Welcome all!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

The second match of the 2008 Honda Superclassico is now in the books and it was another good one at the Home Depot Center.  At the end of the last article I said that “something’s got to give” and, well, nothing really gave – besides Salt Lake leapfrogging into first place after their win.  Our match ended up in a 1-1 tie and it was a wild, back and forth affair.

Chivas had the better of the play in the first half as we struggled to find a consistent rhythm.  Our coaching staff tweaked the midfield a bit and David and Pete Vagenas paired up in the center of midfield.  Chivas pressed us well in midfield and caused lots of problems for us as we struggled to find time to play.  They got a goal early in the first half on a counter attack.  With our defense retreating to delay the play, Ante Razov hit a one time shot from about 20 yards out to beat our keeper from the second line.  Good goal.

In the second half we played quite well.  We found the game and created a number of dangerous opportunities.  We defended well and pressed more aggressively.  Our breakthrough came in the 72^nd minute when Pete slipped a fantastic ball through to Edson who buried it for his 11^th goal of the year.  Eddie’s been on blistering pace this year, earning him an All-Star write-in vote. Congratulations Edson and also to David and Landon who were named starters to the All-Star team.

The game ended 1-1 in the end and it was a pretty fair result – Chivas had the better of the first half and we had the better of the second half.  It was an open game, end to end at times, and certainly was an entertaining one for the fans to watch.  It had everything that makes a good derby match.

Now we get ready to take off to the East Coast to play New York.  It’s a big match for us and important that we pick up 3 points.  We’ve slipped to second in the West, with RSL jumping ahead after our draw, and it’s important that we get back to our winning ways.  Last year when the Galaxy played New York there was something like 68,000 at the game in a 5-4 match.  Hopefully this year will be another good match with a Galaxy victory.

This Week

Another typical week here in LA.  We’ve been training hard, getting ready for this weekend’s match.

The US Soccer Development Academy Finals are at the Home Depot Center right now and I got the chance to check out some of the games and catch up with some of my old coaches.  I was really impressed by the organization of the program and started to realize the importance of this program.  I was also impressed with the level of the games.  I know there are people out there who grumble about the new system but I think that it is, and will continue to become, an extremely important tool for the development of soccer in our country.

These players are playing good games against the top competition in the country, in a pressurized environment, in front of some of the top coaches in the country who can track the players’ progress and help to tailor their development.  There are also a ton of important resources for players including educational meetings, video review, the use of ProZone (a player analysis tool), and other things that can help players reach their full potential.  There are certainly some kinks that need to be figured out with the system but I was extremely impressed with how the event was run and the potential for the program.  This is something that we’ve never had in our country and it’s an important step in mimicking youth systems and scouting networks used around the world.  Visit www.ussoccer.com to learn more about the program.

Tangent 1: I came across this video a while ago and wanted to pass it on to you.  Diving in soccer is something that Americans really hate.  At times, embellishing a call can be a good tactical play but it’s totally against the hard-nosed, blue collar mentality of the American athlete and the American sports fan.  Anyways, enjoy this video of some of the worst soccer dives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioyt2zzm530&feature=related.

Tangent 2: I was thinking about the ’94 World Cup the other day and I remembered those horrendous denim-looking cotton jerseys that we wore in that tournament.  You know, the sky blue jersey with the white stars: http://www.soccerhall.org/VirtualTour/Virtual%20Museum/US94Jersey_Blue.jpg.  Geeze, those things were terrible.  They were so terrible, in fact, that they are cool now and I want to buy one.  So, I used my internet research skills to track one of these antique shirts down and I stumbled across a great website out of the UK to buy retro soccer jerseys: http://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/.  It’s definitely worth your time and if you have a few extra British pounds lying around, why not splurge on one of your favorite old school jerseys.

Around the World

I’m struggling for material in this section so you’ll have the week off here because of my difficulties.  Hopefully something will come up soon worth writing about – there’s a lot of stuff brewing right now…

Q & A

1. Just curious if the Ohio State guy who planted his cleats on your face in the College Cup ever apologized to you.  I know he is in MLS now and wondered if you’ve come across him since.

Also, are you wearing that head gear because of that incident?

-Far

PS - Take some samba lessons from Alvaro in your spare time.  I actually believe it will help your footwork, balance and dribbling. 

