Galaxy: February 2012 Archives

Former Columbus Crew and Puerto Rico Islanders goalkeeper Bill Gaudette was signed by the Galaxy today as a backup to No. 1 Josh Saunders, a move that resulted in the waiver of Nick Noble, who joined the club in preseason after spending two years in Sweden.

Noble had allowed six goals in seven preseason games.

Gaudette, 30, has appeared in parts of three preseason games for the Galaxy, allowing two goals in 129 minutes of action.

He was a former USL Goalkeeper of the Year while with the Islanders, leading them to a shock CONCACAF Champions League win over the Galaxy in July 2010, making seven saves.

He spent the 2011 season with the NASL's Montreal Impact, appearing in nine games for the club.

*We're a matter of minutes away from the 11:30 a.m. Italy-U.S. game (ESPN2, Galavision), but there's plenty other games on TV today:

* At 5 p.m. on KMEX Mexico plays Columbia in Miami, followed by the Under-23 encounter between the U.S. and Mexico. The Americans have the Galaxy's Michael Stephens, Chivas USA's Jorge Villafana and Club Tijuana's striker Joe Corona and left back Greg Garza

*The Galaxy, meanwhile, play their second game of the Desert Diamond Cup against the New York Red Bulls in a contest that can be seen live at 7 p.m. here.

The Italian Job: U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley, right, seen here playing for Chievo, is the lone American national team player in Serie A; Italy hosts the U.S. Wednesday in Genoa (AP Photo).

*Injuries threaten to derail Coach Jurgen Klinsmann's plans to have the U.S. primed and ready for World Cup qualifying this summer; he has just three games left to prepare beginning Wednesday in Italy.

In other soccer news:
*Chivas USA fell to Sweden's AIK Monday in Portland, where staggering numbers of Timbers fans turned out to watch a pre-season exhibition doubleheader.

Chivas USA lineup: Dan Kennedy, James Riley, John Valencia, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Michael Lahoud (Laurent Courtois, 58), Alejandro Moreno (Casey Townsend, 63), Oswaldo Minda, Ryan Smith (Alan Souza, 46), Miller Bolaños (Ben Zemanski, 55), Juan Pablo Angel (Cesar Romero, 71).

Substitutes Not Used: Tim Melia, David Jr. Lopez, Rauwshan McKenzie, Scott Gordon, Jose Najera.

*It looks like the Seattle Sounders Women were always going to have the inside track to sign Diamond Bar's Alex Morgan. Here's why.

*In what is clearly a money-saving move, more details are emerging of the recent layoffs within Galaxy parent company Anschutz Entertianment Group and the realignment of its management structure to operate its 11 sports entities.

The No. 1 priority for the Galaxy: "dramatically" increasing season ticket sales.

"We are No. 1 in Major League Soccer with our jersey deal, with our naming-rights deal, with our sponsorships, with our premium-seating revenue," AEG President TimLeiweke told SportsBusiness Daily. "We are No. 1 straight across the board. We are not even top three in season-ticket sales. This is all about season-ticket sales for the Galaxy."

Leiweke said McGowan has added about 1,000 season tickets over the past month, since joining the Galaxy, to bring the club's number to around 7,500.

Trying something a little different.

I plan to update this as the game progresses.

*The Galaxy play their second game of the Desert Diamond Cup Saturday in Arizona against Real Salt Lake, which will be streamed live here at 5 p.m. (but is apparently not available on iPads and other mobile devices).

Here's an update on the club's Arizona camp:

*Injured defender Omar Gonzalez is making four separate appearances over the weekend, starting in San Pedro Saturday morning before heading to the annual Cal South Soccer Expo in the afternoon.

*Chivas USA, meanwhile, announced their television schedule on Friday.

*Lastly, if you watch one game this weekend .... I recommend little Norwich City taking on mighty Manchester United (but then I'm a biased Canaries fan) at 5:23 a.m. Sunday on Fox Soccer Plus, which has a free trial that ends Sunday. Arsenal-Tottenham is on at the same time Sunday over on Fox Soccer.

*If, like me, you were unable to watch the Desert Diamond Cup opener Wednesday between the Galaxy and Revolution on your iPad/smartphone because the MLS stream apparently doesn't support mobile devices, check out the highlights below.

