Galaxy Looking to Get Its Act Together on Road
With its focus now narrowed to domestic challenges -- at least for the next month or so -- the Galaxy takes to the road again in quest of its first Major League Soccer victory of 2003.
Los Angeles travels to East Rutherford, N.J., today for a 4:30 p.m. game against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, a team also trying to find its identity after a disappointing season-opening loss.
The Galaxy, which has settled for 1-1 ties in its first two games against Columbus and Dallas, will see its schedule relax a bit after being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup as a result of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Necaxa of the Mexican league.
To minimize its fatigue, the Galaxy flew directly from Aguascalientes, Mexico, to New York after the loss.
“We have six more games on the road in the league and we have to focus to try to get points out of those games,” said Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, who was fined $500 by MLS on Friday for entering the referee’s area after the April 5 match at Columbus. “We’ll try to get our energy back.”
The Galaxy will need it against a young MetroStar team that could see the debut of Amado Guevara, the recently acquired Honduran international. Guevara practiced with the team for the first time Friday and will be available today.
The chances are good Guevara will make an appearance because he will miss the MetroStars’ next two games after today. He has been called to Honduras’ national team for CONCACAF Gold Cup playoff matches against Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique on April 25 and 27, as well as an international friendly against Colombia.
In its season opener, New York/New Jersey lost, 1-0, to Columbus on a 90th-minute goal by Jeff Cunningham to ruin Bob Bradley’s debut as coach. Bradley started three MLS Project-40 players -- Ricardo Clark, Jacob LeBlanc and Mike Magee -- showing he’s not afraid to go with youth.
Marked Martino
Crew forward Kyle Martino, last season’s MLS rookie of the year, is fast becoming a marked man.
In the Crew’s first two games, Martino has been fouled a league-high 10 times, including six by the MetroStars last week. Things probably won’t change today when Columbus plays at New England in the Revolution’s home opener. Martino doesn’t receive much sympathy from Crew Coach Greg Andrulis either.
“He’ll have to deal with it,” Andrulis told the Columbus Dispatch. “He doesn’t have enough of a reputation yet to be protected. He needs to be knocked around to get ready for a long season not only for us but with the national team.”
U.S. Coach Bruce Arena apparently has already told Andrulis that he expects to call on Martino for the FIFA Confederations Cup in France in June and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.
Gascoigne Leaves
Paul Gascoigne, the troubled English midfielder who has been trying to revive a once-promising career -- including a failed tryout with Washington D.C. United of MLS -- has checked himself into an Arizona clinic to be treated for depression, a friend said.
Jimmy Gardner told Sky Sports in London that Gascoigne’s problems have nothing to do with alcohol.
“It’s depression. He’s not happy,” Gardner said. “It’s not alcohol. It’s definitely not alcohol.”
Gascoigne, who has had sporadic drinking problems in the past, has been playing with the Chinese club Gansu Tianma, a B-league team.
Zico Seeks Individuality
In what surely is a departure from past philosophy, Zico, Japan’s national team coach, is calling on his players to be more selfish during games.
The Brazilian-born coach said he wants Japan to be less system-oriented as it builds toward this summer’s Confederations Cup.
“My belief is that players win you games, not the system,” Zico said. “I will always give priority to individuality.”
Quick Passes
Monica Gerardo, a Corona native who has played for the Mexican national team, will retire from the Washington Freedom of the WUSA after the team’s April 26 home game against the Atlanta Beat. She will join the University of Pittsburgh women’s team as an assistant coach.... Swedish defender Patrik Andersson, 31, who plays for FC Barcelona, told the daily Expressen that he will quit the sport after one more season when his contract expires. Andersson has 96 caps for Sweden but suffered a severe hip injury, from which he has struggled to return.... Roberto Acuna, a Paraguayan midfielder who plays for Deportivo Coruna in the Spanish league, will sit out the rest of the season because of a persistent groin injury. He will have surgery Tuesday and be sidelined two months.... A match between NAC Breda and FC Groningen in the Dutch league has been postponed after 10 of NAC’s players came down with stomach flu, the team said.
Times wires services contributed to this report.
