Recently in Major League Soccer Category

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 Etates' 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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.