Benny Feilhaber's smooth bicycle kick just 90 seconds in got things started, while Edson Buddle also scored to get his second Galaxy stint rolling:

Here's the Galaxy lineup: Josh Saunders, Todd Dunivant, A.J. DeLaGarza, Tommy Meyer, Dan Keat, Mike Magee (Paolo Cardozo 46), David Beckham ©, Marcelo Sarvas, Pat Noonan (Hector Jimenez 57), Adam Cristman (Juninho 46), Edson Buddle (Jack McBean 79)

Here's the Galaxy reaction to the game:

*Chivas USA came off second best in San Diego last night, losing to Club Tijuana's reserves.

Here's the Chivas USA lineup: Dan Kennedy, James Riley, John Valencia, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Oswaldo Minda, Nick LaBrocca, Michael Lahoud (Casey Townsend, 69), Miler Bolaños, Ryan Smith (Alejandro Moreno, 69), Juan Pablo Angel (Cesar Romero, 69).

Substitutes Not Used: David Jr. Lopez, Rauwshan McKenzie, Patrick Mclain, Ben Zemanski.

*Former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan has been playing more regularly in England so he is duly recalled (for the first time since late 2010) to the U.S. squad announced today for the upcoming game against Italy, along with Galaxy pair Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. More here.

*Former Galaxy midfierlder Chris Birchall has rejoined lower division Port Vale in England.

*Finally, here's an update on how former Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts is enjoying the weather in Montreal.

*The Galaxy are in Arizona for the four-team Desert Diamond Cup, which kicks off at 5 o'clock tonight with the opener between LA and the New England Revolution that will be streamed live here.

Here's a video update from the Galaxy on the importance of the preseason tournament:

And here's more on the Galaxy travel roster via the club:

Of the six players that did not accompany the team to Arizona , only Landon Donovan and Michael Stephens are scheduled to join the club for a portion of the trip. Robbie Keane remains in England to finish out his loan with Aston Villa while Omar Gonzalez, Kyle Nakazawa and Jose Villarreal are all recovering from injuries.

Donovan is scheduled to arrive in Tucson on Wednesday ahead of the tournament opener against New England, while Stephens is scheduled to arrive on March 1 after representing the U.S. Under-23's in a friendly against Mexico.

Keane was named in the Republic of Ireland squad that faces the Czech Republic Feb. 29.

*Meanwhile, Chivas USA find themselves playing one of the best teams in Mexico tonight, - CD Guadalajara remains rooted to the foot of the Mexican first division, BTW - Club Tijuana in San Diego, which the latter club considers their home market these days.

Robin and his merry men: Chivas USA Coach and former Galaxy defender Robin Fraser has turned to a familiar face to provide stability in midfield for the Goats (Photos by Staff Photographer Steve McCrank).

When former Galaxy midfielder and captain Pete Vagenas contemplated an offer from Chivas USA, it's fair to say he thought long and hard about the decision given his history with the first MLS team in the market:

"I'm honored to be here playing for Robin and Greg Vanney and I'm honored to be playing for Chivas," he said. "I understand the issues from my past. I wasn't insesnsitive to that when this decision was being made. I wanted to make sure I was making it for the right decisions and at the end of the day I want to be here and I want to play for these guys and I can't wait to get started.

"Robin was Obama before Obama to me, in the sense of I had so much respect for him," Vagenas added. "Not only was he a great player he was a great leader and he put the team first and sometimes that led to confrontations with our coach. But he said what needed to be said and I remember thinking specificallty as a young kid if I ever had the opportunity to be a leader I want to do it in that similar way."

Incidentally, Vagenas laughed when I asked him about his old "Pass Back Pete" nickname - and he made no apologies for it:

"It's a very possession oriented game and we have to establish that rhythm, but at the same time like Robin said this morning in the preseason we're trying to maybe play a bit too much. That leads to costly turnovers and before you know it you're down one nothing. Nobody want to play a prettier game thah I do, but at the end of the day you've sometimes got to play ugly because you're trying to win games."

And somehow you've got to think that with the presence of Vagenas in midfield, Chivas USA stands a better chance of exceeding their win total over last season.

For more, here's today's column.

Pete's Prayer: Former Galaxy midfielder Pete Vagenas wanted to finished his career in Southern California where he grew up; this year his wish came true when Chivas USA came calling.

