Recently in Galaxy Category

The Galaxy's newly-signed veteran midfielder Clint Mathis, 33, went under the knife Friday in Santa Monica after injuring his left miniscus (that's knee cartilage for the non-medically-inclined) in training last week.

"Mathis has already begun his rehabilitation and could return to full training before the end of the preseason," the club said today in a press release. "He is expected to be available for the club's season opener against the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 27."

The 12-year MLS veteran, who has scored 61 goals in 249 regular season games, is in his second or third stint for the Galaxy depending whether you count the short episode in 2007 when the club and player were unable to come to contract terms and Mathis opted to play in Greece.

"It has nothing to do with age," Coach Bruce Arena said of the injury after training at Home Depot Center this morning. "Clint has a history with knees. You never like to see an injury, but if there's going to be one the best time to do it is now because he has plenty of time to rehabilitate and be ready for the first part of the season."

Meanwhile it appears Galaxy fans won't be seeing striker Alecko Eskandarian teaming up front with Edson Buddle any time soon.

Eskandarian, who suffered yet another concussion last year in a career punctuated by them, will be out some time it appears:

"The status of Alecko will be finalized this week, but he hasn't been cleared to play," Arena said. "I wouldn't say his career (is done), but his ability to play in the short term is going to be delayed for sure. ... Once his status is determined we'll fully explain where he's at. ... Maybe in the old days this guy might have a chance of playing, but I think we're being very cautious and thinking of the player first. ... Whatever is in his best interests in the long- and short-term we're going to go with."

Finally on the walking wounded front, Chivas USA striker Maicon Santos is out six to eight weeks after injuring his left MCL in a collision with Loyola Marymount University's goalkeeper in a scrimmage last Thursday. Rest, not surgery, is the prescription for this injury, club officials said.

Very, very quietly in a rare failure for Golden Balls.

Regular readers first heard about the shuttering of the academy at Home Depot Center mentioned here a couple of days ago.

Curious that AEG made no public announcement of it in conjunction with the closure of the London academy back in December. But not surprising given the damage control/spinning AEG and 19 Entertainment representatives spent much of Friday engaged in as they tried to convince me this was not a story. When a Beckham rep calls you from home at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday London time, you know how sensitive his management team is to ANY suggestion of bad news.

(Updated: The Galaxy youth teams - the club's academy teams, if you will - are now using the Beckham academy's former FieldTurf pitch, as well as one of its trailers.)

BTW, unlike last January (when Becks scored and AC Milan beat Bologna 4-1), the two teams tied 0-0 today. Beckham came on as a 79th minute sub for AC Milan, who are now 10 points behind table-topping rivals Inter.

AC Milan haven't won in their last four games.

Everton's Landon Donovan holds off Liverpool's Emiliano Insua on this play, but couldn't stop the Reds from doing the same to their cross-park rivals at Anfield Saturday, despite playing with a man advantage for most of the game. (AP Photo).

The on-loan Galaxy midfielder and Everton displayed little creativity in attack and Liverpool were deserved 1-0 winners in a typical blood and thunder derby that was never going to be mistaken for a shining example of fluid football.

Game story.

David Beckham's AC Milan play Bologna live at 6 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel.

No, not that Super Bowl thingie, which, as it turns out, is is not that super when it comes to global viewership anyway.

The big game for Southern California fans of real football is Landon Donovan's first taste of the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield. Just walking out the tunnel into the sold-out stadium is guaranteed to give the Galaxy playmaker goosebumps. And the game is live at 4:30 a.m. on ESPN2HD.

Donovan will be seeking to erase the bad memories of the last time he played at Liverpool's stadium: a horrific UEFA Champions League performance for Bayer Leverkusen that pretty much killed his career in Germany back in 2005.

Sounds like he's up for it.

Here are some more previews including:
* The probable lineups.

* The game basics from the BBC.