Far – Interesting story to answer your question.  The day after the national championship game when I got kicked in the face, a Denver-area phone number popped up on my cell phone.  My girlfriend is from Denver so I thought it was someone who she knew.  On the other end of the line was the kid who kicked me in the face calling to apologize.  He said he was sorry and didn’t mean to kick me in the face.  I wondered how he got my number and found out later that he got it from my girlfriend’s old club coach, who knows the kid who kicked me. The coach called the kid and told him to call me and apologize.  It was a nice gesture.

I got stitches on the spot the night I got kicked and waited a month for it to heal.  Then when I started playing again, my facial scars kept breaking open again (requiring more stitches) so I was forced to go back down to Wake Forest to get plastic surgery to fix and strengthen my scars.  My doctor told me that I had to wear the Full90 protective headgear for at least 6 months after surgery so that the scars can fully heal.  So I started wearing the Full90 headgear because I had to and ended up actually liking it.  It’s a good product and, to be honest, I can’t really notice that it’s on when I’m playing.  I also decided to continue wearing it because, the way I play, I should probably further damage to my dome because I’ve been busted open and concussed so many times already.

Good suggestion on the Samba lessons, although I’m not sure Alvaro’s dancing is too organized and sophisticated (if you saw his goal celebration against Colorado)…

2.  My question relates to locker room morale. How much does moral fluctuate week by week? Do individual losses discourage the team, and do individual wins help the team? It’s a long season, and teams go on streaks, so I am curious the effect a single game can have. Does that change with a more veteran team? Bonus question: do you feel that the Galaxy may be a year away from their best form, with all the rookies on the team, or do you feel that the team is coming together this year already? 

- Jay in Los Angeles

Good questions, Jay in LA.  I’d say that morale doesn’t typically fluctuate from week to week.  Soccer’s a funny game and it’s weird how sometimes wins are treated like losses and even sometimes draws are thought of as wins based on how the match goes.  As a rookie I’m still learning the real answer to your question but I’d say that no single game is devastating enough to cause more losses.  I’m learning that part of being a good professional is being able to pick apart losses and change things to try to avoid another bad result.  Luckily I have some good veteran role models to learn this from.

I think that while we will be continue to be a good club in the future, we definitely have what it takes to be real contenders this year.  The team is really coming together and we have a really good mix of veterans and young players.  If we can stay healthy, I think that we have what it takes to win it all.

3.  I was wondering, is there any one particular veteran player that has helped you the most? Anyone thats gone out of their way to show you something or help out? Just curious, thanks!

- Cindy G

Cindy G – There has been a few older guys who have really helped me out but coming to mind first is Chris Klein.  He’s a great guy, hard worker, a true professional, and a model of consistency.  He’s a positive personality on the field and is really good at working with the younger players.

Greg Vanney is another guy who’s helped me along.  He knows the game so well, having played in the French first division, and he does a good job of “coaching” while on the field.  He’s helped me to read the game better and work on my defensive shape.  He also strikes a great ball and sometimes we’ll hit balls after training.

Landon Donovan has also helped me a lot, in a different way.  Playing against him every day he has really forced me to push my game to the next level in order to defend him.  His pace, vision, intelligence, and finishing touch requires that I bring my best game every day or else it will be a long one.  I also have a good relationship with Landon off the field and we often talk about games.

It’s also really cool hearing some of David’s stories from Manchester United, Real Madrid, and the English National Team.

4.  Is there any particular club/national team(s) you’d like to play? Any particular player past/present you’d like to match up against?

- Stab in Budapest, Hungary!

Wow – Stab in Budapest!  I’ve gone global!!!  Welcome to my blog!  It’s always been my dream to play for the Full United States National Team.  I’ve been fortunate enough to play for US National Teams at the U-17, U-18, U-20, and U-23 levels but to earn a cap for the full team would be unbelievable.  I would never want to play for another nation.

I spoke about it a couple issues ago, but it would be amazing to play for Manchester United.  It’s such a great club with such a strong tradition.  It would also be awesome to play for Portsmouth.  Playing for any Premiership team, actually, would be a dream come true.