Because really, Americans only like to buy properties in leagues that have salary caps. Here's more from the Associated Press:

LONDON (AP) -- The Anschutz Entertainment Group ruled out buying Tottenham Hotspur on Friday while reasserting its strong ties with the Premier League club.

Speculation about the owners of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy buying Tottenham has simmered since they jointly bid to move into London's Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.

After that bid failed, Tottenham initiated a search for investors to fund a new venue adjacent to its current White Hart Lane base and the club delisted from the stock market.

But AEG President Tim Leiweke has moved to quash talk of his company adding Tottenham to a sports portfolio that includes NHL's Los Angeles Kings and an interest in the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

"The stories that AEG is interested in or has been negotiating for the purchase of Tottenham are untrue," Leiweke said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We currently enjoy a very good business and personal relationship with Tottenham and have been involved with a number of transactions over the years. However at no time have we had a desire to purchase that club. "We will continue to have a great relationship with (chairman) Daniel (Levy) and Tottenham moving forward."

Harry Redknapp's side is currently the top club in London, sitting third in the Premier League seven points behind leader Manchester City.

Tottenham is mostly owned by ENIC, which is controlled by Bahamas-based businessman Joe Lewis.

Cali kid: Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates is now a Galaxy player.

I've followed the career of Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa since he pulled the strings in midfield for UCLA.

Now he's joined his hometown Galaxy and will (hopefully) play regularly at Home Depot Center, a stadium where you can see the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the distance.

I recently had the opportunity to chat briefly with Nakazawa after one of his first training sessions since joining the club from the Philadelphia Union.

Question: Are you glad to be home?
Answer: I went from not too good of a situation (in Philadelphia) to the best situation ever - being home, playing where I grew up. I couldn't ask for anything (better). My entire famiy is super happy; my parents were ecstatic when they heard the news, so it has been a positive transition for everybody.

Q: What is going on at the Union with all these major players changes?
A: To be honest, I have no idea. I just know they're making a bunch of changes and I think they're going in a different direction with their team. Some players they decided to keep, some players they had different plans for. In the end it worked out for me because I ended up coming back here, back home, but I think they're just doing a big overhaul of their team.

Q: Was the trade a big surprise to you?
A: It wasn't a huge surprise. I played a lot during the first half of last season, but then during the last half of the year I was struggling to find playing time. The most important thing for any player is to finish strong and towards the end of last season I wasn't playing much and had a feeling the team had a different outlook as far as my future (with it).

We had barely even started training over there (this year) and then there was talk of me heading west. I didn't think it was going to be resolved this quickly, but obviously I couldn't be happier. I was on the first flight out (of Philadelphia) the next morning. I was ready to get out of there.

Q: What about your opportunities with the Galaxy? They have a pretty loaded roster in midfield.
A: It's probably the most competitive midfield in the league. But I'm here to work hard and contribute anywhere on the field that I can. If I continue to work hard and improve every day I'll get a chance.

Q: How is it being back on a squad with former Bruins Michael Stephens and Brian Perk?
A: It's kind of like a UCLA reunion. I had played with those guys even before that in (U-17) residency (in Bradenton, Fla.). It's a weird feeeling, but it's also really cool. There's a lot of players here on the Galaxy (squad) I'm really familiar with and trained in the offseason with while I was at UCLA. So I'm comfortable with how the guys play - it's a great feeling (to be here).

*Post updated

Galaxy President of Business Operations Tom Payne, 47, (right), responsible for all the club's front office moves, and Director of Communications Patrick Donnelly, a long-time fixture in the team's public relations department, have both left the franchise in what parent company Anschutz Entertainment Group is characterizing as a "reorganization."

In place of Payne comes Palos Verdes Peninsula resident Chris McGowan, chief operating officer with the Los Angeles Kings, who will assume the same title with the Galaxy. He has been with the Kings 16 years.

Michael Altieri, vice president of communications and content with the Kings, will head up the Galaxy's PR efforts.

Youth Academy Director Chris Klein will also take on an expanded role in the club's front office, deputizing for McGowan.

The changes, plus others within AEG, are expected to be formally announced Friday. They were first reported by former Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas on Wednesday who Tweeted: "AEG says current @LAGalaxy President Tom Payne is "transitioning out of the organization"."

Payne joined the Galaxy in 2003 as assistant general manager and rose to the position of President of Business Operations in November 2008.

