carles Puyol 46’), Rafa Marquez (Adriano Henrique 30’/Gerard Pique 60’), Maxwell Andrade (Andreu Fontas 46’), Daniel Alves (Eric Abidal 46’), Seydou Keita (Victor Sanchez 46’), Toure Yaya (Xavi Hernandez 46’), Jonathan Dos Santos (Sergio Busquets 46’), Lionel Messi© (Jeffran Suarez 46’), Krkic Bojan (Eidur Gudjohnsen 46’), Pedro Rodriguez (Thierry Henry 46’).
Subs Not Used: None.