I don’t know if I can pick just one player that I’d like to play against some day but I’d just like to go up against some of the players that I watched in the latest Euro Championship such as Ibrahimivic, Torres, Toni, and Klose.  It would be amazing to be at their level some day and test myself against players of their caliber.

5.  I was wondering, have either Cobi or Mr Gullit played any reserve games/taken part in any training exercises or anything along those lines for fun? If they have, do either of them still have some talent left? Also, any inside news or rumors about the galaxy that you could share?

- Pam E

Pam E – Cobi and Ruud don’t play in any reserve games but sometimes if we need numbers, Cobi will step in and play in training.  He definitely still has it and you can tell how well he knows the game.  Now that Ruud has recovered from his knee surgery, he’s become pretty “hands-on” when working with us – the forwards in particular.  His touch is still clean and his understanding of the game is so clear.

To be honest, I have no inside news or rumors – I usually find stuff out the same time that you do!

That’s all that I have for this Thursday.  I hope that you enjoyed today’s article and I’ll be back next week.  Take care!

-jules

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Well, the 4^th of July match at the Home Depot Center was quite an event.  There were fireworks before and after the match.  They opened up the lawn on the North end of the stadium – there wasn’t a seat available in the house.  Everyone on hand was also treated to a good soccer match, although most went home unhappy because the home team did not win.

The first half was a rough one for us.  New England pressured well and we struggled to deal with it.  The Revs had more of the play in the first half and definitely took the better of the chances.  We gave up two set piece goals and went into the locker room behind two.

Landon came on for the second half (he’d been sick all week) and changed the game, creating problems for New England.  David scored the equalizer in the 66^th minute on a bit of a broken play and we had a number of other chances to knot the match up after that.  Credit to the Revs, they made a few changes (bringing in a holding midfielder and switching to 4 in the back) and they were able to withstand our late pressure.  So now we’ve taken two losses in a row and we’re looking to get things back on track and start picking up some more points.

I’d like to give a quick shout out to all of our fans.  You were fantastic throughout the match.  And that’s not just the Riot Squad, Angel City Brigade, and the Galaxians – everyone in the stadium was pulling hard for a Galaxy win and created a fantastic atmosphere.  Credit to you all and keep it up!

This Thursday night is the Honda Superclassico and it’s sure to be a good match.  These games are always pressure-packed and edgy.  We’re both tied atop the Western Conference table with 21 points so something’s got to give.  We really need the three points and would like to separate ourselves a bit from the rest of the West.  Make sure to tune into ESPN2 at 11:00 pm (Eastern time) and 8:00 pm for those out West to watch all the drama unfold.

This Week

This week was short in terms of training but definitely not short in terms of workload.  Since we play on Thursday night we’ve condensed things a bit, but worked on all areas: defending and defensive shape, possession, finishing, and tactics.  We are definitely ready for the Superclassico.

The highlight of my week was definitely our team trip to Fogo de Chao in Beverly Hills.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fogo, it is a Brazilian steakhouse.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Brazilian steakhouses, they’re amazing because there are tons of different kinds of meat and they bring everything to your table on skewers!  The servers keep brining meat to your table until you tell them to stop.  It’s a guaranteed protein overdose. 

The people at Fogo brought around top sirloin, bottom sirloin, beef ribs, lamb chops and leg of lamb, chicken wings and chicken wrapped in bacon, pork sausage, filet minion, and picanha – the house specialty and a Brazilian staple.  My favorite was the lamb chops with a little mint jelly but I devoured everything like a garbage disposal and kept asking for them to bring more out.  Everything was succulent, cooked to perfection, and I was like some sort of carnivorous vulture.

After I finished eating all of the entree meats, I felt that I needed some other sort of nutritional value.  Since I had absolutely no balance in the meal, so I ordered fresh fruit for dessert.  Chris Klein, who had been silently monitoring my eating throughout the night from the other table, poked fun at me saying “you’re the guy who goes to McDonalds, eats two Big Macs and fries, and then orders a diet Coke.”  I guess he’s right.

My Brazilian roommate Alvaro was a bit sick and he was unable to go to the meal and eat his favorite picanha – he talks about it all the time and we’ve yet to find a place near where we live where we can buy picanha.  Of all people to miss the meal, it had to be him.  When I came home, though, I made sure to rub it in his face that I ate enough picanha for the both of us.  He was not amused.  Aside from Alvaro, everyone else on the team attended and it was great to spend some time together and share a good meal, good stories, and a good laugh.  I said it last week with the Batman outing, but it’s important that we continue to bond on and off the field and become a close group.  These types of events supplement our hard work on the training field will definitely pay off later on.

