Galaxy Tackles Extreme Makeover
When the Galaxy opened training camp a few weeks ago, puzzled onlookers had one question: Who are these guys?
“When you find out, let me know,” said midfielder Peter Vagenas, one of the few holdovers from last year’s squad.
Now, with the start of Major League Soccer’s 10th season less than two weeks away, it is evident that instead of one new team at the Home Depot Center, there will be two.
Chivas USA might be in the spotlight, but the new-look Galaxy has quietly built a roster that is potentially stronger and might appeal to fans more than the heavily Mexican- and Mexican American-oriented Chivas USA.
Come April 2, the Galaxy could field an opening day lineup with two Brazilians, two Costa Rican internationals, two Guatemalan internationals, one Jamaican international and only four Americans.
The question is: Have the off-season trades and acquisitions by Doug Hamilton, the Galaxy’s president and general manager, and Coach Steve Sampson been driven by a need to counter Chivas USA’s heavily Latino lineup?
“I think it has everything to do with our community here,” Sampson said. “Doug told me from the very beginning that our team has to reflect the fans that come to our stadium, and we have a great mix. Our team, I think, reflects that now.”
The new players from Central and South America -- all five of whom are almost certain to be in Sampson’s starting lineup -- could move such previously unquestioned starters as Cobi Jones, Danny Califf, Chris Albright and Vagenas to the bench.
Some of last year’s promising newcomers, including Joseph Ngwenya and Ned Grabavoy, could also find themselves fighting for playing time.
And the way Sampson is talking, even goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, the starter for the last seven seasons, might be pushed hard by newcomer Steve Cronin, who was acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes along with probable starting left back Todd Dunivant in the January trade that sent Alejandro Moreno and Chris Aloisi north.
Sampson, however, is counting on the five new players from Brazil, Costa Rica and Guatemala to revitalize Los Angeles.
Two already have been signed and three are close to signing.
The first to cast his lot with the Galaxy, on Feb. 18, was defender Michael Umana, 22. A starter on Costa Rica’s team that reached the quarterfinals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Umana, easily identifiable by his flattop haircut, was acquired on loan from Herediano of the Costa Rican league.
“He’s a central defender who can also play as a holding midfielder,” Sampson said. “In Costa Rica, he’s played every position in the back line. He’s a very versatile player for us.”
On the Galaxy’s recent three-game trip to Spain, and in training since then, Umana has been playing at right back, meaning that he is challenging not only Califf’s position but Albright’s too.
Next to join the Galaxy was midfielder Guillermo “El Pando” Ramirez, 26, the captain of Guatemala’s national team. He was acquired Feb. 23 on loan from Municipal of the Guatemalan league, the same club that produced Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz.
Ramirez, who also played briefly in Greece and Mexico, is an expert on free kicks and is expected to fill the playmaking role filled last year by Andreas Herzog and before that by Mauricio Cienfuegos.
“He plays as a left-sided midfielder who is very comfortable coming forward,” Sampson said. “What I like about him is his attacking tendency out of the midfield....
“I just like his attitude on the field. I’ve been watching him for two years now with the Guatemalan national team. He brings some personality to the game, which I think the L.A. community is going to like.”
Part of that personality is reflected in Ramirez’s nickname, “El Pando,” which means the bandy-legged one.
A second Costa Rican national team defender, Pablo Chinchilla, 26, joined the Galaxy last Monday on loan from Alajuelense of the Costa Rican league.
“He’s a pure left-sided defender who can strike balls from one side of the field to the other, like [former Galaxy] Greg Vanney used to do,” Sampson said.
While in Spain, the Galaxy discovered a potential partner for Ruiz, giving a tryout to veteran Brazilian forward Mendes Conceicao Naldo, 29, whose experience includes stints with clubs in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Switzerland.
Sampson called him “a very pleasant surprise” and invited him to Los Angeles.
“We needed [another] striker, because of so many national team commitments” by other players, said Sampson, offering this shorthand description of Naldo: “Speedy, quick feet, looks to go to goal, has a great soccer sense. His movement off the ball is outstanding. He can play in the middle of the park, he can play wide right. He’s got such great sense and precision with the ball, on crosses and with his finishing.”
Naldo and Ruiz should complement each other well in a 4-4-2 system.
“We’ve been looking for that,” Sampson said. “He was with us for only five days, but you could see the quality in him.”
Fellow Brazilian Paulo Roberto Nagamura, also known as Paulinho, will join Naldo in the Galaxy ranks.
Nagamura, of Brazilian and Japanese descent, is only 22 but has quite a pedigree. He spent five years with the reserve teams of Sao Paulo in Brazil and Arsenal in England and will take the place of another Brazilian, defensive midfielder Marcelo Saragosa, who is not returning.
“He was in some very, very good football schools -- Sao Paulo and Arsenal for five years,” Sampson said of Nagamura. “He couldn’t crack the Arsenal lineup, few players can.”
Cracking the Galaxy lineup should be easier.
*
MLS Openers
Both of Los Angeles’ MLS teams begin the season on April 2:
* Galaxy: at Columbus, 4:30 p.m. PST, FSNW.
* Chivas: vs. D.C. United, Home Depot Center, noon, Channel 7.