(Updated 7:30 p.m. - BTW, I swiped this from Facebook just now: For those interested in watching this Saturday's Merseyside Derby, featuring Landon Donovan... Breakfast then Liverpool vs. Everton match at the Off Campus Pub in Carson, this Saturday, Feb. 6. Breakfast will be served at 9 a.m., replay of the game will start at 10 a.m. $3 beer, $2 mimosas.)

Click to your right for the full slate of this weekend's games, but I recommend checking out the Chelsea-Arsenal encounter at 8 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel.

What else is going on this morning?

*Well, John Terry has lost his cherished England captaincy ahead of the World Cup and that crucial opening game against the U.S.

*The Galaxy Friday announced it will play a preseason friendly at 7:30 p.m. March 10 against Costa Rican team Puntarenas at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Stadium. Galaxy season ticket holders may purchase tickets for $10 beginning Monday; the cost to everyone else is $20 and those tickets go on sale Wednesday.

*Former Galaxy player Tony Sanneh reflects on his career and his time with the club here.

*2008 Galaxy draft pick Julian Valentin has joined the reformed Tampa Bay Rowdies of the USL.

*Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy is raring for the MLS season to start after missing last year through injury.

*Chivas USA scored four goals in 13-minute span, including two by striker Maicon Santos, in a 5-1 victory over Loyola Marymount University in a preseason scrimmage Thursday at Home Depot Center. Check out the lineups (and I wonder how close the team that played the first 45 minutes is to the club's lineup on opening day?):

Chivas USA (first half)- Zach Thornton, Jonathan Bornstein, Carlos Borja, Michael Umaña, Carey Talley, Jorge Flores, Marcelo Saragosa, Sacha Kljestan, Michael Lahoud, Maykel Galindo, Justin Braun.

Chivas USA (second half)- Jon Conway, Kevin Tangney, Emilio Viades, Matt McManus, Miguel Sanchez, Gerson Mayén, Ben Zemanski, Blair Gavin, Chris Ross (Cesar Zamora 70), Artur Aghasyan, Maicon Santos.

Good to see Omar Gonzalez keep his place; now the central defender needs to get his first cap.

He was the only Galaxy player named to the squad; Chivas USA contributes three players.

The 23-man roster of domestic-based players gathers Wednesday at Home Depot Center to prepare for the friendly against El Salvador Feb. 24 in Tampa, Fla.

Quotable:

"These are important opportunities for these players as we continue to formulate our plans for the roster for the World Cup," said Coach Bob Bradley. "This camp and the game against El Salvador provide a chance for the coaching staff to get one more long look at this group. El Salvador demonstrated during World Cup qualifying that they are a difficult team to beat, so we expect a good match."

Notable: All these players were in last month's USMNT camp in Carson except for striker Brian Ching and newly-signed Philadelphia Union defender Michael Orozco.

Here's the full roster:

goalkeepers - Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)

defenders - Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

midfielders - Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

forwards - Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

And after his USMNT performance last month at the HDC, let's just be glad Jimmy Conrad wasn't picked again.

Three in the morning:

*A three-round WPS dispersal draft for the 20 players from the defunct Sol begins at 10 a.m. today. St. Louis has the first pick: Marta or Torrance's Shannon Boxx?

*The disintegration of the Carson-based David Beckham Academy is apparently all but complete (and yes, I'm aware the link to the local academy redirects to Beckham's defunct London branch, which merely underlines the point): Stephen Myles, 48, the academy's director of competition the last two years has joined the New England Revolution as assistant coach.

He also spent the last two seasons coaching the LA Galaxy's Under-16 team and was at Sheffied United for nine years before relocating to the U.S.

Kenny Arena - the son of Galaxy coach Bruce Arena - is now head coach of the U-16 team, BTW.

*Finally, the USWNT is wrapping up its three-week camp at Home Depot Center ahead of the Algarve Cup.

Here's a guide to all 240 MLS games (with a full interlocking schedule where all 16 clubs play each other twice for the first time in league history) month by month.