In that role he assumed responsibility for ticket sales, marketing, communications and the like.

Perhaps significantly, the Galaxy did not regularly sell out 24,500-seat Home Depot Center last year, despite going unbeaten at home and hoisting the MLS Cup at year's end.

The New York native is the brother of D.C. United executive Kevin Payne.

Donnelley had been with the Galaxy for more than 10 years, rising through the ranks of the club's communications department.

Updated Friday

Here's what Galaxy and AEG CEO Tim Leiweke had to say today about the appointment of the 38-year-old McGowan to the COO post:

"With our recent MLS Cup Championship, the return of David Beckham and our outstanding roster heading into this season, the Galaxy will continue their rapid growth in this marketplace under Chris' leadership. Also with the addition of our new partnership with Time Warner Cable Sports, we now have a tremendous opportunity to significantly increase our reach and support in both the English and Spanish-speaking population, and with Chris' knowledge combined with AEG's resources, we expect that growth to be unprecedented in our history with the Galaxy."

Reading between the lines, it seems that under the leadership of Tom Payne, the Galaxy simply wasn't growing its audience at the pace the hard-charging Leiweke expected.

Nevertheless, Payne claims it was his decision to leave the Galaxy:

"After nine great years here at the Home Depot Center, I have made the decision to leave the Galaxy organization. I have enjoyed my time with the club and have fond memories of all the great things that we have accomplished, including winning the MLS Cup last year in front of our home fans. During my time I have been able to see the growth of this club not only here locally, but also nationally and internationally, and I am proud to have been able to play a significant role in that growth."

Payne will temporarily remain with the Galaxy to assist in the transition.

*Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens and Chivas USA utility man Jorge Villafaña were both named today to a 10-day training camp in Frisco, Tex., involving 23 players that begins Sunday.

Senior squad regulars Dallas' Brek Shea and New York Red Bull Juan Aguedelo are among five newcomers to the roster.

The camp and a Feb. 23 game against their U-23 Mexican counterparts marks the final chance for players to impress Coach Caleb Porter ahead of Olympic qualifying, which begins March 22.

"I think Mexico is going to be about as close to a qualifying atmosphere as we can possibly get," Porter said. "We're going to have, for the most part, our entire group together for the first time."

The roster:

Goalkeepers - Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)

Defenders - Greg Garza (Club Tijuana), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Ike Opara (San Jose Earthquakes), Kofi Sarkodie (Houston Dynamo), Zarek Valentin (Montreal Impact), Jorge Villafaña (Chivas USA)

Midfielders - Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Mix Diskerud (Gent), Dilly Duka (Columbus Crew), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia Union), Michael Stephens (LA Galaxy)

Forwards - Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Tony Taylor (Estoril Praia)

*The Galaxy beat Chivas USA 3-2 this morning in Carson. Pat Noonan, Adam Cristman and Dan Keat scored for the Galaxy as LA sprinted to a 3-0 lead at the half; Trialist Cesar Romero and Michael Lahoud replied for the Goats in the second 45 minutes.

*Single game Galaxy tickets went on sale today for the club's 17 home MLS games starting at $30. Call 1-877-3GALAXY.

However, tickets for mini-plans, for as few as three games, start at $22 a game.

The Galaxy went undefeated at Home Depot Center last season.

*Landon Donovan was named Everton's Player of the Month after assisting on five of Everton's eight goals in January, and added another lovely dish against Chelsea last weekend. Donovan returns toi the Galaxy after Saturday's fifth-round FA Cup match against Blackpool (live 6:30 a.m. Fox Soccer).

*The Premier Development League, which includes five teams in Southern California, released its 2012 season schedule today.

The season begins April 22 when the newly-named LA Misioneros (formerly LA Legends) visits the Fresno Fuego.

*Loyola Marymount University announced today its 11-member 2012 recruiting class, highlighted locally by Bay League Player of the Year Michael Meissner of Palos Verdes High.

"Michael is a very versatile and talented attacking player," said Coach Paul Krumpe. "He is one of the top players in the South Bay, which is an area that has produced some of our best players. I expect him to be able to contribute in our midfield in a variety of positions."

How glad was I to skip a long-mulled holiday weekend trip to Palm Springs? Pretty glad.

