January 2012 Archives

Disher Donovan: The Galaxy's Landon Donovan, seen here tackling Manchester City's Aleksandar Kolarov, led Everton to another victory with yet another assist today against the Mancunians in England (AP Photo).

You remember that old "Seinfeld" episode about the proctologist with the license plate that read "Assman"? Maybe Landon Donovan should consider getting that vanity plate after his stellar goal-creating performances in England with Everton, although, of course, that would stand for Assist, in this case.

Former Manchester United man Darron Gibson, who left Old Trafford in January, scored the game's lone goal in the 60th minute off a short pass from the Galaxy playmaker. The MLS loanee has assisted on Everton's last three goals and four in seven games. Don't get too attached though Liverpudlians, the Galaxy want him back.

*Another Galaxy player making headlines in Europe is Edson Buddle, given his unconditional release by his second tier German club today in a money-saving move. The Galaxy still hold his MLS rights and if you follow my Twitter feed @LAsoccerblog you would have learned that former Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas tweeted earlier this afternooon: "I'm hearing Edson Buddle is coming back to @LAGalaxy."

Well, the Galaxy could do with offensive cover what with Robbie Keane heading off for what he hopes is a long time at Euro 2012 next summer and David Beckham presumably playing in the Olympics. Buddle, incidentally, has failed to hook on with a couple of European clubs who took a look, including West Ham United.

No word from the Galaxy yet on Buddle.

BTW, A.J. DeLaGarza, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens have returned to camp from national team duty meaning only Donovan and Robbie Keane are missing. The club has 34 players in camp.

*Former Galaxy defender and now Chivas USA assistant coach Greg Vanney and Los Angeles/Fontana native Ante Razov, who starred for Chivas USA before slouching moodily off into what turned out to be an unannounced retirement, are among a dozen former players eligible for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, it was announced today. Among the veterans on the ballot: late former LA Aztecs ball wizard George Best.

*The Galaxy announced their English-language and Spanish-language radio schedules today, which can be found here.

From the Galaxy press release:

KTLK 1150 AM, the sister station of Fox Sports Radio, AM 570 KLAC, will return for their fifth consecutive season of broadcasting Galaxy games in English. Joe Tutino and Ralph Perez will once again call the games for KTLK, who will broadcast 24 of the club's 34 regular season games. In addition to being able to hear all games on KTLK across the Southland, the Galaxy will also make those games available to stream online at lagalaxy.com. Through their website, the club will also stream the 10 games that KTLK are not slated to cover this season, meaning that fans can listen to every Galaxy MLS game all season long in English either on the radio or online.

*Chivas USA announced today that they will will unveil their 2012 jersey on Feb. 12 - at 30,000 feet while flying between Guadalajara and LA on a flight by Mexican airline Volaris.

*San Jose announced Monday that former defender Chris Leitch, who retired rather than join the Galaxy, which took him in the Re-Entry Draft, has been named technical director of the Earthquakes' youth development academy.

Club Tijuana fans cheer on Sunday during a 3-1 home loss to Santos Laguna, but they're mainly just happy to have a team in the highest echelon of Mexican futbol (Photo courtesy Club Tijuana).

There is no doubt that Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente has aspirations of drawing Americans soccer fans over the border and giving MLS a run for its money in this part of the world.

The effort is in its nascent stages in terms of marketing and reaching out to fans.

I'm told, for instance, that there are chartered buses Southern California residents can take to games; I've discovered finding out the details of these trips is a little more challenging (so if anyone knows let me know).

Seeing a game in Tijuana is a completely different cultural experience from one at Home Depot Center - not necessarily better, IMHO, despite the comments of fans in the column. But it's more than simply seeing a sporting event and something MLS could learn from.

It helps too that the city is seeing something of a renaissance culturally including an influx of gourmet restaurants and well-known chefs, a friend who grew up in the city and accompanied me on the trip observed. Crime is way down as well, with the drug violence plaguing some parts of Mexico having moved elsewhere in comparison to a few years ago.

During prohibition the city was the place for Americans to party, especially at the horse racing track the soccer stadium is now built on in part. Now, 80 or so years later, American soccer fans have another excuse to visit, party and watch some of the best players in the world up close (long-time Mexican international goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez was between the posts for Santos for Sunday's game, for example).

All in all it's an experience I recommend and one I plan to repeat.

Read more here in today's column.

Sometimes it seems Galaxy midfielder David Beckham spends more time on a soccer field showing off his abs than his set pieces as he wanders the field shirtless at the end of games.

So this soft porn excerpt ad is nothing new to most soccer fans and will likely be one of the few Super Bowl references you'll find here this week ahead of Sunday's game between two teams that are not the Packers.

Here's a little background on the ad from today's press release:

Beckham's Bodywear line introduces nine underwear styles for men, focusing on quality, fit, function, comfort and design, and continues H & M's successful run of acclaimed guest designer collaborations - most notably Stella McCartney, Madonna, and Roberto Cavalli among many others.

Beckham and his design team spent 18 months developing the collection. The TV ad, filmed in Hollywood earlier this year, is slated to air during the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.

And here's the video, which includes the ad and the immortal line "I love underwear," which proves, I guess, that if he receives enough money Beckham will say he loves virtually anything:

And if you're one of those who pays more attention to Super Bowl ads than the actual game, now you have an extra 30 seconds Sunday to pull yourself away from the TV and score some more bean dip.

Got a little Morgan in ya? Alex Morgan celebrates her late goal that clinched a U.S. spot in London's Olympics Friday in Canada (AP Photo).

Diamond Bar's fast-rising soccer star Alex Morgan further solidified her undoubted national team credentials by notching the third and final decisive goal:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The final goal in the game that put the U.S. women's soccer team into the Olympics was scored by Alex Morgan, the super-sub who made her name at last year's World Cup.

That's the same Alex Morgan who wasn't a sub at all in the Americans' previous game, leading to an interesting moment in a meeting with coach Pia Sundhage.

The formality is that the U.S. beat Costa Rica 3-0 Friday night to earn a ticket to London. The game was quite a bit more suspenseful than expected, with the Americans overcoming some early sloppiness and waiting until deep into the second half to put the game away.

The real fun now begins over the next six months as Sundhage figures out how best to use the best, deepest roster of women soccer players in the world. For instance, the newest hot-off-the-presses talent is Sidney Leroux, who got the call instead of Morgan in the second half of the big win over Mexico three days earlier.

"I asked her how she felt when Sidney Leroux came in the game and she didn't," Sundhage said. "I wanted an honest answer. She said 'I don't think you want that answer.' Great. That tells a little about how badly she wants to play."

Morgan felt she got her point across.

"We both laughed," Morgan said. "And she said 'That's all I need to know.' ... But that's the great thing with Pia. She lets you feel you can be honest with her. She lets you feel very comfortable around her."

Morgan's goal in the 89th minute made the score 34-0 -- the margin by which the Americans have outscored their opponents at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament. The only one that wasn't as lopsided as the score was Friday's London-or-bust semifinal.

"There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us," forward Abby Wambach said. "Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn't."

Tobin Heath scored in the 16th minute to give U.S. all the offense it needed, and Carli Lloyd (72nd) and Morgan (89th) provided the insurance.

But the top-ranked Americans were certainly not as crisp as they were when they were drawing criticism for running up the score. Bad passes led to giveaways in the first half, forcing goalkeeper Hope Solo to work harder than she has all tournament.

Then again, so much was on the line that some jitters were understandable.

"We know that sometimes under big game circumstances players can get a little tight," Wambach said. "And you've just kind of got to deal with it. ... It was almost as if we scored that goal and nobody wanted to get stuck into a tackle. We were kind of playing a little bit soft, and we fixed that in the second half."

Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world, has never qualified for an Olympics or a World Cup and has never scored on the U.S. in eight meetings.

Las Ticas proved to be scrappy opponents, however, occasionally frustrating the Americans with physical play and just missing on two solid scoring chances in the first half in the London-or-bust match. As the possibility of an upset lingered deep into the second half, the plucky team in red gained the rousing support of the Canadian fans at BC Place.

"We put together three great games in group play," said Solo, who played despite a slightly pulled right quadriceps that had been bothering her all week. "You can't play four, five, six. Not every team is going to play perfectly every single game, but we got the job done."

The U.S. will be the two-time defending champions in London, having taken gold in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. It will be the third straight Olympics in which the Americans will be trying to make amends for World Cup disappointment from the previous year. They finished second at last year's World Cup in Germany, losing to Japan in the final.

The victory also puts the Americans into the tournament final Sunday, a bragging-rights-only game against Canada, a 3-1 winner over Mexico in the second semifinal.

Sundhage's team arrived in Canada with a bit of apprehension. The Americans, having become somewhat complacent from years of uncontested success in the region, were stunned in a World Cup qualifier by host Mexico in November 2010, forcing them into a home-and-away playoff with Italy just to get for the World Cup. Also, the format for Olympic qualifying is such that everything hinges on one game -- the do-or-die semifinals -- regardless of how a team performs in the rest of the tournament.

Determined to take nothing for granted, the Americans had been full throttle for every game. They set a U.S. team record for goals in a game in a 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic, then nearly matched the feat in a 13-0 rout of Guatemala. Then came a 4-0 win in the much-anticipated rematch with Mexico to set up the semifinal against Costa Rica.

And even though the vital game didn't go quite as planned, the outcome was all that
mattered.

"We," Sundhage said, smiling, "are going to London."

*Also, Chivas USA narrowly lost its opening preseason game Friday night in Ventura County.

Dempsey vs. Donovan: The two Americans faced off today in the FA Cup (AP Photo). Wonder if they exchanged jerseys.

Landon Donovan continues to excel for Everton with a headline-grabbing game today. Associated Press sports writer Stuart Condie has the story:

LONDON (AP) -- On-loan forward Landon Donovan led Everton to its first ever FA Cup win over Fulham and a place in the fifth round on Friday, setting up both goals in his team's 2-1 win at Goodison.

Fulham had progressed in the FA Cup on all four previous occasions it had been drawn against Everton, and led again against the Toffees through Danny Murphy's 14th-minute penalty.

