Galaxy gears up for season before Beckham
So much attention has been paid to David Beckham since his acquisition by the Galaxy that the rest of the players are beginning to believe there will be two Major League Soccer seasons this year -- the one played before the Englishman’s arrival and the one after he gets here in July.
“It feels that way,” Landon Donovan said. “Ideally, you’d like to say it’s all the same, but it does feel that way. Things are going to change visually. It’s going to be different.”
The Galaxy’s planned switch of logo, uniforms and colors in time for Beckham’s expected July 21 debut only reinforces the feeling of a split season.
“Our goal is to say, ‘He’s coming later, worry about that when it comes,’ ” Donovan said. “We’re excited for it, but we have to get off to a good start.”
Last year, the Galaxy started out 2-10-3, never fully recovered and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in league history, ending up 11-15-6. Even a switch in coaches -- from Steve Sampson to Frank Yallop -- could not turn the 2006 season completely around.
It won’t be that way this year, predicted defender Chris Albright, if only because the Galaxy wants to make Cobi Jones’ final season a championship-winning one.
“We want to be in a place where [Beckham] can come and help us, not in a place where he’s going to have to save us,” Albright said. “That’s kind of how we look at it.”
It starts today in Texas, where the Galaxy opens its 30-game regular season against the defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo.
“Frank has us really prepared,” Albright said, “and I think we’re going to be deeper than in years before. That’s going to help us out with all the games we have this year.”
And there are plenty of them. Besides MLS regular-season and potential playoff matches, the Galaxy will be competing in the U.S. Open Cup and the new SuperLiga tournament, and will also go on a postseason tour of Asia and Australia.
Throw in friendly matches already scheduled against Glasgow Rangers, Tigres of Mexico and Chelsea, and another one planned against China’s national team, and the Galaxy could play more than 50 games between now and mid-December.
National team players such as Donovan and Albright will play even more because they will be called up for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa America, both starting in June.
“It doesn’t worry me as long as coaches are smart about it, and they are,” Donovan said.
Galaxy fans will see some significant changes in the lineup this season. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, a fixture since 1998, was traded to Kansas City, and Joe Cannon is now the starter.
Defender Ugo Ihemelu and forward Herculez Gomez were traded to the Colorado Rapids for Cannon. To replace Ihemelu in the back line, the Galaxy acquired Jamaican international Shavar Thomas, although Yallop can also use Troy Roberts, Kyle Veris or even rookie Ty Harden alongside veteran Tyrone Marshall in central defense.
Brazilian midfielder Paulo Nagamura was sent to Toronto FC, leaving room for Beckham to slide in alongside Peter Vagenas. Up front, the significant signing was 25-year-old forward Nate Jaqua, obtained from the Chicago Fire.
“He’s gotten better and better each year,” Yallop said of the 6-foot-3 striker. “Last year, I felt he was one of the top three players for Chicago.
“He’s not so much about blazing pace, but he has the ability to be a force in the box. He can play a number of positions too. He’s got good, clean feet. He’s a good all-around player.”
Yallop says he expects Donovan and, later, Beckham, to provide pinpoint crosses for the lanky Jaqua to head or fire into the net.
“Nate is a versatile player,” Yallop said. “He fits in nicely with what we’re trying to do.”
Yallop, who led the San Jose Earthquakes to MLS titles in 2001 and 2003, and coached Canada’s national team before joining the Galaxy, said he would not differentiate between starters and reserves.
“For me, everybody can start and everybody can sit on the bench,” he said. “I don’t care who they are, where they’re from or what they do. I will make sure that every player will compete for a spot, and that when they get a spot, they’ve earned it.”
Whether that goes for a certain late-arriving Englishman remains to be seen.
*
TONIGHT
at Houston, 4 PDT, FSNW, Telefutura
Site -- Robertson Stadium.
Radio -- 1700, 830 (Spanish).
Records -- Season opener.
Record vs Dynamo -- (2006) 1-2-1.
Update -- The Galaxy is four players under the roster limit of 28, leaving room for Beckham’s arrival and the possibility of adding other players as the need arises. Forward Alan Gordon is out for three months after surgery for a left-foot stress fracture. Midfielder Peter Vagenas is sidelined by a sprained neck, and forward Gavin Glinton is out because of a left groin strain.
