Saturday Galaxy Gameday: Big crowd expected to see Galaxy’s stars face MLS-leading Earthquakes

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Galaxy playmaker Landon Donovan (who is apparently keeping his options open if this real estate deal is any sign), non-Olympian David Beckham (who couldn’t bring himself to talk to the media Friday) and a temper-tantrum throwing Robbie Keane and the rest of the suddenly-hot LA team take on the MLS-leading San Jose Earthquakes before a massive crowd in the Bay Area tonight.

By the way, how do you spin Beckham’s reluctance to actually talk to the local media after his Olympic snub? Why, you let the subject-shy Beckham still get his facetime on camera with an “exclusive interview” with the team website wherein he dictates what questions are asked):

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U.S. Open Cup: Goats buck Eagles

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Staff Writer Phil Collin was in Fullerton and filed this game story.

Good thing: I couldn’t see much on the terrible live stream of the game that went down every few minutes and was like something out of 1995.

Attendance: 1,230 (it looked like fewer).

Chivas USA advances to the semifinals for the second time ever at 7 p.m. July 10 against three-time winner Seattle Sounders in the Pacific Northwest. The Sounders beat the Earthquakes in San Francisco.

Twitter reaction:

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Weekly Column: Euro 2012 reaches semifinal stage

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All ears: U.S. fans have been almost as receptive to Euro 2012 as those actually attending the tournament like these from semifinalist Germany (AP Photo).

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And let’s hope it’s more interesting than the Euro 2012 quarterfinals (for the most part) as I point out in this week’s column.

The game of the week locally: German fans will gather at Alpine Village near Torrance, while those of Italian descent will live and die with their team at the Italian American Club in San Pedro for Thursday’s decider between the two nations.

American soccer fans in general have embraced the tournament to a greater extent than ever before:

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — The European Championship’s viewership is up big from four years ago.

The average audience in the United States was up 82 percent for English-language broadcasts through the group stage. The 24 matches on ESPN averaged more than 1 million viewers. For Euro 2008, the games were watched by an average of 552,000 people.

Where are you going to watch the games?

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U.S. Open Cup Gameday: Charlotte Eagles at Chivas USA in Fullerton

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Chivas USA continues its pursuit of its most realistic silverware this season, taking on the minor league Charlotte Eagles in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup.

Meet the Eagle in the net tonight.

Reason for Chivas USA to worry (apart from their problems up front): Charlotte’s three victories in the competition all came on the road.

Tickets start at just $10 for tonight’s game.

The game will be streamed live at www.cdchivasusa.com.

Here’s more from Chivas USA:

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Beckham: England can beat Italy today at Euro 2012

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I managed to ask former England and AC Milan midfielder David Beckham in the Galaxy locker room Saturday how he rated England’s chances in the Euro 2012 quarterfinal against Italy today (11:45 a.m. ESPN) and what he thought could be the keys to victory:

“Of course we can win,” he said.

“We’ve done well. In certain games that we’ve played even when they’ve not played well, they’re battling … showing a togetherness, which is obviously important, we’ve got character, we’ve got a lot of young kids in the team with a lot of pace and they’re all performing.

“The manager is making the right changes at the right times and coming up against a good Italian tomorrow with players like (Andrea) Pirlo, I’ve obviously played with him, he’s one of the most exceptional passers I’ve ever seen.

“But then we’ve got Stevie G (Gerrard) who, again, is one of the best midfielders I’ve ever played with so, we’ve definitely got a chance of beating them. I would hope we do and then we come up against the Germans in the semifinal, which would be nice.

“It’s a proud time for our country. If our team does well in international competition it would be great for our fans.

“I’m sure they’ve got a huge amount of respect for each other — they are two of the best midfielders in the world,” Beckham added about Pirlo and Gerrard. “Whoever plays well is going to set up the team to win the game.

“There’s a lot of players in this game that can win it, players like forward (Antonio) Cassano, I played with him before, he’s a dangerous player. Players like (striker Mario) Balotelli, he is what he is, he’s a goal scorer and he’s been exceptional for Man. City and he scored a great goal in the last game. And we’ve got Wayne (Rooney) and other players who have been playing well like (Danny) Welbeck.”

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Keane’s salute to Irish countryman in Galaxy win

Galaxy 3 Vancouver Whitecaps 0

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Classy Keane: Robbie Keane salutes a fellow Irishman who lost his life in Poland at Euro 2012 after scoring against Vancouver Saturday at Home Depot Center (Photo by Robert Mora, courtesy LA Galaxy).

Said Robbie Keane after the game to reporters:

It was for a young fan who went to Poland , 21 years of age, he drowned. It was very, very sad. I called his father today to send my condolences, send my thoughts to him and his family. Irish people are very close and stick to each other through good times and bad times. He was a big soccer fan and it was a shame, it was just a bit of respect really. I may give (the) shirt to his father, if he wants it.”

Onto the game:

Last Saturday the Galaxy sat dead last in the Western Conference with 11 points from 13 games.

Today they have picked up almost as many points — nine — in the past seven days as they did over the last three months and are just five points behind Seattle, in fifth place in the conference.

“We could have gotten more goals, but I don’t want to be greedy, at this point,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “I think we are slowly becoming a good team. And, I think that inside our locker room we understand what it takes to become a good team. It was an important week for us. We are back in playoff contention. And, there are going to be a lot of difficult games ahead. Next week, we play, probably, the best team in the league right now in San Jose . We have a lot ahead. Hopefully, our guys have learned a lot in the first 16 games. We’ve learned enough to get us through the next 18.”

Staff Writer Phil Collin has the game story.

Next: at San Jose Earthquakes Saturday.

Watch:

Here’s the Whitecaps’ view of the game:

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Chivas USA scoreless, but not pointless in Dallas

FC Dallas 0 Chivas USA 0

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The less said about this one the better.

Two bad offenses, one scoreless game. Chivas USA at least picked up a shutout and a road point.

Game story.

I couldn’t find any highlights on YouTube at this writing. Lucky you.

Here’s what former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (Peninsula High, CSUDH, UCLA) thought of this one:

Next for Chivas USA: hosting the Vancouver Whitecaps July 7.

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Saturday Soccer: Galaxy try to ‘Cap last win in Carson, Chivas USA on Texas trail

Two good reasons for Galaxy fans to venture to Home Depot Center tonight: it’s the annual and increasingly popular equipment sale before the game, which features a Galaxy team coming off its biggest win of the season.

Staff Writer Phil Collin has the preview of a game Vancouver midfielder Vancouver midfielder John Thorrington, who was raised on the Palos Verdes Peninsula you can see from the stadium, always looks forward to playing in.

Watch:

The Vancouver perspective:

Chivas USA plays FC Dallas today in the Lone Star State in a game that breaks down like this statistically.

Dallas has a snappy little game preview:

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Galaxy to open CONCACAF Champions League campaign Aug. 23 in Carson

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The draw for the opening group stage was made today in New York.

The Galaxy open with Isidro Metapan of El Salvador, then play the dreaded Puerto Rico Islanders Aug. 29 in Carson.

The Islanders claimed the final CONCACAF Champions League berth Thursday night.

The Galaxy heads to Puerto Rico Sept. 19 for the return leg and finishes up Oct. 25 in El Salvador.

Screw up in those first two home games and the Galaxy will face an uphill climb to make the second round; come out of the gate fast and all the pressure will be on their opponents.

Here’s the complete draw.

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