But Donovan, in the sixth game of his second loan spell from the Galaxy set up a 27th-minute equalizer for Denis Stracqualursi and then provided the assist for Marouane Fellaini's 73rd-minute winner.

"Landon's been great since he's been here," Everton assistant manager Steve Round said. "He's a real diamond of a guy, he's a very intelligent footballer and the lads all like him. You've seen the quality of his end product, whether it be from crosses or set plays. "He's a top player."

Rafael van der Vaart scored a 42nd-minute goal for Tottenham in a 1-0 win at League Championship side Watford in Friday's other fourth-round match.

But Donovan provided arguably the day's standout performance, helping his side to victory over a Fulham side containing his United States teammate, Clint Dempsey.

Teammates on the last two U.S. World Cup teams, Donovan and Dempsey had not faced each other since May 2006, when Dempsey's New England Revolution beat the Galaxy 4-0.

This was only the seventh time they had played against each other overall.

After Murphy scored a penalty awarded for a handball by Netherlands defender John Heitinga, Donovan crossed for Stracqualursi to head firmly past Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale.

Dempsey, who has scored two hat tricks in his last three games for Fulham, headed over the bar at the start of the second half following a cross by Bryan Ruiz before Donovan went close with a shot across goal from distance.

Donovan set up the decisive goal with a deep cross to the far post, from where Fellaini guided a header back across Stockdale and into the top corner.

Fulham beat Everton on its way to the 1975 FA Cup final -- one of only two finals the west London club has ever reached -- and edged out the Toffees in a replay in the teams' most recent tournament meeting in 2004.

Yes, you read that right.

Southern California's own Landon Donovan, a Redlands native, is ranked three places higher than global superstar and part-time underwear model David Beckham on the just released Bloomberg Businessweek Power 100 list of the most powerful professional athletes in American sports.

Donovan checks in at No. 55, while his teammate Beckham is at No. 58.

Of the only other soccer players listed, incidentally, Hermosa Beach resident and U.S. Women's National Team striker Abby Wambach checks in at No. 79, while "Dancing with Stars" contestant and national team goalkeeper Hope Solo is at No. 88.

The list, in case you're wondering, is half based on athletic performance and 50 percent on intangibles such as name awareness, appeal and overall popularity.

So why did Donovan beat out Becks?

"While, as expected, David Beckham did very well with his off-field numbers largely due to his endorsement earnings, his on-field performance brought his overall score down," said David Newman, vice president of analytics for Atlanta-based CSE, which conducted the study of more than 3,00 athletes. "Meanwhile London Donovan performed statistically better on-field while playing for the Galaxy, Everton and the U.S. national team during the 2011 Gold Cup. This ultimately pushed Donovan ahead of Beckham overall."

Put another way: Play better Beckham.

And last year was statistically the best of his five years in MLS.

See the entire Power 100 here.

*Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza and the U.S. plays Panama at 5:30 p.m. today live on Galavision.

*Mexico faces Chivas USA's Alejandro Moreno and Venezuela in Houston (live 6 p.m. KMEX). More here.

*FOX Soccer announced today it will air live the FA Cup showdown between Americans Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey when Everton and Fulham meet at noon Friday in the fourth-round game. JP Dellacamera and Eric Wynalda will commentate marking the first time Americans have called an FA Cup match on the channel.

*Individual tickets went on sale today for the Group B matches of 2012 men's Olympic qualifying in Carson.

Here's the details from the HDC: The group consists of Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. Doubleheader events involving these four teams will be held March 23, 25 and 27. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the elimination round in Kansas City.

Fans can order tickets online at ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at local Ticketmaster ticket centers in the venue cities, and at the respective stadium ticket offices during their local business hours.

*USMNT goalkeeper Hope Solo is a doubt for the crucial Olympics qualification decider _ and her "Dancing with the Stars" stint was a contributing factor in the injury. AP Sports Writer Joseph White has more:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Hope Solo has an ailing leg, the result of some extra work she was putting in to get back into playing shape after "Dancing With the Stars."

The timing isn't the greatest. The U.S. women's soccer team is about to play the game that determines whether it goes to the Olympics.

"We have to make a decision whether she is 100 percent to go or not," coach Pia Sundhage said Wednesday. "And if she isn't, we have a tremendous backup goalkeeper."

The United States plays Costa Rica on Friday in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. The winner goes to London; the loser stays home for the summer.

Solo was clutching her right leg during the Americans' 4-0 win over Mexico on Tuesday and was wearing on ice pack on the leg after the game. She said she had a "little quad pull," suffered a few days earlier in practice and aggravated during the first half against the Mexicans.

Cold as Ice: U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo adjusts an ice pack on her leg following a 4-0 win over Mexico Tuesday in Olympic qualifying (AP Photo).

"Toward the end of the game I was a little worried that I was going to have to come out, but being qualifying and only having three subs, you don't really want to sub the goalkeeper," Solo said after the game. "So I definitely knew I could maintain for another 15 minutes."

Solo has said she lost some of her muscle strength during her two-month run on "Dancing With the Stars," an appearance that capitalized on the U.S. team's popularity following last summer's World Cup. She finished in fourth place with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, but the moves involved in executing the perfect cha-cha aren't the same as the ones needed to stop a header at the far post.

"I'm trying to get my quickness back, and my sharpness back, and my kicking back, so I've been focusing a lot on my kicking," she said. "And I think it just fatigued and it pulled a little bit."

Solo has played every minute of the Americans' three games at the tournament, but she hasn't had to do much. The U.S. team has outscored its opponents 31-0, and Solo didn't have to make a save against Mexico.

And, on paper at least, a less-than-100-percent Solo or backup Nicole Barnhart should be more than enough to hold off Costa Rica.

Las Ticas are ranked No. 41 in the world have never beaten the U.S., having been outscored 34-0 in seven meetings.

But the Americans are wary about the game because they slipped up in the semifinals of World Cup qualifying 14 months ago, losing to Mexico for the first time ever. The defeat forced the U.S. into a playoff to earn a trip to the World Cup in Germany.

There is no such playoff available in Olympic qualifying, so an upset on Friday would keep the world's top-ranked team out of the Summer Games.

Solo and her teammates got a needed day off Wednesday following a grueling stretch of three games in five days.

"Luckily going into the next game, the most important game, I'll have an extra day of rest,"
Solo said Tuesday night. "So I think things should be fine. I'm hoping things will be fine."

While Solo's dancing stint brought invaluable attention to women's soccer, Sundhage admits she was apprehensive after finding out that her goalkeeper was taking part.

"I was scared. High heels?" the coach said with a laugh. "It doesn't matter what I think.
Obviously she wanted to do it. Obviously it was fun for her, and a lot of attention to the
goalkeeper of the national team. But, honestly, I was scared. That outfit? It was so different from the soccer player Hope Solo I know."

So was the coach rooting against Solo, perhaps hoping for an early elimination?

"I didn't vote for her," said Sundhage, laughing again. "I'll tell you that."

And let's face it, it's the back four that is the club's biggest problem.

So the signing of 30-year-old defender John Alexander Valencia, who has made 112 starts in 114 games for Colombian champion Atletico Junior since 2007, sounds exactly what the club needs.

"John is a player we have been scouting for some time now," said Chivas USA General Manager Jose Domene in announcing the signing today. "He is a great defender (with a team) that just became champions in Colombia and will help reinforce our backline and help our team win."

The club also announced the signing of 19-year-old Salvadoran midfielder Marvin Iraheta; he arrived at the club via its youth academy after it merged with Cosmos Academy West last year.

Chivas USA is training up in Oxnard and plays a friendly Friday against the PDL Ventura County Fusion.

Golden girls: UCLA product Sydney Leroux and Diamond Bar's Alex Morgan celebrate one of the numerous goals the U.S. scored Sunday against Guatemala (AP Photo).

Having scored an incredible 27 goals in its first two Olympic qualifiers, the U.S. shifts its attention today to sturdier prey: Mexico.

The USWNT is talking revenge for that infamous World Cup qualifying defeat, but really the motivation for winning should be more about avoiding Canada in the semis.

Still, at least the location - chilly Vancouver, B.C. is apt; after all isn't revenge a dish best served cold? AP Sports Writer Joseph White has the preview for the game that will air at
7:30 p.m. on the Universal Sports Network:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Heather Mitts remembers the feeling walking off the field in Cancun, having been a part of the first and only loss the U.S. women's soccer team has ever suffered in a qualifying match for the World Cup or Olympics.

"It was awful," Mitts said. "It was obviously for us a real wakeup call. We definitely weren't
prepared. We weren't prepared, and they came out and they played great against us."

Final score: Mexico 2, United States 1. It was Nov. 5, 2010. Mexico had punched its ticket to the World Cup. The Americans would have to play three more games to get there.

The opportunity for payback has arrived. The U.S. plays Mexico on Tuesday for first place in their group in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the London Olympics.

"That's obviously the game that's been marked on our calendars this entire tournament," forward Abby Wambach said.

And, yes, the teams have met once since the game that many consider to be among the biggest upsets in soccer history, but it was an exhibition in New Jersey last June, a warmup for the World Cup won 1-0 by the U.S.

That hardly counted as revenge.

"No. Absolutely not," Mitts said. "That was a friendly. This is Olympic qualifying. It doesn't
matter if we're playing Mexico or not; we still have to win these games to get to the next step.
I think it does add to it that we are playing Mexico -- and the revenge factor does help."

Beyond having a score to settle, the game is a vital one. The region only gets to send two teams to London, and four remain in the hunt. The winner of the U.S.-Mexico game will draw an easier match against Costa Rica in the do-or-die semifinals, while the loser has to play the more formidable Canada.

Coach Pia Sundhage and her players spent much time contemplating what went wrong in Cancun 14 months ago. Sure, the Mexicans had home-field advantage -- the rowdy crowd spent the game chanting and throwing cans, bottles, paper and other objects toward the field -- but it's a brutal fact that the Americans were so used to winning that complacency had settled in.

"I definitely think taking a team for granted -- and maybe thinking we were better than what we were -- had a lot to do with it," forward Lauren Cheney said.

Cheney also said many of her a teammates were simply exhausted. The Cancun tournament, and the camp that preceded it, had come at the end of the long Women's Professional Soccer league season.