Here's the Galaxy schedule. Complete with a visit by Sigi Schmid's Seattle Sounders to take on his former club on Independence Day. And six of the Galaxy's last seven games are at Home Depot Center (how favorable is that).

Here's the Chivas USA schedule.

The dates that really matter:
*Thursday, April 1 Galaxy-Chivas USA 8 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN Deportes
*Sunday, Oct. 3 Chivas USA-Galaxy 5 p.m. ESPN2/ESPN Deportes

Notable:

* A total of 75 percent of games will be played on Saturdays; 85 percent of games will be played on weekends.

*The four Mexican teams in this year's SuperLiga will be announced in the coming weeks; they'll join Chivas USA, the Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, and New England Revolution in the tournament.

Here's more on the Galaxy television schedule from the club's press release:

Of the Galaxy's 30 games in 2010, 16 will aired by the league's national broadcast partners, ABC/ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel/ Fox Sports En Español and Telefutura. ESPN and ESPN Deportes are scheduled to air five Galaxy games in 2010, including both of the SuperClasico's against Chivas USA, as well as home games against San Jose (July 22) and New York (Sept. 24) and the club's first-ever trip to Chester, Pa. to take on the expansion Philadelphia Union (Oct. 7).

Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports En Español will broadcast a total of seven Galaxy games in 2010, starting with the season opener against New England at 8 p.m. on March 27. The Galaxy's games away to Toronto FC (June 26), D.C. United (July 18) and the New York Red Bulls (Aug. 14), the club's first-ever trip to Red Bull Arena in Harrison N.J., will also be carried on the networks. The two Fox networks will also broadcast the Galaxy's home game against Real Salt Lake on April 17 in the year's first rematch of MLS Cup 2009, as will the club's home games against the Chicago Fire (Aug. 1) and D.C. United (Sept. 18).

Telefutura rounds out the Galaxy's national broadcast package with four games, beginning with the club's trip to Qwest Field to face the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, May 8. The network will also show the Galaxy's home match against the Houston Dynamo (June 5), their trip north to San Jose to face the Earthquakes (Aug. 21) and their game at Toyota Park against the Chicago Fire (Sept. 4).

At about 11 a.m.

MLS has already released clubs' home openers.

From the MLS press release:

Each MLS team will play 30 games - one home, one away, against each of the other teams - for a total of 240 games from March 25 to Oct. 24. Wednesday's announcement will include the national broadcast schedule for the 2010 season including games on ESPN2/ESPN Deportes, Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports en Español and TeleFutura.

I've been under the weather the past couple of days, so unless I hear of something major going on in the next hour or so I'm planning to skip Tuesday's column and crawl back into bed.

But here's a couple of quick updates to get your week under way:

*Chivas USA defender Ante Jazic played 90 minutes Sunday as Canada lost 1-0 to Jamaica.

*Chivas USA will scrimmage against the PDL's Ventura County Fusion at 11 a.m. Tuesday on field 6 at Home Depot Center and scrimmage again at 11 a.m. Thursday in Carson against LMU.

*The Galaxy's new Brazilian trio have joined preseason training.

*And here's your deal o' the day - both the Galaxy and Chivas USA are offering ticket specials that went on sale today in conjunction with the March 3 Mexico-New Zealand game at the Rose Bowl that's part of Mexico's six-game pre-World Cup tour in the U.S. between Feb. 24 and May 13. (Mexico also plays Bolivia Feb. 24 in San Francisco, the road trip inclined should know).

For $30, Chivas USA fans can purchase a general admission seat for both the Mexico match and Chivas USA's Home Opener on March 26 against the Colorado Rapids.

For $75, fans receive a midfield seat to the Mexico-New Zealand game as well as sideline seats for the first two Chivas USA home games of the season.

Galaxy fans have a similar choice.