Instead I simply stayed away from the keyboard for a few days and by way of catch-up should note that:

*The Galaxy lost yet another preseason game Wednesday at Home Depot Center, although much more important than the result was that Palos Verdes Estates' Kyle Nakazawa saw his first minutes in a scrimmage since joining the club from the Philadelphia Union and draft picks Tommy Meyer and Bryan Gaul continue to audition for a central defensive slot partnered by A.J. DeLaGarza.

*Speaking of center backs: the Galaxy is making injured stopper Omar Gonzalez available to the media Thursday for the first time since his knee surgery after the club's closed door scrimmage with Chivas USA.

*The Galaxy have pared their roster to 34, releasing 2011 draft picks Ryan Thomas and Dustin McCarty and 2012 draft pick Stephen Posa from camp. The only minutes Thomas, a defender, experienced was in the meaningless 2011 season finale, while midfielders McCarty and Posa simply had no chance to crack the star-studded Galaxy midfield.

*More important is the early return of Landon Donovan to the club in the wake of yet another sparkling performance for Everton against Chelsea that included an assist on the goal that sealed an unlikely win for the Liverpudlians. Would LD like to stay longer? Oh yeah, and it sounds like that is a more permanent stay is a distinct possibility eventually.

*Chivas USA, playing the Impact's second-string Wednesday following the Canadian club's game against the Galaxy, beat Montreal in Carson.

The club unveils its new 2012 jersey at around 30,000 feet somewhere between LA and Guadalajara today and have similarly high hopes for this young highly-rated Ecuadorian newcomer.

*Good to see former Galaxy veteran Chris Albright sign with his hometown team.

*Finally, is Diamond bar's Alex Morgan poised to become the latest American golden goal to win the nation's collective heart at this year's Olympics? Sure seems so.

I'm under a directive to burn some vacation hours so will take an extended break through next Tuesday.

That means no column next week, but one of this country's best soccer writers has stepped in with an apt Galaxy-centric column that breaks down the past and, hopefully, future sucess of the club.

In other local soccer news:

*No fewer than seven - yup, seven - MLS teams including the Portland Timbers, Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire (I'll let you guess the other two) are training at Home Depot Center this week.

Want to see some upcoming scrimmages?

Here's a (partial) schedule:

*10:30 a.m. Friday HDC Portland-Montreal
*Noon Saturday Oxnard College Chivas USA-Chicago Fire.
*10:30 a.m. Sunday HDC Portland-Houston
*11 a.m. Wednesday HDC Portland-Chicago.

Games involving the Galaxy are open to the media, but remain closed to the general public, BTW (the Galaxy and Dynamo meet at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the HDC).

*Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers reflects on signing for Leeds - and then seeing the coach that signed him promptly getting fired.

*No, Aston Villa you don't get to keep the Galaxy's Robbie Keane until a couple of days before the March 7 CONCACAF CL quarterfinal season opener (which isn't mentioned in this story). Villains, indeed.

*Guess which Galaxy player just got picked for their national team?

*If you only watch one game this weekend...make it Manchester United-Liverpool (4:30 a.m. Saturday ESPN2).

Also of note:

Landon Donovan and Everton against Chelsea (6:30 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer)
Robbie Keane and Aston Villa against Manchester City ( 8 a.m. Sunday Fox Soccer)

*Finally, The U.S. exhibition game against Brazil will be played May 30 at Landover, Md., U.S. Soccer announced today.

*Despite the presence of watching projected NFL top draft choice Andrew Luck in Carson today, the Galaxy lost 4-1 to the Portland Timbers at Home Depot Center.

Dan Keat had a goal on a bicycle kick in the losing cause.

The Galaxy starting lineup: Saunders; Jordan, Meyer, DeLaGarza, Dunivant; Franklin, Beckham, Sarvas, Stephens; Buddle, Cardozo

Second half: Noble; Davies, Boyens, Gaul, Murray; Jimenez, Walker, Keat, Nakazawa; McBean, Cristman

Highlights:

Also: It's two more EPL games and done for Landon Donovan.

*Chivas USA lost by a lone goal to the Colorado Rapids at the HDC.