Sundhage takes the blame for that. She said the team wasn't sharp during the entire
tournament.

"When I think back, I made a mistake having them together too long," Sundhage said. "I learned my lesson."

For the Olympic qualifying, the team had a shorter camp in California before arriving in
Vancouver. It's hard to judge the results thus far: The Americans have won by scores of 14-0 and 13-0, but their opponents were so overmatched it wouldn't have mattered much how the U.S. prepared. The most helpful result of the blowouts is an overwhelming goal differential that means a draw against Mexico will be enough to win the group.

Mexico also has been cruising through the tournament, winning 5-0 and 7-0 against the same teams the Americans have played. The lopsided scores have allowed both teams to rest key players to keep them fresh for Tuesday's showdown.

While the Americans cite the loss in Cancun as more evidence of a growing parity in women's soccer, Mexico coach Leonardo Cuellar said his country has far to go to catch up with its counterparts to the north.

"They're obviously the best in the world," Cuellar said. "You see the U.S. and Canada, they basically have national teams that if they're not living together, they are dedicated to a national team. For us we still have players that go to school, go to work. We're at a different level, so it's a big challenge for us."

Inglewood resident Jose Villarreal, 18, who still lives at home with his parents, has become the first South Bay native to join the South Bay-based Galaxy from the club's youth academy.

He spent his first day on the job Monday, not so much overawed by training on the same field as the likes of David Beckham as shivering because of the torrential rain players endured.

"It was OK, but I couldn't focus it was so cold out there," he said. "It was raining. It was freezing. I couldn't feel my hands."

Welcome to the daily life of a soccer pro. With a locker right next to the absent Robbie Keane's, it's an existence Villarreal is still getting accustomed to.

He grew up cheering for his dad's Mexican team, Cruz Azul, but started paying attention to the Galaxy and MLS when David Beckham signed five years ago.

"I'm pretty excited," he said. "I've got a bunch of friends who are asking: 'When is your jersey coming out?' (he was assigned No. 33, incidentally.

"I get a lot of texts, a lot of Facebook messages, (asking) 'how does it feel to be with Beckham?'"

His answer: Don't know yet (Beckham introduced himself and that's about it so far).

Big man: An attacking threat as well as a defensive bulwark, Omar Gonzalez will be missed by the Galaxy as they begin the defense of their MLS crown (AP Photo).

It's difficult to underestimate the influence the quiet, yet commanding presence of Omar Gonzalez had on the Galaxy's taut back four last season.

And it is the biggest question the Galaxy face as preseason training opens at Home Depot Center.

Read more in today's column here.

And according to this report, this is the player the Galaxy is after to step in for Gonzalez.

In other camp notes (via the Galaxy weekly release):

Off season acquisitions Andrew Boyens, Nick Noble, Pat Noonan, Marcelo Sarvas and Jose Villarreal were all out on the field training Monday as were trialists Bill Gaudette and J.T. Murray.

Additionally, six of the club's seven recent draft picks were on the field as SuperDraft selections Tommy Meyer and Kenney Walker were joined by Supplemental Draft picks Bryan Gaul, Rafael Garcia, Yuri Gorentzvaig and Stephen Posa.

Justin Davies, a defender from San Diego State who was the final pick of last week's Supplemental Draft, did not train as he continues to recover from a left ankle sprain that he suffered prior to joining the club, though he is expected to be on the field for the first time later this week.

Juninho's replacement, fellow Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Sarvas, is under no illusions about his role at the Galaxy. He's not Juninho, but his role is the same: bring the best out of David Beckham.

"I know the story of Junnho here at this club," he said. "He came in and did big things here. I'm not coming here to replace Juninho. I'm here to implement my own game.

"David is a player I need to find a way to open up the game for him, get him the ball in space so he can have the opportunity to create great things."

Incidentally, Sarvas conducted virtually the entire interview in his native tongue even though his English sounds just fine.

The funniest moment came when he quickly broke into English after he was asked how he thought his style of play would fit with the Galaxy.

"I'm Brazilian," he shot back as if that was the only explanation required.

Torrential rain during the first Galaxy practice drove a small knot of reporters into the drier depths of Home Depot Center this morning.

That meant no wifi access, so I was unable to tweet live, but here's what we learned today:

*The big question is who will replace Omar Gonzalez in central defense? Coach Bruce Arena sounded like a coach who knows they have to bring in an experienced defender to partner A.J. DeLaGarza in the middle of the back four and the club is looking overseas at several options.

*Leonardo is expected to return, but is not yet in camp so his name was not included in a list of 34 players that make up the club's roster at this point (Paolo Cardozo is on the list and will remain with the club, incidentally). The Galaxy must still come to terms with the central defender's Brazilian club for a new loan, but the player is also still recovering from the injury that sidelined him for most of 2011. I'll have more on this including some words from former Chivas USA defender Andrew Boyens in Tuesday's column.

*The biggest news of the day was the fact that veteran Jovan Kirovski has retired and replaced Gregg Berhalter on the club's coaching staff.

*Of the aforementioned roster, five other players are not in camp: Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan remain on loan with EPL clubs, DeLaGarza is with the national team and goalkeeper Brian Perk and midfielder Michael Stephens are with the U-23s.

*Chris Birchall's status remains uncertain. He had initially wanted to explore opportunities with British clubs, but Arena said more recently he's expressed interest in returning to the Galaxy. Whether there's space on the roster for him at this point is unclear.

*Defender Chris Leitch has opted to retire rather than join the Galaxy, while neither Frankie Hejduk or Dasan Robinson will return to the club.

And I'm about to make my first trip to Home Depot Center for the first time this year, but frankly it scarcely feels as if I've been away given the length of the shortest-ever off-season.

Just in the past four days or so we've seen David Beckham pledge his future to the Galaxy and MLS for the next two years, defender A.J. DeLaGarza make his U.S. national team debut in the 1-0 win over Venezuela and Robbie Keane making headlines in England with a two-goal outburst for Aston Villla.

And now the run-up to the MLS 2012 season begins.

Some of you have already asked questions I will seek answers for at what will largely be an inside training session today given the soggy and gloomy weather here in the South Bay.

Any others can be asked either in the comments section here, via Titter @LAsoccerblog or at the 100 Percent Soccer Facebook page.

Armed with a new iPad, I'll attempt to Tweet, post photos and tape interviews (depending on the HDC wifi in the bowels of the stadium and my level of skill with this new contraption).

And I'll have more in Tuesday's column.

*UCLA product Sydney LeRoux and Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach were named by U.S. Soccer as the Young Female Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year respectively. Brek Shea and Clint Dempsey won the corresponding awards for male players.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

CHICAGO (AP) -- Abby Wambach has been voted the U.S. Soccer Federation's female athlete of the year for the fifth time, matching Mia Hamm's record. Clint Dempsey has been voted top male athlete for the first time since 2007.

The USSF also said Friday that Brek Shea and Sydney Leroux were the top young athletes.

Wambach won previously in 2003, 2004, 2007 and last year. Hamm won from 1994 to 1998. Wambach scored four goals at the Women's World Cup, including one in the 122nd minute in the semifinals that forced penalty kicks and enabled the Americans to reach the final, where they lost to Germany.

Dempsey scored three goals at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Playing for Fulham, he passed Brian McBride to become the highest-scoring American in the Premier League.

Online votes counted for half the total, with the rest from media and USSF representatives.

*Toronto FC announced this morning that 35,000 tickets have been sold for the March 7 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal first leg against the Galaxy, who will make their only appearance in Toronto for the game this year. The indoor Rogers Centre holds 45,000, but ticket sales so far mean Toronto have already set a new home attendance record.

*The Galaxy open preseason training Monday, with all players undergoing physicals this weekend. Here's who is - and is not - in camp, according to a club press release:

A total of 16 players from last year's MLS Cup winning squad are expected to be on hand for the club's first day of training on Monday, while five players - A.J. DeLaGarza, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens - are currently away on international duty or on loan.

In addition to the 16 returning players that will be in attendance, new acquisitions Andrew Boyens, Nick Noble, Pat Noonan, Marcelo Sarvas and Jose Villarreal will all train with the club for the first time.

Additionally, all seven of the club's recent draft picks, as well as trialists, Bill Gaudette, a goalkeeper who played for the Columbus Crew, Puerto Rico Islanders and Montreal Impact, as well as defender J.T. Murray, a second round pick by Sporting Kansas City in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Louisville, will be with the club for Monday's training session.

I'll have more in Tuesday's column.

*Chelsea's Frank Lampard will not be there even though AEG head honcho Tim Leiweke is a huge fan. Who isn't? (current Chelsea management aside, apparently). But no one should hold their breath Lampard is coming to LA anytime soon.

*If you only watch one game this weekend: Make it Norwich City-Chelsea at 4:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPN2. Those of you not biased City fans (ahem) may want to see the U.S. play Chivas USA veteran Alejandro Moreno and Venezuela at 6 p.m. Saturday on Galavision. Thank heaven for soccer-loving Spanish-language channels.

*

Saving Solo: Goalkeeper Hope Solo and the rest of the U.S. National Team open their Olympic qualifying campaign Friday night in Vanvouver, B.C. (AP Photo).

You can watch the U.S. women play the Dominican Republic tonight at 7:30 online at concacaf.com

It's also available on television here.

And you can read an Associated Press preview from Sports Writer Joseph White here:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The U.S. women's soccer team got some help Thursday in its bid to qualify for the London Olympics.

Well, actually, "The Help."

Known to sing a rock 'n' roll lyric or two to her players to get a message across, coach Pia Sundhage instead quoted from the critically acclaimed movie when she addressed the team ahead of Friday's opening game against the Dominican Republic. The Americans are in Vancouver for a tournament that will send two teams to London this summer.

"I'm a big fan of having a good start, so I want to surprise them," Sundhage said. "Sometimes we take things for granted, so I was standing there and my first words -- I didn't sing -- I look at them and I say: 'You're kind. You're smart. You're important.' That's exactly what they are."

As the No. 1 ranked team in the world, it would seem the U.S. women wouldn't need help of any kind to earn one of the two Olympic berths available in the eight-team CONCACAF tournament over the next 11 days. Getting to the World Cup or an Olympics was always a given: Their combined record was once 25-0-1 in qualifying for the sport's two biggest events.