For $30 fans get GA seats for the Mexico game and the Galaxy's March 27 season opener at the HDC against the New England Revolution OR the April 1 SuperClasico against Chivas USA, while $75 gets you the same choice of games, but with sideline seats.

For the Chivas USA offer call 1-877-CHIVAS-1; for the Galaxy offer call1-877-3GALAXY.

Doh! It was that sort of day for AC Milan and David Beckham today against struggling Livorno. The two teams drew 1-1 (AP Photo).

More here.

Roma took advantage of Milan's dropped points , by pulling into a tie for second in Serie A.

Also this weekend:

*The Galaxy's second on-loan star, Landon Donovan, helped Everton narrowly beat Wigan Athletic 0-1 on Saturday. BTW, check out the nice little chalkboard device you can use to break down Donovan's or anyone other players' performance at The Guardian. Donovan was subbed yet again, but again showed some good touches, especially in the first half.

Next: the Merseyside derby against Liverpool live at 4:45 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

*Spoiler alert! Fox Soccer Channel will air the CONCACAF U-20 final at 2 p.m. today on a delayed basis. If you want to know what happened click here.

*Finally, while (former?) Sol GM Charlie Naimo didn't return a call seeking comment about the team's demise Friday, he did send some e-mailed comments via the WPS office:

"Yesterday was a sad day for the franchise, staff, players and fans. Until I see our players on other rosters I will continue to work for the organization. This is a very special group of players that we assembled and it's very tough for me to see this team dispersed next week.

"In just one year, we built a great brand in women's soccer and in the Los Angeles area. It takes time to build up a following in any sport and over the season, we developed a terrific and loyal fan base.

"It was a special first season, winning the regular season title like we did and playing the kind of soccer that no one thought would be possible in just the first few weeks of a new league and a new team. I'm hopeful that the team can return for LA fans in the not-so-distant future.

"It was hugely disappointing that our efforts to find a new ownership group came up short. We felt like things were really looking good until the latest stages of the transaction. Those conversations in and of themselves, leave me optimistic for the future of WPS in Los Angeles.

"We proved in 2009 that it's a viable market, we just need to locate the right ownership group that is interested in being with the team for the long-term.

"WPS has so many incredible things going for it in 2010, including the quality of the players assembled from around the world and the U.S., stadium upgrades, two new franchises and some changes to its regular season. I'm only sorry that the Sol won't be part of that in 2010."

More on the Galaxy's Mr. Klein later in this post, but you should know:

*The Galaxy had their first general media availability Wednesday (although loyal 100 Percent Soccer readers got the inside scoop here a couple of days ago). And while the waived Tony Sanneh and Leonard Griffin weren't around to answer questions, plenty of other players were to reflect on the coming season.

*That Chivas USA will host a benefit event for Haiti tonight at Grunions in Manhattan Beach.

*What the English papers are saying about Landon Donovan's stellar performance Wednesday for Everton courtesy of the Soccer Insider blog.

*One game stands between the U.S. U-20 Women and a World Cup berth, an 11:30 a.m. clash against Costa Rica live on Fox Soccer Channel.

*About that promised Klein item. Here is an exchange between Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena and an apparently hard of hearing reporter at Wednesday's training session regarding veteran Klein via colleague Phil Collin:

Arena: It still demonstrates a guy who's been a good player, a durable player, a fit player and a good player.

Reporter: Adorable player? I've never heard that adjective used.

Arena: Durable.

Reporter: Oh, durable! I thought you said adorable, I apologize.

Arena: Adorable, wow. Well, he is that as well, I might add.

Now that photo to the right is a familiar sight for Galaxy fans when Landon Donovan scores, no?

And LD almost got a second goal, too.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -- U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan scored his first Premier League goal, helping Everton defeat Sunderland 2-0 on Wednesday night.

Donovan, on a 10-week loan from Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, scored in the 19th minute at Goodison Park with a left-footed shot off a headed pass from Tim Cahill.

Cahill put Everton ahead with a sixth-minute header at Goodison Park.