Around the World

I’ve been thinking about some of the European transfers lately and the price tags put on players.  Immediately coming to mind is Christiano Ronaldo’s €100 million transfer speculation, Andrei Arshavin at £24 million, and Dimitar Berbatov who may be bought from Tottenham for around £31 million.  I’ve been reading and following these types of transfer stories for years but never really thought about how much money is actually being thrown around between these clubs.  These dollar amounts are used so casually by the media that they almost become unreal figures – Monopoly money if you will.

As I thought, I remember reading something from Forbes’ website about the world’s most valuable soccer clubs that’s definitely worth taking a look at: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/34/biz_soccer08_Soccer-Team-Valuations_Rank.html.  Some of the figures here are staggering and really interesting.

Think about paying €50 million (about $78 million) for the services of one player!  That’s far more than the operating budgets of most clubs around the world and only the richest clubs can make these types of transactions.  There is so much money out there in the soccer world that it’s almost unthinkable.  Of course these are only the high profile transfers, as most deals cost less than €10 million – which is still so much money. 

Also keep in mind that these are just transfer fees and don’t include the fact that the clubs then have to pay the player’s salary as well which, for the highest level players, can be €25 thousand per week or more!

For one reason or another, this makes me think about the parody in MLS and the lack thereof in most other leagues in the world.  Each league around the world has its little fish and big fish but MLS is different.

MLS is structured so that the league is more equal and competitive from top to bottom, equipped with a salary cap and no real transfer market.  Let’s look at the current MLS table for an example.  Take away the first and last place teams and you have all other teams within 9 points of each other – that’s only three wins.  There are three teams with 20 points, four teams with 21 points, and one team with 22 points.  Our league table is so tight and it’s always one or two points that separate a playoff team from a non-playoff team.

It’s also fair to say that on any given day, any MLS team can beat any other.  This is not the case when, say Numancia plays Barcelona or when Spezia plays AC Milan.  The MLS-type parody was important when the league first started because it created a competitive league where all games would be two sided and every city could build a market because there was opportunity for a winning team.  Of course some MLS teams like LA Galaxy, DC United, and San Jose Earthquakes/Houston Dynamo have been traditionally more successful and some clubs have better attendance figures but our league is far more even than all other leagues in the world.

In short, international leagues are set: tops teams compete for international competition spots, middle teams jockey for position, and the bottom teams struggle for relegation.  Top teams spend more money to buy players and separate themselves from the small clubs who cannot afford marquee players.  MLS is more of a free-for-all where GMs have to find their perfect combination to maximize results and try to become a big fish.

Sort of some random thoughts there but hopefully something interesting to read…

Q & A

1.  I was wondering, do you ever play soccer during your down time? Or by that time in the day are you sick of seeing a soccer ball? Keep up the great work!

- Cristian W

Cristian W – After training I’m typically pretty drained but sometimes on off days we’ll play soccer-volleyball at our apartment complex.  The rules are the same as soccer-tennis but we play in the sand on the volleyball court.  It’s a fun way to get some sun, get the legs moving a bit, and work on the touch on a day off. 

2.  Hey Julian, do you follow any specific soccer podcasts, TV shows or use any specific soccer news websites regularly? Do you or any of the guys read any of the soccer forums? aka bigsoccer.com, etc…? 

- Steve F

I’m a big student of the game and I try to watch as many games as I can.  I usually watch a game a day on my internet Sopcast connection because we don’t get FSC or GolTV where I live.

I also like to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of soccer.  I don’t do podcasts but I have a cycle of soccer websites that I read daily including American Soccer Reader (of course), ESPNsoccernet, Goal.com, Soccer By Ives, Sideline Views by Andrea Canales, The Offside Rules, The Original Winger, and a number of others.  Each one adds something different to the US soccer media and all are important in spreading the world of soccer in our country.  I stick to credible “news blogs” and don’t read BigSoccer and sites like that.  Of course, American Soccer Reader is the best of all, so make sure to read it daily!