Until 2010, that is.

The Americans went to Cancun and blistered through the group phase of the World Cup qualifying tournament -- winning three games by a combined score of 18-0 -- before getting stunned by Mexico 2-1 in the semifinals. The U.S. had to win a backdoor playoff against Italy to earn a spot in Germany, a hurdle mostly forgotten as the team made a captivating run before losing to Japan in the World Cup final.

The format for this tournament is the same -- except there's no backdoor playoff. The two teams that win the semifinals go to London; everyone else stays home.

"There's no Italy to back us up this year," midfielder Megan Rapinoe said.

That makes every game crucial, even the group matches against teams like the Dominican Republic (ranked No. 88) and Guatemala (No. 85), followed by the eagerly awaited rematch against Mexico (No. 21). One slip-up and the Americans might end up with a do-or-die semifinal game against No. 7 Canada, which is expected to win the other group.

"There's no better motivation than things not going as you planned," forward Abby Wambach said. "And definitely the last qualification didn't go as we planned. We thankfully had a second chance with playing the home-and-away series against Italy, and this time around we don't have that chance. All of us know that. It's not something that we even talk about.

"We're one of the best teams in the world, and we just can't show up for qualification and play and expect to win nowadays. Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, they're all really good teams, and they have a good chance of beating us on any given day."

So where there used to be ho-hum, there's now drama. While it shows that American domination isn't what it used to be, it's good for women's soccer as a whole as the sport tries to expand its reach and command attention at times when there's not a World Cup or Olympics going on.

Any tournament is going to have its idiosyncrasies, and this one is no exception. After all,
this is Canada in January, so the games are being played indoors at BC Place. Sundhage is trying to get the Americans to play a more possession-type game, which can be a little tricky when the ball is bouncing on artificial turf.

Defender Heather Mitts tweeted a photo of a bloody knee after Thursday's practice with the comment: "meet the BC turf."

Ironically, soccer could've been played outdoors when Vancouver hosted the Winter Olympics two years ago. The city that didn't see a flake during the 2010 Winter Games has snow on the ground and freezing temperatures this week as it hosts a sport from the summer version.

There's also the compact schedule. Three group matches in five days, then a short break before the all-important semifinals and the somewhat anticlimactic final. The U.S. has a deep, veteran team, so Sundhage is expected to spread the playing time around so that everyone is fresh for the one game that matters most.

"Right now we are in a wonderful situation, where you have the starting lineup, and as coaches we'll look at the bench -- 'Wow. There are some good players,'" Sundhage said. "Regardless of who we pick for the starting lineup, we'll have good players. Now the key is whether they play well together, so that's something we need to look into with the games we have in front of us."

Torrance's Shannon Boxx has more to say in this video from U.S. Soccer:

LA Lads: Anschutz Entertainment Group President and CEO Tim Leiweke, David Beckham and Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena pose during a news conference today at LA Live formally announcing the signing of the English star to a new two-year contract (AP Photo).

The Galaxy unveiled a new jersey, too, (white with a blue stripe).

The Galaxy is streaming a live interview with Arena here. It started at 4 p.m.

Reporter Phil Collin filed this story for the dead tree edition.

The free event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at Home Depot Center.

Current season ticket and mini plan holders will have a rare first-come first-served opportunity to get on to the field at the stadium where the club won MLS Cup last year, participate in drills with players Todd Dunivant, Josh Saunders and Bryan Jordan and play a scrimmage.

All attendees will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium, a 25 percent discount on all Galaxy gear at the TEAM LA Store and watch the Galaxy Academy U-18 and U-16 teams take on their Vancouver Whitecaps counterparts at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. respectively.

Gourmet food trucks Kogí, The Grilled Cheese Truck and Coolhaus will serve up food.

And yeah, the club will be more than happy to sell you season tickets.

Full details are here.

Or at least in this self-serving press release I'm reprinting in full below the Galaxy just released telling us all what we've known for hours anyway: That Beckham is back, although of course, he never really left.

Read on and you'll discover just how great Beckham has been for the Galaxy, soccer in general and the escalation of MLS franchise fees (yup, he gets credit for that, too).

Naturally it helps when a press release somehow manages to quote no fewer than two people who work for Beckham, conveniently ignore the ruinous 9-14-7 and 8-13-9 2007 and 2008 seasons (his first two years that sported the worst records in club history) the club has yet to recover from (Galaxy officials cite them as the reason the dominant club weren't selling out Home Depot Center with any great regularity last season) or the catastrophic reign of former coach Ruud Gullit (who was hand-picked by Beckham's management team).

Aside from those reasons, as well as his frequent absences through loan spells and injury, his inability to actually run anymore and questions about whether he can repeat his 2011 performance (which even Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena called Beckham's first real season in the league) he's been great.

A press conference is set for 2 p.m. Thursday at Staples Center, incidentally.

Still, readers of this blog overwhelmingly agree with the Galaxy's to re-sign Beckham, incidentally (and to clarify I do, too, at least at a reduced salary at his age).

But this loooong press release is more than a little over the top, IMHO:

CARSON, Calif. (Wednesday, January 18, 2012) - The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has re-signed midfielder David Beckham to a two-year contract, extending his stay with the MLS Cup Champions. Beckham, who had the best season of his five-year MLS career in 2011, helped lead the Galaxy to their first MLS Cup title since 2005.

Since joining the club as the first Designated Player in MLS History, the Galaxy have reached MLS Cup twice and won the Supporters' Shield twice while also seeing the club reach new heights in terms of international recognition and popularity.

"This was an important decision for me," Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. "I had many offers from clubs from around the world, however, I'm still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy."

"I've seen first hand how popular soccer is now in the States and I'm as committed as ever to growing the game here," he added. "My family and I are incredibly happy and settled in America and we look forward to spending many more years here."

In five years with the Galaxy, Beckham was twice named to the MLS All-Star Team and finished the 2011 season with a career-best 15 assists, earning him a spot on the MLS Best XI. Beckham's individual success helped translate to team success last season as the club repeated as Supporters' Shield winners, finishing the season with a 19-5-10 record for 67 points, which were the second most in League history. That form continued into the postseason where the Galaxy won all four of their postseason games, culminating with a 1-0 win over Houston at The Home Depot Center in MLS Cup 2011. Beckham had an assist in that game, just as he did in each of the club's first three playoffs games, giving him a league-best four postseason assists on the year.

"I am thrilled that David has chosen to re-join the Galaxy, especially as he had numerous options where he could continue his career," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "I felt that he was one of the best players in all of MLS last season and we could not have achieved the success that we did without him. We look forward to trying to replicate that success this season with David once again in a Galaxy uniform."

In 74 career regular season games in a Galaxy uniform, Beckham has 31 assists to go along with 11 goals with the club going 15-2-4 in the past three seasons when he scored a goal or recorded an assist. Additionally, the 36-year-old has helped lead the Galaxy to the postseason in each of the last three seasons, tallying seven assists in 11 postseason games. The Galaxy also qualified for the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in club history last season, with Beckham playing in four of the club's six games while setting up a pair of goals in the competition.

In addition to Beckham's on-field success, the former England captain has also had an historic impact on the game in the U.S. and globally. His mid-season arrival in Southern California coincided with the launch of the club's new logo and colors, strengthening the Galaxy's reputation in the global game and making the club's jersey the best-selling in MLS and one of the best in the world.

"There has been much speculation in the past four months on where David was going to play and we did not get caught up in this and remained focused on re-signing him," said Tim Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG. "David had many options and we are pleased he felt comfortable, not only with our organization but also with Los Angeles, and will remain an important part of our club, our AEG family and our City".

"The Galaxy had an unbelievable year in 2011, David had a great year individually and the club were deservedly crowned Supporters' Shield winners and MLS Cup Champions," added Leiweke. "The 2011 Galaxy team may have been the best club in MLS history and like David, we are focused on repeating that success in 2012 and fielding the most exciting team for our fans."

"When David and I discussed making the move from Real Madrid to the LA Galaxy back in 2007, our minds were firmly focused on the massive opportunity of helping to grow soccer in the United States," added Simon Fuller, Beckham's Business Partner and Manager. "We have made great progress over the past 5 years in raising the profile of soccer domestically and the MLS on a worldwide stage, and we are encouraged by all the results. However, clearly this is an ongoing mission and this new deal confirms our commitment to continuing our journey and making sure the world's biggest sport, soccer, continues to grow in the world's most passionate sports loving nation, the USA."

In the past five years, the Galaxy emerged as a truly international club with worldwide recognition through tours that have drawn record crowds and major sponsors in such countries as Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea. Locally, the Galaxy have hosted sellout crowds against international powers such as AC Milan, Barcelona, Boca Juniors, Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid, playing in front of more than 330,000 fans at The Home Depot Center, L.A. Coliseum and Rose Bowl in those matches.

Major League Soccer has also experienced exponential growth in the first five years that Beckham has played for the Galaxy, growing from 12 teams in 2006 to 19 teams this season, including the expansion Montreal Impact. In that time, the expansion fee for clubs has quadrupled from $10 million to $40 million, with $170 million being raised in expansion fees since the start of the 2007 MLS season. In that same time, nine new soccer-specific stadiums have been built in Major League Soccer, giving the League a total of 15 in 2012, while average attendance rose to 17,872 last season, making MLS the 10th best attended league in the world.

"What David has accomplished since joining the Galaxy five years ago is truly remarkable," said Jeff Frasco of Creative Artists Agency (CAA). "While David has been a tremendous ambassador for soccer in the U.S., he has set further goals for himself, both professionally and personally, and we are pleased to be part of the team to help him achieve these and more."

Beckham and the LA Galaxy will open preseason ahead of the 2012 MLS season next week at The Home Depot Center.

*Post updated

Adman: Because, after all, if you had an H&M underwear ad running Super Bowl Sunday would you want to be stuck in France? (AP/H&M Photo).

*David Beckham has reportedly reached terms on a new contract with MLS and the Galaxy.

It's probably no coincidence the news comes ahead of Beckham's live interview on his YouTube channel at 9 a.m. Thursday, which also precedes his first Google+ "hangout."

*Update

Beckham's new contract is for two years.