Donovan has signed a new contract with the Galaxy through 2013 and is scheduled to rejoin the team for its March 27 league opener, but a MLS work stoppage could start next week and prompt Donovan to try to extend the loan.

"The games he started were Arsenal and Manchester City, two of the better teams in the
country, and I thought he played really well in those games," Everton manager David Moyes said. "He has not had many chances in those games but tonight he got his first one and he was a bit unlucky not to get a second with it cleared off the line. If he can add us a goal or two, that will be great."

More details here.

Updated

Said LD on Facebook:

Fantastic night and a great result for us! It was nice to play a mid-week game after a disappointing result on Saturday against Birmingham. It was really nice to get my first goal...great header by Cahill and a great run by Saha to take the defender away. Not too much time to enjoy it with Wigan coming up on Saturday. Thanks, as always, for all the love and we'll see you guys Saturday.

The jet set: David Beckham and former Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit discuss hairstyles on the Galaxy's Australian tour in November 2007 (AP Photo).

At least in any depth, although with Ruud Gullit that's a relative term.

In truth, the story below is not particularly eye-opening, but then that was one of Gullit's major traits as Galaxy coach, speaking without actually saying much of substance. Hope ESPN isn't paying him too much.

Still, for what it's worth, here's the Associated Press piece:

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) - Ruud Gullit didn't take long to realize he was the wrong man to coach David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"In LA, nobody is talking about soccer. No television stations. You see it nowhere," Gullit
said. "It's difficult to swallow because you need that adrenaline to pump yourself up. If
nobody talks about it, it's almost like an enigma."

Famous from a standout career that earned him the 1987 European player of the year award, the former Dutch star was hired with much fanfare in November 2007. He left just nine months into a three-year contract, the Galaxy further adrift than when he arrived.

Now a television commentator for Sky Sports in England, the long dreadlocks of his playing days replaced by a close-cropped look, the 47-year-old is preparing to be a studio analyst for ESPN at this year's World Cup. He'll be paired in Johannesburg with his former Galaxy boss, Alexi Lalas, a key figure in the expansion of the network's coverage.

To prepare, Gullit made his first trip to ESPN's studios this week. During a 30-minute
interview Monday, he was willing for the first time to publicly discuss what went awry during his time in Los Angeles.

"It was too much of a clash between my way of being used to working and the rules of the MLS," he said.

Gullit couldn't cope with restrictions such as Major League Soccer's salary cap and its draft.

Having coached previously at Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord, he was accustomed to the ways everywhere else in the soccer world: When you want a player, you go out and buy him.

His three-year contract was said to be worth $6 million, and he said that was so out of line with MLS standards that it created an uncomfortable situation.

"For the amount of money that they normally pay, I don't go from Europe all the way to live here. So therefore they need to find sponsors. But who knows Ruud Gullit in America? Who would pay that amount of money? And the moment that you find out nobody wants to pay that, that's where all the trouble starts," he said.

Lalas was let go as the Galaxy president and general manager on the same day Gullit departed, the team just 6-8-5 following a seven-match winless streak. The Galaxy missed the playoffs for the second straight season before reaching the MLS Cup final in 2009 under Gullit's successor, former U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena.

"I think he's being a little hard on himself to be honest with you. I think there's plenty of
blame to go around," Lalas said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I probably should have done things differently to at least help more in some ways. But I think ultimately the learning curve was so big, and he came into a situation that was so different than anything he'd ever been associated with, that it was going to take a long time. And unfortunately for Galaxy, we didn't have that time. And that's our fault also."

In some ways, Gullit is dismayed by the lack of a soccer culture in the United States.

"When USA is playing at home, they don't play at home. It's unbelievable," he said. "Certain people don't want to acknowledge it so much because everybody wants to protect the American sports, and I can understand that. But everybody knows soccer is coming. Everybody plays it everywhere. I think it will be two generations -- then people will get used to it, understand the game more. This generation still doesn't understand it."

