Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Preseason Result: Gamba Osaka 1 Galaxy 0
The Galaxy crashed out of the semifinals of the Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii Wednesday losing 1-0 to Japanese team Gamba Osaka.
Only 15,128 were reportedly at the 50,000 Aloha Stadium.
The Galaxy plays a rematch Saturday against last year's opponents Sydney FC, which lost 3-0 in the nightcap to the Houston Dynamo.
There were only three players in the starting line-up for the Galaxy who played in the final home game against the New York Red Bulls last year - Chris Klein, Troy Roberts and Josh Tudela.
Roberts - or was that Michael Gavin? - was caught out on the early fourth minute goal that sealed the victory.
The result could have been worse - the new-look Galaxy line-up looked unsure and hesitant, especially the defenders and the team was comprehensively out-shot (14-2 in the 70th minute).
No sign of defender Abel Xavier, while Carlos Ruiz and Landon Donovan, as expected, didn't play.
David Beckham's contribution was negligible, too, although he did go the full 90 minutes (and looked winded).
Still, Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit, quoted on the MLS Web site, sounded satisfied: "I think we played an excellent game," he said. "It took us a bit of time to adjust but after 20 minutes we started to play well. We made some mistakes but it is valuable to spend this kind of time with the players."
Comments
Gullit says the Galaxy played an "excellent game" against Gamba Osaka in the Pan-Pacific Tournament.
In other news...
1. Pope Benedict XVI converts to Zoroastrianism.
2. New, unauthorized bio of John McCain published. Title: "I Was A Teenage Communist"
3. Scientists disprove Copernicus; Sun does revolve around Earth.
4. Brittney Spears, Alexi Lalas become newest MENSA members....
Posted by: Joseph D'Hippolito | February 21, 2008 6:07 PM