"This was an important decision for me," Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. "I had many offers from clubs from around the world, however, I'm still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy."

"I've seen first hand how popular soccer is now in the States and I'm as committed as ever to growing the game here," he added. "My family and I are incredibly happy and settled in America and we look forward to spending many more years here."

*Two suspects were arrested in the murder of El Camino High School goalkeeper Francisco Rodriguez.

*Former Real Salt Lake goalkeeper goalkeeper Tim Melia, 25, has signed with Chivas USA.

*Former Chivas USA striker Maicon Santos continues his grand tour of MLS, joining D.C. United, the club announced today. The 27-year-old Brazilian scored one goal and an assist in nine matches with Chivas USA in 2010 before moving on to Toronto and then Dallas.

* Fox formally announced today that the network will lead off NFC Championship Sunday with its first-ever live EPL game on a U.S. broadcast television, showing Arsenal and Manchester United from the Emirates Stadium. Coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. Sunday from Los Angeles with former ESPN commentator Rob Stone making his debut with Fox accompanied by analyst Eric Wynalda and CNN talk show host and Arsenal supporter Piers Morgan.

American girl: Diamond Bar's Alex Morgan is emerging as the new face of U.S. women's soccer (AP Photo).

Staff Writer Larry Morgan headed out to the USMNT camp at Home Depot Center to chat with former WPS top draft pick Alex Morgan, expected to become an ever-more influential figure on a national team that, frankly, needs exciting and photogenic stars. Read the story here.

Among the notable locals, the Galaxy took Cal State Northridge product Rafael Garcia, who finished his college career with six goals and nine assists in 68 matches for the Matadors, and Chivas USA took UCLA goalkeeper Brian Rowe.

Here's the complete list of players taken by the Galaxy in the four-round draft:

*Forward/defender (!) Bryan Gaul, Bradley University, 19th overall.

*Midfielder Rafael Garcia, Cal State-Northridge, 38th overall.

*Forward Yuri Gorentzvaig, a Brazilian youth international, 57th overall.

*Midfielder Stephen Posa, San Diego, 62nd overall. Posa had six goals and 10 assists in 75 games during a four-year career with the Toreros.

*Defender Justin Davies, San Diego State, 76th overall.

Here's the corresponding list for Chivas USA:

*Defender RJ Allen, Monmouth, fifth overall.

*Goalkeeper Brian Rowe, UCLA, 24th overall. He had a dozen shutouts for the Bruins last season.

*Calabasas High product Defender Daniel Steres, San Diego State, 28th overall

*Defender Fabian Kling, Ft. Lewis, 30th overall. He was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II Player of the Year.

*Defender Kevin Vanegas from Lakewood, Cal State Fullerton, 37th overall

Here's the complete list.

Noted: Loyola Marymount University products Logan McDaniel of Palmdale and Tyler Krumpe (son of Coach Paul Krumpe) of Torrance were selected by the Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes respectively.

I'll have more from the respective clubs later.

"The challenge for these players short-term is to make our roster," said Galaxy GM and Coach Bruce Arena. "We return a fair amount of our roster so it's not going to be easy for anybody. It's a challenge for anyone so we'll see what these players do in preseason."

*Arena said the 6-5 Gaul can play forward or center back -- and the Galaxy scouts saw him play both positions at the combine. He finished his college career with 31 goals and 13 assists in 83 games.

"We think he has a chance (of making the team)," Arena said. "That's why we drafted him."

*Gorentzvaig, from Sao Paulo, "looked like a player who could be a good second forward," Arena said.

Updated

In addition to Rowe, other UCLA products taken in the draft were English midfielder Andy Rose, an All Pac-12 selection taken sixth overall by Real Salt Lake; defender Shawn Singh, a former walk-on from Bakersfield drafted No. 16 by Sporting Kansas City; and Eder Arreola, taken No. 18 overall by the Houston Dynamo.

*If, like me, you took advantage of the holiday break and headed for areas of the state less traveled this weekend, here's a quick look at local soccer happenings over the long weekend:

*First off, the MLS Supplemental Draft gets under way at 11 a.m. today.

*The Galaxy's Landon Donovan got an assist in an otherwise dreary 2-0 win Everton-Aston Villa 1-1 draw this weekend, in a game that also saw teammate Robbie Keane make his loan debut fo Villa as a sub. Former Galaxy striker Edson Buddle is also joining Donovan at Everton, albeit on a week-long trial.

*The Galaxy also confirmed Friday that defender Omar Gonzalez will miss seven to nine months after undergoing ACL surgery Friday in Santa Monica, an injury sustained in his first training session on loan in Germany.

*Meanwhile, fellow Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza is in camp with the U.S. National Team, which played the senior squqad in a Home Depot center scrimmage this weekend:

*USWNT Coach Pia Sundhage named 19 players from the World Cup squad to the 20-player Olympic qualifying roster announced this weekend, adding WPS top draft pick Sydney Leroux of UCLA to the mix.

*Chivas USA, which begain pre-season training Monday, announced the rest of their pre-season match schedule before heading to Portland for a previously announced tournament Feb. 27 through March 4:

*Friday, Jan. 27 vs. Ventura Fusion, Time TBD, Oxnard.

*Friday, Feb. 3 vs. FC Hasental, Time TBD, Home Depot Center.

*Tuesday, Feb. 7 vs. Colorado Rapids, Time TBD, Location TBD

*Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Chicago Fire, Time TBD, Location TBD

*Thursday, Feb.16 vs. Galaxy, Time TBD, HDC.

*Wednesday, Feb. 22 vs. Club Tijuana Xolos, Time TBD, San Diego.

*Lastly, apologies to those of you who follow me at Twitter.com@LAsoccerblog and were subjected to spam this weekend after my account was hacked. Hopefully that has now subsided.

I don't know about you, but the increasing number of American players playing pivotal roles in the EPL for various clubs is among the reasons my interest in the league has picked up and is the subject of this week's column.

Incidentally, in case you missed the news, the Galaxy's Robbie Keane has returned to the EPL on loan with Aston Villa, as expected, in a move formally announced by the club this morning.

From the club's press release:

The Ireland international, who had been training with his former club, Tottenham Hotspur, since the start of January, began training with Alex McLeish's squad earlier this week ahead of the completion of the loan. He will be eligible to play for the Birmingham-based club beginning immediately and could make his debut for the club this weekend against Everton, who feature Galaxy captain Landon Donovan.

Keane will be eligible to play in as many as eight games for Aston Villa in the Premier League and the FA Cup before the FIFA international date at the end of February during which Ireland are scheduled to host the Czech Republic for a friendly in Dublin. Following that game, Keane will rejoin the Galaxy ahead of the club's trip to Toronto for the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Toronto FC at Rogers Centre on Wednesday, March 7.

Aston Villa and Everton clash at 9 a.m. Saturday in a delayed game scheduled to be aired by Fox Soccer, incidentally.

.

It's a real world intrusion into what is just a game and well worth remembering that life especially of someone so young is what truly matters.

Read the story here.

*Post updated

MLS Commish Don Garber welcomes Chivas USA SuperDraft pick Casey Townsend out of Maryland to MLS today at the SuperDraft in Kansas City, Mo (AP Photo).

You can follow the MLS SuperDraft here.

The highlights so far:

*Chivas USA, picking fifth, need a goalscorer or two in addition to Juan Pablo Angel, so they picked up a striker who had 17 goals in 22 games last year, Casey Townsend. That's the entire draft for the Goats - they're done.

"The kid is unbelievably competitive," said Chivas USA Coach Robin Fraser in a club stattement. "We watched him in the combine, we watched him in college, he's the kind of kid who wins literally every challenge he has, and it's all about his attitude. He is a very good finisher, has a good nose for the goal and he completely fits into what it is we are trying to do here. We want to get winners here and we got ourselves a winner today."

The Terrapin product reports to Carson for his physical this weekend and will start preseason camp Monday with the club at Home Depot Center.

*New England took UCLA's Kelyn Rowe, who is currently training with the U.S. Under-23 team in Carson, with the third pick.

From UCLA:

Rowe, a midfielder from Federal Way, Wash., had six goals and a Pac-12 leading 10 assists during his sophomore campaign and is the highest UCLA draft pick since Tony Beltran was taken third overall by Real Salt Lake in 2008. Rowe was also named Pac-12 Player of the Year for 2011.

*Los Angeles' Luis Silva of UCSB went fourth to Toronto FC.

*The Montreal Impact chose Hermann Trophy winner Andrew Wenger with the first pick.

Update

Chandler Hoffman of UCLA will join former Bruin Kyle Nakazawa at the Philadelphia Union, which held the 13th overall pick.

Update

The Galaxy take Indiana's Tommy Meyer with the 19th and final pick of the first round; they need depth on defense, as Coach Bruce Arena said earlier this week.

"He's a player that has a good profile to be a center back in this league," Arena said today in a statement released by the Galaxy. "He has physical size. He's a good header of the ball. A good defender and a decent passer out of the back. Once we get him into our setting we can learn a little bit more and work with him and try to make him better."

The Galaxy also have the last pick of the draft today.

Update

And with that pick the club took Louisville's Kenney Walker.

"I thought that he had a very good Combine," Arena said. "He is a defensive midfielder, a holding midfielder, an aggressive type of player and a good passer of the ball. I felt over the three days of the Combine he may have been a first round pick so when he was available in the second round we jumped on it and we're hopeful that he will turn into a good player."

Update

Here's a summary of today's MLS SuperDraft from the Associated Press:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Andrew Wenger looked a bit sheepish the moment he was asked what teams and players he followed growing up. He knew his reply wasn't all that daring.

"Well, Manchester United," he said. "And, of course, David Beckham."

Now, Wenger may have a chance to play against him.

The expansion Montreal Impact selected the Duke forward with the first overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, choosing the most complete player available in the two-round draft.

The Hermann Trophy winner as the top NCAA player, Wenger was the ACC defensive player of the year last season and offensive player of the year this season, finishing with 17 goals and eight assists.

"We have a lot of potential," said Wenger, who plans to join the new MLS club in a couple weeks, once his responsibilities with the U.S. men's national under-23 team in Carson are through. "It's exciting."

