They Form a Whole New Galaxy
If and when Cobi Jones steps onto the field for the Galaxy in the team’s season opener Saturday at Columbus, Ohio, he will set a Major League Soccer record that can never be equaled.
Seventeen players remain in MLS who have been with the league since its inception in 1996, but Jones will become the only player to have played for the same club in each of the league’s first 10 seasons.
Chances are, however, that Jones’ accomplishment will be overshadowed by another player with Los Angeles roots. That’s because Landon Donovan might well make his Galaxy debut Saturday.
When he signs, Donovan will become only the latest, albeit the most prominent, newcomer. The Galaxy has rebuilt so extensively that it is hardly recognizable.
Only 12 players remain from last season and four of those were rookies then.
It’s too early to tell whether these changes have made the Galaxy a better team but it is certainly a different team.
Doug Hamilton, the club’s president and general manager, has been as much responsible for the makeover as Coach Steve Sampson, and the other day at the Home Depot Center, Hamilton took time to evaluate what he and Sampson have wrought.
“One of the things we wanted to do was make sure we built a team that was very athletic, that had experience at the highest level of the game and [featured] guys we thought would fit well into this league,” he said.
“As a league, we’ve seen players before who were very accomplished and had played at a very high level who didn’t succeed here.
“The reality is that it’s a physical league, so we wanted to bring in guys who would be able to withstand that and excel. We wanted them to be good players first and foremost, and the speed of play was as important as physical speed.
“We wanted them to also fit into a philosophy of the game that I think Steve and I share, in terms of being willing to take some risks, being athletic enough to take some risks, and to take advantage of the very big field we have at the Home Depot Center so that there’s a true home-field advantage.”
Although it seems the Galaxy has added nothing but Central American and South American players, more than half the newcomers are from the U.S.
Hamilton said he and Sampson had sought “the best players available” rather than focusing on any particular ethnic background.
“Obviously, to truly represent this community you would hope to have a Mexican player of note,” he said.
“But that’s very difficult to do with the economics of this league.
“The accomplished Mexican players that you would want to bring into your team have the ability to make more money in Mexico than they could probably make in Europe [let alone MLS] -- because of the attendance they would draw, the corporate sponsorships, and the TV money that’s available in Mexico that eventually finds its way down to the players.”
Meanwhile, it won’t be the loss of Carlos Ruiz or the arrival of Donovan that determines the Galaxy’s 2005 fortunes.
“Our success isn’t going to be based on the quality of the players that we’ve brought in,” Hamilton said. “Our success in large part is going to be up to the veteran Galaxy players who have stayed with us.
“It’s really up to Cobi and Jovan Kirovski and Chris Albright and Kevin Hartman and Pete Vagenas on how they educate this new group of guys into the rigors of MLS.
“I really think the onus falls on our veteran players, both on and off the field.”
The team’s increased depth could be a blessing and a curse.
“We will have good players on the bench,” Hamilton admitted. “Some of those players will have MLS experience and some of them will not.... We think there are enough minutes [in the season] to go around.
“We feel we’re deep at every spot. How we balance who gets minutes and when they get minutes, that’s going to be the challenge.”
Having built the team he wants, the question is, how much rope will Sampson be given, especially considering the Galaxy’s impatience with coaches -- four in nine years?
“I don’t even look at it in terms of rope,” Hamilton said. “I’m very happy with the group that we’ve put together. I’m very happy ... that the players have bought into what Steve has been preaching.”
What has been preached now has to be put into practice.
“There’s a vast difference between what happens Monday through Friday compared to Saturday night, when the lights are on,” Hamilton said. “We’re all eager for a Saturday night at this point.”
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
GALAXY MAKEOVER
Charting the Galaxy’s new look for 2005:
GONE
* Goalkeeper Dan Popik (released)
* Defender Hong Myung Bo (retired)
* Defender Chris Aloisi (traded to San Jose Earthquakes)
* Defender Ryan Suarez (traded to Chivas USA)
* Defender Danny Califf (traded to San Jose Earthquakes)
* Defender Ricky Lewis (traded to Colorado Rapids, 2004)
* Defender Scot Thompson (released)
* Midfielder Andreas Herzog (retired)
* Midfielder Antonio Martinez (traded to Chivas USA)
* Midfielder/defender Jesus Ochoa (traded to Chivas USA)
* Midfielder Sasha Victorine (traded to Kansas City Wizards)
* Forward Arturo Torres (lost to Chivas USA in expansion draft)
* Forward Carlos Ruiz (traded to FC Dallas)
STILL HERE
* Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman
* Defender Tyrone Marshall
* Defender Chris Albright
* Defender Paul Broome
* Midfielder Cobi Jones
* Midfielder Jovan Kirovski
* Midfielder Peter Vagenas
* Midfielder Ned Grabavoy
* Midfielder Josh Gardner
* Midfielder Guillermo Gonzalez
* Forward Joseph Ngwenya
* Forward Alan Gordon
NEWLY ARRIVED
* Goalkeeper Steve Cronin (acquired in trade with San Jose)
* Defender Todd Dunivant (acquired in trade with San Jose)
* Defender Michael Umana (junior international signing from Costa Rica)
* Defender Troy Roberts (draft pick)
* Defender Ugochukwu Ihemelu (draft pick)
* Defender Pablo Chinchilla (senior international signing from Costa Rica)
* Defender Ben Benditson (signed to developmental roster)
* Midfielder Guillermo Ramirez (senior international signing from Guatemala)
* Midfielder Michael Enfield (draft pick)
* Midfielder Paulo Nagamura (junior international signing from Brazil)
* Midfielder Mubarike Chisoni (draft pick)
* Midfielder Herculez Gomez (signed to developmental roster)
* Forward Quavas Kirk (draft pick)
* Forward Ednaldo da Conceicao (senior international signing from Brazil)
ABOUT TO ARRIVE
* Midfielder Landon Donovan (MLS allocation expected upon release from German club Bayer Leverkusen)
