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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.

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.

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.

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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.

Silly Mario: Manchester City's Mario Balotelli, seen here laying down on the job in a Boxing Day game, provided Southern California soccer fans with one of the year's funnier moments (Photo Ian Kington/AFP Photo/Getty Images).

The year's final column riffs on those endless end of year lists sports writers with nothing better to do (ahem) quickly write to keep the boss happy.

I'm no different. But let's at least have a little fun, huh?

How about three stupid soccer tricks CoCal style: Worst message to send an American soccer player, Worst trade/player acquisition of the year and Dumbest play of the year.

Read the column here.

Thanks for reading and join me again next year.

Winner Wambach: The South Bay resident, seen here posing today at Home Depot Center where the U.S. Women's National Team is currently training, becomes the first soccer player - male or female - to win a national AP award. See the full story below (AP Photo).

*There was no column today; my editors opted to keep a end of year column I wrote for next Tuesday. And to answer a reader's question, blogging will indeed be light during the holidays. I'll Tweet when necessary at twitter.com@lasoccerblog.

*Chivas USA will play in a preseason tournament in Portland in late February and early March. Full details here.

*Thanks to all who participated in another successful Daily Breeze ball drive.

*Hermosa Beach resident Abby Wambach was named today by the Associated Press as its U.S. Female Athlete of the year.

AP National Writer Nancy Armour has the full story:

CHICAGO (AP) -- With the final seconds ticking down and the Americans on the verge of their earliest exit ever from the Women's World Cup, Abby Wambach kept waving her index finger at her teammates.

One chance, she screamed, all they needed was one chance.

When it came in the form of a left-footed cross from Megan Rapinoe, Wambach pounced. With one vicious whip of her head, she changed the course of this year's World Cup and sparked a frenzy rarely seen for women's sports in the United States.

Wambach's performance at the World Cup made her the clear choice for the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year in the United States, selected by members of The Associated Press. The U.S. forward received 65 of the 214 votes cast, while teammate Hope Solo (38) was a distant second and basketball player Maya Moore (35) was third.

Wambach is the first individual football player -- man or woman -- to win one of the AP's annual sports awards, which began in 1931. The U.S. women's team won in 1999, when their World Cup triumph at the Rose Bowl transfixed the nation.

"We, as a team, did something that no team since Mia Hamm was able to do," Wambach told the AP. "Even the team that won the (Olympic) gold medal in 2008 wasn't able to inspire and get people excited about women's soccer. It goes to show you the impact drama can bring."

Wambach's four goals in Germany give her 13 in three World Cup appearances. That's the most by an American, topping Michelle Akers by one, and puts her third on the all-time World Cup scoring list behind Brazil forward Marta and Germany striker Birgit Prinz. The 31-year-old American ranks third on the U.S. career scoring list with 125 goals, trailing only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130).

"When she's on top of her game," United States coach Pia Sundhage said, "she's one of the best in the world."

Wambach was certainly at her best at the World Cup, leading the Americans to the final, where they lost to Japan on penalty kicks.

"I'm not a person who cares much about (individual) awards, but I really appreciate you guys recognizing this team," Wambach said. "It helps keep this sport alive, and it's really
important."

The Americans are the defending Olympic champions, and Wambach and her teammates are currently training in Carson for next month's regional qualifying tournament.

"I have to say, of all people, I think she is one of the best role models: interacting with
fans, saying good things about the game, saying good things about this country, saying good things about her teammates," Sundhage said. "I'm very proud of the fact I've had the chance to coach her for so many years. It will be a highlight of my career."

Pujols presented: Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno introduces Albert Pujols during a news conference Saturday in Anaheim (AP Photo).

Say, haven't we seen this before?

I thought so, too. Read today's column here.

Will keep the Galaxy and Chivas USA very busy. Read the column here.

As if to confirm that, Chivas USA announced this afternoon that last season's MVP, goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, has signed a new contract with the club. For my money Kennedy is easily one of the best goalkeepers in the league.

"His consistency and leadership both on and off the field were exemplary last season, and now moving towards the club's objectives for 2012 of building a championship caliber team, securing Kennedy to a new contract was one of our priorities this offseason," said Jose Domene, Chivas USA General Manager.

Kennedy managed seven shutouts last season for Chivas USA, a remarkable achievement given the defense he was playing behind.

BTW: Chivas USA learned its opponent in its home opener today; it will be the Houston Dynamo in a game shown nationally on Galavision at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 11 from Carson.

Also, the Galaxy played its final game of the season in the wee hours of this morning.

Watch:

Not that we want to put new Chivas USA signing Osael Romero of El Salvador under pressure or anything by mentioning the great Galaxy playmaker and his fellow countryman in the same breath as him.

Chivas USA President Shawn Hunter, new Chivas USA signing Osael Romero and Chivas USA Coach Martin Vasquez meet the media Monday in Inglewood (Photo courtesy Chivas USA).

But it's clear that Chivas USA and the Salvadoran community expect a lot of Romero.

His English-born, Dallas-based agent Martin Kelman, who marketed Romero as the Salvadoran David Beckham because of his free kick ability, believes his client could contribute 10 to 15 goals a year for Chivas USA.

Read the column here.

Chivas USA President Shawn Hunter said he likes the way the team is building this year. One obvious need: a central defender. Hamillton said fans can expect another player announcement in the next week or two.

Hunter, who said he saw and briefly spoke with out of contract veteran striker Ante Razov about 10 days ago when he bumped into him at a Manhattan Beach restauarant, said Razov is still rehabbing his injury and intends to give MLS another shot, although whether that's with Chivas USA is unclear.

Coach Martin Vasquez may have a young replacement waiting in the wings anyway. He sounded impressed with Armenian-American forward Artur Aghasyan, who has been banging in the goals in Chivas USA scrimmages and last year played for the PDL Ventura County Fusion.

"Right now he's somebody we're looking at very seriously," Vasquez said.

Updated: Speaking of coaches taking a look at new players, this is non-Chivas USA related, but USMNT fans should check out this.

The fortunes of the Galaxy's two on-loan stars have diverged during their respective European stints since the beginning of the year.

Read today's column here.