Just as exciting is the chance to potentially play against Beckham. The midfielder's contract with the Galaxy has expired, but negotiations are ongoing and Beckham reportedly has said he'd rather remain in Los Angeles than return to playing in Europe.

Montreal plays the MLS champion Galaxy May 12.

Akron forward Darren Mattocks was selected second by the Vancouver Whitecaps. UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe went third to New England, followed by UC Santa Barbara's Luis Silva to Toronto FC and Maryland forward Casey Townsend to Chivas USA.

The Impact were expected to choose between Wenger and Mattocks, who many believe has greater long-term potential. Club officials wavered between the two until a couple days ago, ultimately going with Wenger's versatility over Mattocks' scoring punch.

"It's going to be awesome," Wenger said. "I've never lived in a big city. I've been watching a lot of the Travel Channel lately, so at least I know of some nice places to eat."

Montreal coach Jesse Marsch, a longtime MLS star, said he doesn't know where Wenger will fit on the field. He's shown ability at forward and midfielder and as a lockdown defender.

"I think he was the best soccer player available," Marsch said. "We followed him very closely, and we just felt he had the best future, short term and long term, in the draft."

Mattocks is a speedy Jamaican who wound up at powerhouse Akron because he wanted to acclimate himself to playing in colder weather. He'll certainly get that opportunity in Vancouver.

"I knew from the get-go that it would be between me and Wenger. They picked Wenger first and that's OK with me," said Mattocks, a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and Mid-American Conference player of the year, who scored 39 goals in 47 games during his two years with the Zips.

Vancouver President Bob Lenarduzzi said his decision was easy once Montreal made its pick.

"It's been the consensus that the top two were Wenger and Mattocks," Lenarduzzi said. "We just needed Montreal to make up their minds. All along you sort of jokingly ask what they're going to do, but they never were going to tell me anything."

Sam Garza became the second player from UC Santa Barbara to be drafted when he went sixth to San Jose. Garza began his career at Denver before scoring 17 goals in two seasons for the Gauchos, helping them to a 15-7-1 record and the third round of the NCAA tournament this season.

Garza's grandfather, Bill Cross, was a running back for the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL.

Louisville midfielder Nick DeLeon was drafted seventh by D.C. United. His teammate, Austin Berry, went two spots later to Chicago. Connecticut defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste went eighth to Portland and Ethan Finlay of Creighton was chosen by Columbus with the 10th overall pick.

North Carolina's Matt Hedges went 11th to FC Dallas. Notre Dame defender Aaron Maund went next to Toronto FC, followed by UCLA's Chandler Hoffman to Philadelphia, UConn's Tony Cascio to Colorado and Creighton defender Andrew Duran to Seattle.

The biggest roar at the Kansas City Convention Center came when hometown club Sporting Kansas City made South Florida forward Dom Dwyer the No. 16 overall pick. Several hundred fans dressed in blue that had congregated to the side of the expansive ballroom burst into applause.

Dwyer, who is originally from London, began his career at Tyler Junior College in Texas. He was the Big East offensive player of the year after scoring 16 goals in 21 games for the Bulls.

"You hear rumors about teams and where you might go, but I didn't know anything about Kansas City," Dwyer said. "I'm excited to be here."

But does anyone, except Seattle - the Sounders are winners of three straight cups - care?

I'm sure Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena is thrilled (not): After all it's not like the club has much on its plate this year.

Here's more from AP on the U.S. Soccer decision announced today:

CHICAGO (AP) -- All 16 eligible Major League Soccer teams will compete in the U.S. Open Cup, which is expanding from 40 to 64 teams this year.

The tournament will start May 15, with the second round May 22 and the MLS teams from the United States entering in the third round May 29, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Wednesday.

MLS had entered eight teams in recent years, with six qualifying automatically and two emerging from play-in rounds.

MLS teams must win five games in the single-elimination tournament to earn the title. The final will be Aug. 7 or 8.

Seattle will attempt to become the first team to win four years in a row.

The three Canadian-based MLS clubs are ineligible for the competition, in case you were wondering.

Full details here.

He's attacking midfielder/winger Miller Bolaños, 21, who most recently played for Quito, the club previous signing Oswaldo Minda was with most recently.

"Miller is an exciting young attacking player," Chivas USA Coach, Robin Fraser said. "He's a good passer, good finisher, and good at running at people. (He's) definitely a special attacking talent and we certainly look forward to having him."

Here's more from the club press release:

Bolaños began his professional career at the age of 16 with Barcelona Sporting Club of Guayaquil. In 2009 he transferred to LDU Quito where he appeared in 93 matches, including 65 as a starter, and scored 22 goals. Miller also played in the U-17 South American Championship for Ecuador in 2007.

"He is a versatile player that was sought out by other international clubs. He really wanted to play here and we got it done," said Chivas USA General Manager Jose Domene. "He will be a great addition to Chivas USA because he is a different type of player that is not afraid to take on people."

*Where are you going to watch the Galaxy's Landon Donovan and his U.S. international teammate Tim Howard face Spurs and U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel? Kickoff is at 11:30 a.m. on Fox Soccer. A preview is here.

Tweeted LD: "Getting excited for the Tottenham game Wednesday! Won't be easy...3rd game in 7 days. Time to dig deep and #WinFromWithin"

*The Euro dreams of Robbie Rogers, who grew up in Rolling Hills Estates, could come true. Rogers, who previously played in Holland as a teen before returning home a bit homesick, has signed for second tier Leeds United - providing he gets a work permit.

Tweeted Rogers: "Excited to be joining Leeds United! Really hoping my work permit gets sorted!"

*Yesterday we took a look at the Galaxy's MLS SuperDraft prospects (which are really straightforward -- wait to see what other teams do).

Chivas USA has an even simpler task: Pick fifth. That's it.

Guess who the club plucked from the fifth spot back in 2006? Rogers' good friend, with whom he played in Huntington Beach, Sacha Kljestan, now of Anderlecht.

Chivas USA also has four picks in Tuesday's Supplemental Draft.

Galaxy GM and Coach Bruce Arena gave a handful of reporters an update this afternoon ahead of Thursday's MLS draft (9 a.m. live on ESPN2).

First, let's talk roster since that's likely to have more of a bearing on the coming season:

*Robbie Keane's pending loan to Aston Villa is a virtual certainty.

*Miguel Lopez has returned to Argentine club Quilmes, but Paolo Cardozo is expected to return to LA in 2012.

*The Galaxy have signed former Chivas USA defender Andrew Boyens and defender Chris Leitch, both picked in the Re-Entry Draft.

*Defender Leonardo has not yet recovered from injury, but is expected to stay with club this season, assuming the Galaxy can come to loan terms with his Brazilian club.

*Contract negotiations are on-going with an out of contract Chris Birchall, while nothing is finalized with Frankie Hejduk, Dasan Robinson and Jovan Kirovski.

Lastly, Arena said he should know more about the status of Omar Gonzalez later today, but at this point the club are just hoping he returns before the end of what could be a very long 2012 season.

As for the draft, Arena said given the Galaxy's two picks at the end of the first and second rounds, (19th and 38th overall) the team will simply hope to add depth to their roster.

"I don't anticipate the fact we'll trade up," Arena said. "We'll be reacting off the 18 picks ahead of us, it's really that simple. We're a bit handcuffed at that position. As we get closer to our picks we'll have to react to where we think the draft is going.

"I don't think we can draft a player to replace Omar. - we're aware of the fact we need to bolster our back line, but we're not going to be making up for the loss of Omar (via the draft) - that will have to come in other ways."

"Maybe there's a few less players at the top of the draft than previous years, but I think it's a little deeper than it has been over the last couple of years."

Here's more on the mechanics of this year's Supplemental Draft set for Tuesday from a Galaxy press release sent out earlier today:

The Galaxy also have five picks in the four-round, 76-pick MLS Supplemental Draft, which will be held on Tuesday via conference call. The Galaxy have all four of their natural selections (19, 38, 57 and 76) in the Supplemental Draft, as well as an additional fourth round pick (62nd overall) that they received from Chivas USA in August as part of the trade that sent Juan Pablo Angel to Chivas USA.

And here's a reminder how the Galaxy did in last year's drafts, again via the club:

In 2011, the Galaxy made two selections in the SuperDraft and four in the Supplemental Draft. Of the six players that the club selected, five were a part of the team that won MLS Cup in November, with four of them making at least one appearance in the regular season, led by first round SuperDraft pick Paolo Cardozo, who saw action in half of the club's 34 regular season matches and made eight starts.

Also, reserve Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Perk has joined the Under-23 team currently training at Home Depot Center.

It's not, you understand, that I resent my regular Tuesday column being held to an as yet unspecified day.

It's that, if it is held, it's for a better reason than that obscene excuse of a game of pointy-ball college football I had the misfortune to catch in a desolate Torrance pub last night. That was the culmination to the season?

No wonder I stopped regularly watching American football (well, that and the fact the UW Huskies and Seattle Seahawks went through years of being only slightly better than Chivas USA).

And talking about nonsensical time-wasting, check out the over-wrought ad from MLS below hyping the increasingly irrelevent less than SuperDraft set for later this week:

Good grief. And if you want people to take this event seriously do you really want to remind them about Freddy Adu, especially given the massive role he's played in MLS and U.S. Soccer in general (ahem).

In other more worthwhile news, the U.S. will play Italy Feb. 29.

And before anyone asks, no, I've seen no update from the Galaxy yet regarding the injury to Omar Gonzalez.

University of Redlands Coach Ralph Perez, a former Galaxy assistant coach, is a class act.

He (gently) coached me when I participated in a Galaxy fantasy camp for a column.

He is often an analyst on Galaxy radio broadcasts with Joe Tutino.

And he has assumed numerous coaching roles - arguably at more levels than anyone else - over decades of service to the sport.

Now he will receive the 2012 Walt Chyzowych Memorial Fund Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America Foundation-Walt Chyzowych Awards Ceremony Jan. 14 at the 2012 NSCAA Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

I've known Perez for a long time now dating back to his tenure with the Galaxy as an assistant coach.

He's one of the good guys of American soccer: Selfless, dedicated and an ambassador for the sport.

Sister paper the Redlands Daily Facts has more.