Players used (not all at once): 1-Dan Kennedy (GK) Tim Melia (GK), 13-Ante Jazic, 3-Heath Pearce, 5-John Valencia, 7-James Riley, 8-Oswaldo Minda, 6-Peter Vagenas, 11-Michael Lahoud, 15-Alejandro Moreno, 22-Ryan Smith, 9-Juan Pablo Angel. Brian Rowe, RJ Allen, Rauwshan Mckenzie, 19-Jorge Villafaña, Kennedy Chongo, Markie Delgado, 16-Laurent Courtois, 27-Chris Cortez, 59-Cesar Romero, Daniel Steres, Keven Venegas, Mario Ledezma

Tweeted Kyle Martino: "Chivas starting with Moreno & Angel up top. Is there a slower pair of forwards in the league? Sure can finish if they get there though"

Here are the highlights of that one:

In an unexpected move, the Galaxy announced today that Brazilian midfielder Juninho, who became a fan favorite for his ferocious shot and high workrate, will return to the club after all for a second loan spell.

In addition, the club announced that Brazilian central defender Leonardo will also return to the club, this time on a permanent transfer.

Both players are from Brazilian club Sao Paulo.

The twin announcement comes the day after striker Edson Buddle returned to the club from Germany and back-up midfielder Chris Birchall confirmed via Twitter that he would not be returning to the Galaxy, as widely expected.

Juninho is the big prize here for the club, which hadn't been expected to re-sign the player. He had signed a contract extension with Sao Paulo and began training with the club's first team in early January.

Here's more from the Galaxy:

Juninho, who is scheduled to return to Southern California next week ahead of the Galaxy's preseason trip to Arizona, was an All-Star for the Galaxy last season and has been an ever-present force in the center of the Galaxy midfield over the past two seasons, starting 55 regular season games as well as six of the club's seven postseason matches.

One of the breakout stars in MLS last season, the 23-year-old appeared in and started 30 regular season games for the Galaxy, scoring four goals and adding two assists while combining with David Beckham to form one of the best central midfield duos in Major League Soccer.

His impact on the field was even more profound in the CONCACAF Champions League, where he scored the game-winning goal in each of LA's final two games in group play, giving the Galaxy a 2-1 home win over Morelia and a 1-0 win at Motagua, which gave LA a first place finish in Group A.

Leonardo, who turned 24-years-old on Sunday, was a key figure in the center of the Galaxy defense at the start of both the 2010 and 2011 seasons, but was limited by injures during his first two seasons with the Galaxy, playing in 17 of the club's 64 regular season games in that time.

After appearing in and starting 10 games for the club in 2010, the six-foot-two Sao Paulo native started each of LA's first seven games in 2011, helping them go 3-1-3 and keep three clean sheets while even scoring the first goal of his MLS career in the 1-0 home win over Philadelphia on April 2.

However, late in the club's 2-1 win in Chicago on April 17, Leonardo suffered a severe right knee injury, tearing both the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL), which forced him to undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season. He has been continuing his rehabilitation throughout the offseason and will return to Los Angeles tonight in order to move forward with his rehabilitation as he approaches a return to full fitness.

Also, tickets for the home leg of the Galaxy's 7 p.m. March 14 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Toronto FC go on sale Thursday, starting at $30.

That game, which is the second leg of the aggregate goal series against Toronto, has a limited capacity of just 7,500 at Home Depot Center because of a "long standing, mutual agreement" with California State Dominguez Hills to reduce stadium capacity at midweek games during the school year.

As the Galaxy's leading scorer for four consecutive seasons, which was topped off with a career-best 17 goals in 2010 before his departure overseas, Edson Buddle will go down as the best goal poacher to play for the club since Carlo Ruiz.

Well, now Edson Buddle is back - and he only needs 10 more goals to overhaul the Guatemalan on the all-time Galaxy scoring list.

You can read more about Buddle's return - and learn about Coach Bruce Arena's regrets over his exit - in today's column here.

More from Buddle's press conference and first practice upon his return to Home Depot Center is here:

Also, I spoke Monday to reserve striker Chad Barrett - who is a week or so from returning to full training after recovering from the broken foot that kept him out of MLS Cup - about what Buddle's return might mean for him. The UCLA product made $225,000 in guranteed salary last year - pretty expensive for a backup, especially on a team with plenty of other big salaries that likely needs a starting center back to replace the injured Omar Gonzalez - and conventional wisdom suggests he could become trade bait.