He also can't get used to the American system of playoffs that MLS uses. Gullit thinks it
creates an atmosphere that's not conducive to top soccer, clashing with the rest of the world, where the team that finishes first automatically is the champion.

"Every week you have to play well to be the champion. But here it's just a matter of getting in the playoffs, and how you get there is not so much important as long as you play well in the knockout stages," he said.

ESPN likes Gullit's outspokenness. Tim Scanlan, ESPN's vice president of event productions, recommended Gullit to Jed Drake, the executive producer of ESPN's World Cup coverage, and the pair met with Gullit in London late last year to sign him up.

"He is just a completely engaging character and one who has been around a good bit of time and has seen the game from a variety of perspectives," Drake said.

Gullit predicts Brazil will reach the final in South Africa. He has high hopes for the
Netherlands, the team he captained to the 1988 European Championship. But he also has doubts.

And then there is Italy, the defending champion.
"The thing is always with the Italians, they don't need to play well to get to the final," he
said.

He also believes the U.S. has the ability to upset England when they meet on June 12.

That matchup in Rustenburg is getting the most attention of the 48 first-round games, already drawing the highest prices in the secondary ticket market.

"I always say to a lot of people all around about American football, I say: 'Look, you
underestimate it. You go and play in 90 degrees, on turf, in the afternoon, traveling six
hours,'" he explained. "And when they play under the normal circumstances, all of the sudden these teams say: "Hey, wait a minute. This is not as bad. They play some good
football.'"

New Galaxy signing Clint Mathis works out in the gym Monday on the opening day of preseason training (Photo by Robert Casillas).

It's a simplistic argument, but a convincing one: were it not for a lack of firepower last year the Galaxy would go into this season as defending MLS Cup champions.

Coach Bruce Arena, I think, would generally agree with that statement given what he told his players Monday on the first day of preseason training.

Of course, we can argue whether the Galaxy have the players who are capable of scoring more goals, but Arena clearly believes that to be the case.

The Galaxy have until March 27, when they open the season against the New England Revolution at Home Depot Center, to sort it out.

For more, read Tuesday's column.

There's always quotes that don't make it into a column for space reasons.

Here's Arena on why he chose to "draft" Brazilians rather than take a closer look at the college ranks here:

"There's only so much you can do with draft picks. I really believe if you're going to build a team from the college draft, I bet you're going to have a tough time."

Here's Arena on what he expects from those three young Brazilians this season:

"They're good young players. Like any players there's going to be a transition period. We have to see how they adapt to being in this country and this league every day and deal with the grind of competing."

Defender Gregg Berhalter puts his best foot forward Monday in fitness training.

Finally, here's Gregg Berhalter on the Galaxy picking up Clint Mathis:

"We know Clint. We're lucky enough to have been around him for many years and he has special gifts that many players don't have: he can use both feet with equal effectiveness and he has a good eye for a pass, he has a great shot, so we know what he brings to the table. It's just bringing all of those things out of him and getting him focused on helping the team, which I know he'll do."

Also, UCLA striker Sydney Leroux scored a 64th minute winner for the U.S. U-20 team to beat Mexico 2-1 and send the Americans onto a 11:30 a.m. Thursday meeting with Costa Rica in the World Cup semis live on Fox Soccer Channel. FSC will also show the Canada-Mexico semi that immediately follows the U.S. game.

More here.

At least, that was the verdict of the BBC as nine-man Inter Milan went nine points clear atop Serie A today over rivals AC Milan.

Inter Milan Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, left, saves from on-loan Galaxy midfielder David Beckham in today's Milan derby as Inter Milan defender Davide Santon looks on (AP Photo).

It was the first time David Beckham had tasted defeat with AC Milan while on loan there this season.

Full disclosure: I did not see the game because I'm stuck here at work on a Sunday and we don't get Fox Soccer Channel at the office.

Read the game story here.