Clearing up a few odds and ends before the weekend (that would have posted hours sooner had our soon-to-be-replaced blogging software not freaked out):

*Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens, Chivas USA's Jorge Villafaña (formerly Flores) and UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe were named today to the U-23 camp set for Sunday through Jan. 25 at Carson's Home Depot Center and in Costa Rica. All but four of the 22-player roster, including Rowe, were in the December U-23 camp in Florida. Full roster, camp details here.

*The increasingly unimportant MLS Combine, a precursor to the increasingly unimportant MLS Draft, is under way in Florida.

There are several Southern California-based players involved from the likes of UCLA and Cal State Northridge. The complete roster of combine participants is here. You can watch the combine here.

*Chivas USA President Jose Domene tweeted this morning that a new player signing was imminent.

The club has also released four players who won't be missed: starting midfielder midfielder Marcos Mondaini; defender Michael Umana, a second time wash-out in MLS after featuring for Steve Sampson's Galaxy back in 2005; striker and noted braggart Victor Estupiñán, who boasted he would score 25-plus MLS goals and ended up with one; and third choice goalkeeper Sergio Arias.

*Former Chivas USA coach Thomas Rongen has joined Toronto as Academy director, the club announced today.

*Toronto also announced today that tickets for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against the Galaxy will go on sale next Friday. Tickets start at $29. Anyone making the trek from LA?

*Hermosa Beach native Dan Tobias has joined the South Bay Force as director of coaching for the club's girls program. The Mira Costa High grad and was a two-time PAC-10 Coach of the Year at the University of Arizona during a seven-year tenure at the school.

*Glasgow Rangers manager Ally McCoist said the club turned down an inadequate offer from French club Sochaux for midfielder Maurice Edu of Fontana.

McCoist was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the bid, which he didn't disclose, "was so far away that I would be very surprised if they came back in."

Sochaux is already home to American forward Charlie Davies, who spent last year on loan with D.C. United.

"I can tell you that I want Maurice Edu to sign a new contract rather than go anywhere," McCoist said.

*There's yet more on the scandals involving FIFA and CONCACAF today:

ZURICH (AP) -- FIFA says former vice president Jack Warner peddled "inaccuracies and falsehoods" when he claimed last month that he got World Cup television rights for $1 in exchange for supporting Sepp Blatter's presidential campaigns.

FIFA confirms that Warner received Caribbean broadcasting rights for $1, though from 1986 and not -- as Warner claimed -- from 1998 when Blatter was first electe d.

FIFA says the deals had "nothing to do" with Blatter's election campaigns.

FIFA says World Cup rights were often sold until 1998 for nominal sums to maximize coverage in developing nations, and provide soccer bodies with extra revenue from selling on rights to broadcasters.

The governing body says Warner was expected to raise money for the Caribbean Football Union.

*Finally, if you only watch one game this weekend, I recommend the Manchester derby in the FA Cup third round that's set to air locally at 5 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer.

Enjoy what is shaping up to be another stunning winter weekend in Southern California.

The Galaxy will begin the defense of their MLS title without the best defender in the league after Omar Gonzalez tore his ACL in his first training session on loan with a German club after leaving the USMNT camp.

Gonzalez collided with fellow American defender Timothy Chandler at the club's camp in Turkey. The Galaxy said this morning that Gonzalez will return to LA this weekend.

Here's a Google translation of the club announcement:

Serious injury in training camp: U.S. national team must return to surgery and rehab in Los Angeles.

The MRI scan at the hospital in Antalya on Friday, 6/1/12, brought the sad fact: U.S. national player Omar Gonzalez has been in training camp of the 1st FC Nuremberg, the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee torn and must return to the United States.

"This is very bitter for Omar," said Martin Bader, Director of Public Relations and Sport first FCN against representatives of the press: "He wanted to show us what he can and we have put great hopes in him."

Bader: "All the best!"

In a duel in the first practice with the team was the 23-year-old had been left, and stop the unit. After the sad diagnosis, the club organized the repatriation of the defender in Los Angeles.

"The important thing is that Omar is healthy and fit again. We wish him well, "Martin Bader gave him the best wishes for the journey:" In the 24 hours we have shared it as a sporty character and met interesting player. "

Surgery and rehab in Los Angeles

In the U.S., Omar will have surgery next week by the team doctor from LA Galaxy and then complete the rehab. The first FC Nuremberg wishes you, dear Omar, all the best and a speedy recovery!

Tweeted Gonzalez about 8:20 a.m.:

Still in shock that this happened. Your support and well wishes will carry me through a strong (and hopefully quick) recovery!

Los Angeles native Herculez Gomez is pointing out on Twitter that recovery times from the injury vary considerably.

However, press box colleague Luis Bueno, also on Twitter, notes the names of two Galaxy players who suffered similar injuries last season: Leonardo and Sean Alvarado.

And we didn't see them on the field at all after their respective injuries. Odds of Leonardo returning to LA just went up now, I'm guessing.

Lest we forget how important Gonzalez was to the Galaxy's championship winning team, which was built on its rock solid defense, here's what the Galaxy wrote in a press release issued at 3:08 p.m. Thursday about the young central defender heading to Germany:

The 2011 MLS Defender of the Year, Gonzalez appeared in and started 40 games for the Galaxy in all competitions last season, scoring four times from set pieces while adding two assists. He was named to the MLS All-Star First XI and MLS Best XI for the second straight season. A central figure in the Galaxy defense that tied an MLS record with 17 regular season shutouts and allowed just 38 goals in 46 games in all competitions, Gonzalez was also voted the Galaxy's Defender of the Year for a second consecutive season.

Updated 11:30 a.m.

In response to a reader's comment on this post I inquired about the status of Leonardo with the Galaxy.

Here's what a club spokesman said:

"We are currently in discussions for Leonardo to return on loan again from Sao Paolo. I do not have an update on how soon he would return to the field."

Tigres Triumph: Tigres' players, seen here celebrating their team's league title after beating Santos de Torreon Dec. 11, begin their championship defense this weekend as the Mexican league begins anew (AP Photo).

If it isn't enough that American soccer fans will experience the longest MLS season ever this year, while Galaxy fans are keeping tabs on the EPL (where Landon Donovan is plying his trade) and the Bundesliga (ditto Omar Gonzalez) U.S. players are increasingly making a breakthrough south of the border, too, (an out of shape Eddie Johnson aside, who is apparently incapable of playing for any team any where in the world these days).

The Mexican league cranks up again this weekend with relegation-threatened Tijuana (who trained in Oxnard during the preseason and are seeking to capture Southern California-based Mexican futbol fans' hearts that just don't flutter when it comes to Chivas USA) facing Morelia at 6 p.m. on KAZA.

To get you primed, here's the Associated Press season preview:

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Tigres' determination to defy the odds by winning back-to-back titles in the Mexico Clausura saw them sign Mexico international right winger Elias Hernandez.

Tigres last month won their first title in 29 years but aren't sitting on their laurels.

The other front-runners in the Clausura should be the four traditional powers -- Chivas, Pumas, Cruz Azul and America -- with Morelia, Monterrey and Santos Laguna there or thereabouts.

Unlike many other foreign leagues, the Mexican first division is unpredictable: Eight different teams have won the last 11 championships and no team has won consecutive titles since Pumas in 2004.

At the other end, Atlas, Estudiantes Tecos and Club Tijuana are set for a relegation battle that will see one team drop to the second division when the regular season ends in late April.

The season kicks off on Friday with Morelia against Club Tijuana, with the other first-round games set for Saturday and Sunday.

Tigres have kept together a stingy defense, and have added Hernandez as they also prepare to play in Latin America's biggest club tournament -- the Copa Libertadores.

Tigres Passion: Fans will be hoping the club can repeat their title triumph.

"I think defending the title adds an extra ingredient," Tigres' Argentine captain Lucas Lobos said. "Becoming champions again would be something beautiful."

Tigres have lost only attacking midfielder Danilinho, who has been loaned to Atletico Mineiro in his native Brazil.

"The challenge will be to maintain what the team showed last season," added Tigres midfielder Carlos Salcido, who signed five months ago from English Premier League club Fulham.

Tigres' city rival Monterrey signed the top scorer from the Clausura 2011, Angel Reyna, who was unwanted at America. Reyna made critical comments several months ago about America defender Aquivaldo Mosquera, and was subsequently dropped from the first team.

"They were off-the-pitch things that are now in the past," Reyna said. "I'm totally determined and motivated for the current season and already thinking about the first game."

Reyna's former club America -- one of the most popular in Mexico -- has undergone a major overhaul including a new coach in Miguel Herrera, who moved from Atlante.

Herrera has signed Venezuelan defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, as well as goalkeeper Moises Munoz, forward Christian Bermudez and midfielder Jose Maria Cardenas, as America seeks to improve on its poor 17th-place finish in the Apertura.

Like most Latin American countries, Mexico divides its season into two parts: Apertura (Opening) and Clausura (Closing).

America's big rival, CD Guadalajara, was quiet in the transfer market and is set to
challenge for its 12th title, again relying on players from the club's youth academy. Chivas fields only Mexican players.

Clausura 2011 champion Pumas will also go with youth. The Mexico City side has not made new signings, and has lost experienced forward Francisco Palencia, who retired at the end of last season.

Santos, runners-up last season, have opted for continuity after reaching three of the last four finals. The only addition is American international striker Herculez Gomez from Estudiantes Tecos.

Cruz Azul has not managed to lift the league trophy since 1997, despite regularly getting close. The club has signed experienced striker Omar Bravo, who was playing for Sporting Kansas City in MLS.

Morelia hope to be stronger with the signings of defender Oscar Razo and defensive midfielder Christian Valdez.

Relegation in Mexico is based on results across three years with one team being relegated every year. Tijuana, Atlas and Estudiantes Tecos are tightly bunched at the foot of the relegation table and have added to their squads hoping to avoid the drop.

Tijuana has signed Colombian Duvier Riascos, American Edgar Castillo and Jose Alfredo Gonzalez, while Atlas has brought in seven new players, including Venezuela international Giancarlo Maldonado from Atlante.

Financially strapped Estudiantes Tecos have brought in five new players, but lost Gomez and Argentine Jorge Zamogilny, who moved to relegation rivals Atlas.