3.  Hiya! big LA Galaxy fan here, I was wondering, if you could pick one game to make your first start this season, what game would it be and why?

- John K, Santa Barbara

John K from Santa Barbara – Great question.  I’d have to say that it would be amazing for my first game to be against Chivas.  The last time I was on the bench when we won 5-2 and the atmosphere was electrifying.  Saying that, I know that would be a bit ambitious as Superclassico matches tend to be some of the fastest, roughest, and most pressure packed matches that we have.  It’s such a big game for both sides and I’d love to be a part of that on the field.

4.  Julian, what did you do on 4th of July? Anything special/exciting?

- Crystal N

I didn’t really do anything special for the 4^th.  My girlfriend was here so it was nice to be able to spend it with her!

5.  Since you come from such a different town, has anything in Los Angeles or Southern California freaked you out? Have you had any sort of weird experiences or encounters with people in California?

- Luscious

Luscious – I spend a lot of time on YouTube watching whatever miscellaneous videos I can find and whatever videos my buddies recommend to me.  It’s a good way to pass time after training.  One of my teammates at Wake Forest found this video at some point last year and it instantly became one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mpUKnh9yo.  Please watch this short clip before reading on.

When I got here in February I was shocked to learn that Fox 11 is my local news broadcast and that this kid is real!  Huntington is about 10 minutes south of where I live now.  So to answer your question: YES.  I’ve met a number of people like this out here so I guess that sort of freaked me out a bit…

Well that wraps it up for this installment.  I hope that you enjoyed it!  Make sure to keep your questions coming to Julian@americansoccerreader.com.  Take care until next week and you’ll hear from me then!

-jules

WANTED: Central defender under 32 years old for emergency backline upgrade.  Perks include sunshine, superstar groupie leftovers and a free copy of Alexi Lala’s new CD.  Crazy hairstyle preferred but not mandatory.

For the second home game in a row the LA Galaxy saw their hard earned goal differential slip away due to sloppy defense and mental lapses.  Normally you won’t see me call out Chris Klein in my breakdowns here at ASR.  No one out works this guy.  His endless overlaps and two way play really fuels the Galaxy’s dangerous right flank.  But he needs to be called out for what can only be defined as a senseless penalty Saturday night.  Now it is true that Robbie Rogers was probably not going to get to the ball, and to some that makes the call controversial, yet if we all knew he wasn’t going to get there, Klein should have as well which makes his foul that much worse.

While we are riding the blame wagon a few more people need to be piled on.  Steve Cronin’s “save”, the rebound from which resulted in Columbus’ third goal, was not what is expected of a starting keeper in MLS.   Cronin has two options, hold the ball or punch it WIDE.  Simply parrying the ball down into the middle of the six yard box is never an option and the Galaxy was justly punished.

But let’s give credit where credit is due.  Edson Buddle’s goal on the night was absolutely clinical.  It was the type of goal that shows a striker oozing with confidence.  For the second home game in a row Buddle has finished side netting from acute angles.  This bodes well for a Galaxy attack that is already the most dangerous in the league.   His continuing hot streak furthers my suggestion that the Galaxy should unload Carlos Ruiz in the upcoming transfer window in order to bolster their defense.

One Liners:

-How bad is Landon wishing he had chosen to hit that sitter with his left foot now?

-The call and response chants back and forth between LARS and ACB is now one of my favorite parts about home games.

-Maybe Beckham should not be expected to convert that last shot Saturday night, but he should definitely be expected to put the ball on frame.

-I am convinced the guy that sits in front of my season seats is the exact look-a-like of the captain of the Wizard from the Deadliest Catch.

-There is a 50/50 chance my fiance would leave me by my wedding day if Ante Jazic asked her out.

Coming up this weekend is cracker of a game.  Galaxy vs DC United.  It is the first MLS rivalry.  Every Galaxy fan remembers the feeling as Eddie Pope’s rain soaked head put the winning goal past our 96 team.  It is the Man U vs Arsenal of our little league.  The best part about this years matchup from a fans point of view?  NEITHER team can play a lick of defense and both are capable of dropping 5 goals on you.  It is the perfect game for a nationally televised network broadcast.

Like the Galaxy, I am on the road this weekend so check back in later this week for Julian Valentin’s blog to get your Galactico fix.