Here's what he said:

"Obviously it affects my playing time on this team," he said of Buddle. "You've got a guy who made the national team and did very well in his last three years.

"Obviously I'm not penciled in as a starter any more," he added. "That's unfortunate for me, but it makes me fight that much harder to get minutes and try to get playing time.

"For the team you couldn't have a better situation; they've got their top scorer back - he was easily the best forward the last two years before he left.

"It happens that way. You see a lot of people come in - I haven't heard anything yet (about a trade), but it might happen it might not. That's something that has to be decided by the coaches, but nobody has come up to me and said anything to me."

Yet.

Robbie Keane scores against Newcastle United Sunday, but couldn't prevent the Birmingham club losing 2-1 on Tyneside (AP Photo).

*An uninvolving Super Bowl Sunday on this side of the Atlantic Ocean (even the commericials were pretty dull, I thought) was saved by a gripping game on the other side of the pond, as Manchester United fought back from 3-0 down to tie Chelsea in a game (among the best we've seen in the EPL this season) seen live nationwide on Fox.

*The Galaxy's Robbie Keane had got things rolling earlier Sunday with his third goal in four games since joining Aston Villa on loan in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United. Incidentally, the latest unsubstantiated tabloid rumor has Villa's Stephen Ireland allegedly joining LA on loan.

Similarly, Landon Donovan was unable to prevent Everton gaining only a 1-1 draw with lowly Wigan Athletic this past weekend.

*Former Galaxy and Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa has joined D.C. United, his fourth MLS, the club announced today, after spending two seasons in the Azerbaijan first division.

*Looking ahead this week, several MLS teams are heading to Ventura County to train where they will be hosted by the PDL Fusion.

*Inglewood's Jose Villarreal, who signed for the Galaxy just days ago, has surgery today for what appears to be a long-standing medical issue, while the process of winnowing draft picks has begun at the club.

*I'll have more in Tuesday's column about Edson Buddle rejoining the Galaxy; I'm off this morning to his first training session/press conference with the club in a year.

Even though he arrived early, about 30 Galaxy fans were on hand when Edson Buddle returned to Southern California Friday night, stepping off a flight from Europe (Photo courtesy LA Galaxy).

Past and future Galaxy striker Edson Buddle will hold a press conference Monday at Home Depot Center after his first practice upon his treturn to the club after a year hiatus. I'll have more in Tuesday's column.

The Galaxy scored seven goals in their win at Home Depot Center, while Chivas USA managed five goals.

Both wins came over minor league opposition.

More on the Galaxy game is here.

Highlights:

Chivas USA beat Conejo Valley-based FC Hasental 5-0 with goals coming from Michael Lahoud in the 22nd minute and Juan Pablo Angel coverting a spot kick two minutes later for the second. English newcomer Ryan Smith got the third five minutes before halftime with forward Chris Cortez and Tijuana native Cesar Romero rounding out the scoring in the second half.

Buddle returns: The forward Galaxy fans never wanted to leave has returned to the club (Daily Breeze file photo).

The rumors were true.

Edson Buddle has returned to the Galaxy after spending a year in Germany where he scored 10 goals for second tier Ingolstadt.

"I am thrilled to be able to return to MLS and a club that has meant so much to me in my career," Buddle said. "When I left for Germany last winter, I said that I hoped to be able to one day return to the Galaxy and help lead the club to an MLS Cup championship. That day is today and I look forward to the challenges that now lie ahead."

Here's more from the club press release:

A fan favorite during his time with the Galaxy, Buddle was the club's top scorer or second leading scorer every year from 2007-2010, averaging nearly a goal every two games after being acquired in a trade with Toronto FC in exchange for Tyrone Marshall in June 2007.

He had his best season as a professional in 2010, scoring 17 goals and helping the Galaxy win their first Supporters' Shield since 2002.

The only player in MLS history to score 40 or more goals for two different clubs, Buddle has scored 90 goals in 231 regular season games during the first 10 years of his MLS career, making him the eighth leading scorer in League history.

Relive Buddle's 2010 goals here:

*Post updated 11:15 a.m.

You can bet the former Bruin playmaker would like a return to Southern California. But is another midfielder a priority for the Galaxy?

Read more here.

*The Galaxy will officially announce the signing at the end of practice today.

The Galaxy will also receive a second round draft pick in exchange for a international roster spot.

More here.