Jaguares, San Luis, Pachuca, Toluca, Atlante, Queretaro and Puebla all have an outside chance at the title, but aren't considered contenders.

On Saturday it's Queretaro vs. Club America (2:55 p.m. Telefutura), Cruz Azul vs. Tigres (3 p.m. KAZA), Monterrey vs. Jaguares (2:55 p.m. Galavision), Chivas vs. Atlante, Santos vs. Pachuca (4:55 p.m. Telefutura), San Luis vs. Pumas (6:30 p.m. Galavision). On Sunday: Puebla vs. Atlas (10 a.m. KAZA), Toluca vs Estudiantes (9:55 a.m. Univision).

Steel yourself.

The 323-game season, which begins March 10 and concludes Dec. 1 with MLS Cup, is the longest in league history at 267 days.

Each of the league's 19 clubs will play 34 matches, 17 at home and 17 away, during the 34 week season.

And get ready for saturation television coverage.

A total of 89 games will be televised live nationally by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and Univision. More than 83% of all MLS games will take place on weekends or holidays, with every day of the week having at least one scheduled match during the year.

I always look for a tasty road trip.

Galaxy fans might want to consider games on July 14 and 19 in Portland and Vancouver respectively. You just can't beat those microbreweries in that part of the world.

For the truly ambitious, the Galaxy's longest road trip of the year goes from July 28 to Aug.15 and includes games against FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders FC, Chivas USA (well, OK, maybe that HDC game doesn't count) and the Columbus Crew.

Chivas USA fans might be eying games Sept. 2 and 8 in San Jose and Seattle respectively, assuming the club is still in the playoff mix at that relatively late stage of the season.

Also, the Galaxy's longest homestand of the year runs from Aug. 26-Sept. 22 and includes games against FC Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Colorado Rapids and Toronto FC.

Check out:

*The complete Galaxy schedule here.

*The complete Chivas USA schedule here.

*The national television schedule here.

*The complete MLS schedule you can download to that new iPad/tablet/iPhone/Android you got for whatever holiday you celebrate here.

Game on.

Maybe. Which is a little curious because Robbie Keane had previously publicly said he would not seek a MLS offseason loan to ensure he was fresh for Euro 2012. Here's the Associated Press story:

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -- Teammates with Landon Donovan on the Galaxy, Robbie Keane could soon be playing against the American in an English Premier League match.

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish said Thursday that his club has opened talks with Keane with a view to signing the 31-year-old forward on loan until March, when the Major League Soccer season begins.

If the Ireland captain completes his move to Villa Park over the next few days, his debut could come on Jan. 14 against Everton -- the team Donovan has just joined on loan for the same period.

"We are certainly pursuing it and, at the moment, both parties are keen," said McLeish, who wants the move concluded by Monday.

Keane is currently training with his former club, Tottenham. He scored three goals for the
Galaxy in the 2011 season and helped Ireland qualify for this year's European Championship.

"Robbie has got massive experience as a striker. That's first and foremost. He is a great
character as well," McLeish said. "Players can enlighten the dressing room as well, and these factors are all so important in this professional game.

"He is capable of hurting other teams with his team play. But, as it just so happens, he is also one of the brighter guys around football and has been for a long, long time."

Keane has also played for Liverpool, Leeds, Coventry and West Ham in the Premier League, and also had a spell with Italian team Inter Milan in the 2000/01 season.

Thierry Henry is also trying to secure a move back to the Premier League during the MLS
offseason, with Arsenal set to confirm the signing of its former captain once an insurance
agreement is reached with the New York Red Bulls.

*Post updated

That's the word from the Galaxy's Facebook page, which posted in the wake of U.S. Soccer's brief announcement that Omar Gonzalez had received permission to leave camp in Arizona.

"The Galaxy defender is currently out of the country having conversations about a potential off-season loan opportunity," the Galaxy statement said. "We should have more information in the next day or two."

Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza remains with the U.S. team, which opened camp earlier this week switches to Home Depot Center for a week from Jan. 13-20, then heads back to Arizona for the Jan. 21st game against Venezuela before the team heads to Panama for a Jan. 25 encounter with that nation.

Dallas' George John has also left camp,apparently for the same reason, while U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann has added Seattle Sounders midfielder Brad Evans and defender Jeff Parke to the camp roster.

Update

Well, we now know where Gonzalez has headed on loan. And look who his central defensive partner will be at the club - and is that a precursor for the country, too?

What was that about the U.S. Men's National Team becoming too German?

Update

Here's more on the Galaxy defenders' German team, courtesy of the Galaxy:

FC Nürnberg are currently in 15th place with 18 points at the halfway point of the German Bundesliga season with a 5-9-3 record. Currently on their winter break, Nürnberg will hold a training camp next week in Turkey before returning to Bundesliga action on Saturday, January 21 when they host Hertha Berlin. That will be the first of four league games that Nürnberg has scheduled during Gonzalez's loan, which will conclude following the club's trip to face FC Augsburg on Sunday, February 12. In between those two games, Gonzalez is also scheduled to face Hannover 96 on the road on January 27 and host the reigning Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund, on February 3.

Update II

I thought you were joking, Studs, about Omar's injury. Apparently not!

*Post updated (but American goalkeeper Tim Howard upstaged both Galaxy players today - see more below).

It's the MLS offseason and David Beckham and Landon Donovan are nonetheless making headlines here and in Europe.

Galaxy fans are still awaiting a decision from Beckham on his next move - and it's pretty clear what the popular sentiment is - while Donovan hopes to repeat his success of two years ago with Everton and could make his EPL debut of the season today against Bolton Wanderers (noon Fox Soccer Plus).

Everton isn't the team it was two years ago and Donovan too may have lost a step as he closes in on 30, but it appears Galaxy fans will be as much behind the MLS club's most influential player as they were then. My guess: Donovan will come on as a second half sub while the cautious David Moyes, the Everton manager, sizes up his match fitness.

And, after all, the drama is tiding us over until MLS camps open later this month.

It's Newcastle United-Manchester United at noon on Fox Soccer for those of you without the premium channel, BTW.

Updated

Donovan got the start for Everton today - and he's wearing the #9 shirt.

Lineups:

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Donovan, Neville, Heitinga, Osman, Stracqualursi, Saha. Subs: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, McFadden, Cahill, Gueye, Rodwell, Anichebe.

Bolton: Bogdan, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Ricketts, Mark Davies, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Eagles, Ngog. Subs: Lynch, Robinson, Sanli, Kevin Davies, Klasnic, Pratley, Wheater.

Updated

Diving Donovan? I didn't think so - and replays appeared to agree, - but Bolton defender Sam Ricketts wanted to make sure Landon Donovan didn't make a meal of the opportunity and draw a spot kick today in England (AP Photos).

Landon Donovan got the attention, but it was American goalkeeper Tim Howard - yeah, Howard - who got his name on the scoresheet for Everton against Bolton today in game played in howling wind and incessant rain that saw the Toffees succumb to Wanderers, 2-1.

From the hour or so I saw over lunch Donovan slotted right in to an Everton team desperate for an attacking spark and almost drew a penalty just before the end of the first half. Replays were inconclusive, however, and proved the ref was right in not giving Everton the spot kick.

Donovan played the entire 90 minutes and was a constant threat for Everton playing in a wide and withdrawn role.

Sticky proposition: Bolton and Sam Ricketts found Donovan a handful tonight in England, although Wanderers ultimately prevailed against the Toffees despite a Tim Howard goal.

Veteran ESPN soccer commentator Rob Stone has jumped to Los Angeles-based Fox Soccer, the latest switch in what has become something of a soccer media merry-go-round this offseason.

Already, Brit Arlo "the voice of the Seattle Sounders" White has joined new MLS home NBC Sports Network (formerly Verses) and ESPN dumped John "Brilliant!" Harkes.

Now the seemingly perpetually cherubic Stone has joined Fox Soccer as lead studio host for that channel as well as games shown on FX and the main Fox network. It's an obvious credibility-grabbing effort for a network that just lost MLS.

From the Fox Soccer press release:

National Soccer Hall of famer Eric Wynalda, the second-leading goal scorer in U.S. history, who has served Fox Soccer's primary studio host, shifts to become lead studio analyst.

Upon joining Fox, Stone's first assignment is to host Fox Sports' coverage of Arsenal vs. Manchester United prior to the NFC Championship Game, at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Jan. 22, the first-ever live Barclay's Premier League match on U.S. broadcast television. He'll also host Fox Soccer's signature studio programs including Goals on Sunday, wich focuses on the Premier League, Italy's Serie A and UEFA Champions League action and Match Day, two live studio shows bridging the network's Saturday morning Premier League matches.

Stone, a 1991 Colgate graduate, joined ESPN in 1997 and worked the last four World Cups for the network.

He will also host live coverage of the Chelsea-Manchester United game on Super Bowl Sunday and become lead anchor of the network's UEFA Champions League coverage.

You've heard the news, now take the poll:

And if you've got more to say, feel free to leave a comment

Happy 2012 folks.

Hope you enjoyed the holiday break; I know I enjoyed the respite from what can be a blogging grind. Let's bring ourselves up to date with what's been going on over the holiday break:

*While David Beckham has reportedly decided against signing for French side PSG, (before we feel flattered it has everything to do with his four kids and nothing to do with MLS) fellow Galaxy designated player Robbie Keane has joined former club Tottenham Hotspur - but only to train.

*The Galaxy's newly-signed Jose Villarreall and teammate Jack McBean are among 36 players called into the U.S. U-20 squad that began training Monday in Florida.

*At the same time 24 Development Academy youngsters including the Galaxy's Justin Dhillon, William Raygoza and Jaime Villarreal (younger brother of Jose) and Chivas USA's Marco Delgado and Ben Spencer are training at the same time and place as the U-20 squad. The roster.

*The USWNT will open camp Saturday at Home Depot Center with 29 players called into the squad ahead of Olympic qualifying later this month.

*Bruins Kelyn Rowe and Chandler Hoffman signed Generation Adidas contracts with MLS, while the league also signed UCSB striker Luis Silva ahead of the MLS Combine that starts Friday in Florida.

Lastly, this is a little over the top, but hey, how much hype does MLS usually get?