Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Galaxy to Face Seattle in Open Cup Quarterfinals
The Galaxy will host the Sounders at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, July 4 and then fly to Seattle two days later for the Open Cup game. After that game, the Galaxy will fly to the East Coast for a game against the Revolution on Saturday, July 10.
A Deserved Day Off
In case you missed any of those, we were able to compile most of the interviews and posted them here at lagalaxy.com.
In other news...
•The Galaxy will discover the identity and location of their Open Cup Quarterfinal tonight when Portland hosts Seattle, the defending Open Cup champions. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. from PGE Park in Portland and will be shown live on Fox Sports Northwest so check your cable provider to see if you get that station. If not, you can listen to the game live here or follow it through either of the club's websites.
If Portland wins, the Galaxy will host them at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 7 at The Home Depot Center. But if the Sounders win, the Galaxy will have to fly to Seattle for a game at the Starfire Sports Complex on July 7, with that game also kicking off at 7:30.
•In last night’s game, Chris Klein scored the first Open Cup goal of his Galaxy career while Juninho scored the first goal of his Galaxy career.
•The Galaxy are now in the Open Cup Quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. LA has entered the Open Cup in each of the last 12 years and have now reached the Quarterfinals eight times. The Galaxy are 6-1 all-time in the Open Cup Quarterfinals and have won their last six in the round.
•With 14 regular season games, one Open Cup game and three international friendlies, the Galaxy have played 1,620 minutes in 18 games this year. In that time, the club has allowed just four goals (one every 405 minutes) and have trailed for just 10 minutes all season long.
•Be sure to check out tomorrow’s USA Today for a feature on Donovan Ricketts and the Galaxy’s impressive defensive start to the season.
•The team had the day off from training today but will return to the field tomorrow ahead of Sunday’s game.
•Happy Birthday to the club’s Brazilian left sided player Alex Cazumba, who turns 22 today.
•Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan will return to training later this week and will be available for selection against Seattle on Sunday. Don’t miss your chance to welcome the guys back to Los Angeles by getting your tickets to the game now at lagalaxy.com.
Uh oh.
I forgot to write a blog today. I got so busy with the baby and baking cookies for Canada Day that I just forgot. So here I am trying desperately thinking of something clever to give you all. As Elliott would say: "Epic Fail."
Bruce Arena Named 2010 MLS All-Star Game Head Coach
The honor of coaching the MLS All-Stars goes to the coach whose team has the best points-per-game average in League play through June 27. With a record of 10-1-3, for 33 points (2.36 points-per-game), the LA Galaxy secured the MLS All-Star Coach position for Arena.
Arena is in his third season as head coach of the Galaxy. A two-time MLS Cup winning coach, Arena is one of just four coaches ever to win MLS Cup on more than one occasion. As the all-time leader in wins among coaches in U.S. National Team history, Arena led the U.S. to the FIFA World Cup twice, including a historic quarterfinal berth in 2002 in Japan/Korea.
Because the LA Galaxy are scheduled to host the Puerto Rico Islanders in a 2010-2011 CONCACAF Champions League match on Tuesday, July 27, Arena has asked host city head coach, Dominic Kinnear of the Houston Dynamo, to lead the All-Star training sessions on Monday, July 26 and Tuesday, July 27, as well as serve as his assistant coach on gameday.
Fans and media may continue to vote for the MLS All-Star First XI through July 6. One-fourth of the total vote for the First XI will come from each of the following groups: fans, players, coaches and general managers, and media members. The MLS All-Star First XI will be announced on Tuesday, July 13.
Arena and Kinnear will collaborate to select five additional All-Stars who will join the two Commissioner’s selections to complete the 2010 AT&T MLS All-Star Game roster. The entire 18-man roster, including those five coaches’ selections and two Commissioner’s picks, will be announced on Monday, July 19.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Postgame Reaction to 2-0 Win Over St. Louis
After the game, LAGalaxy.com interviewed midfielder Chris Klein about his goal and the Galaxy's 2-0 win over AC St. Louis in the Third Round of tonight's U.S. Open Cup match.
We also caught up with a few players and coaches from both sides to see what they had to say after the game...
LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
His overall thoughts on the game and the team’s performance:
“These games are never easy. The teams from the lower division, in this case the USSF Pro Division 2, they came with a great attitude and played hard and our guys responded back equally, if not better. I am real pleased not only with the result but the attitude our team takes in the way we approach all of these games because we have worked real hard to rebuild this club and these games are important. If you want to win you don’t take it lightly and every time we step on the field, we are not going to win every game but we have to play to win. Tonight, we did that and I am real pleased.”
On the team’s cohesion:
“I thought (the team) did a good job tonight. St Louis was hard to breakdown and at times they had nine players behind the ball. They weren’t easy. We started creating chances toward the end of the first half and certainly throughout the second half.”
On the team’s difficulties in the first half and if he thought the players had a hard time handling St. Louis’ five-man midfield:
“No, the eleven players wearing white were giving me problems. We just needed to play a little bit better, pass better and be a little bit quicker. Certainly, it was expected that (St. Louis) would tire because you can not run faster then the ball. We moved the ball a little bit better in the second half, a little bit quicker then I think we would have had a better chance of breaking them down.”
On the performance of Tristan Bowen:
“He has to learn to be a real striker. You play high and wide at times, at times you have to be punished a little bit and draw some fouls. He is learning and getting better, the experience is good for him.”
LA Galaxy Midfielder Chris Klein
On Tonight’s Starting Lineup:
“Clint, Eddie and Jovan, I think we’ve played together at one time or another since we were 16 and 17 years old so we definitely knew each other— but then you look at our back four and I don’t think we had a guy that was over 22. Like I’ve said before, they have structured this team so that we have 24 guys that can play. We have a lot of competition (for places), so it’s good to have a lot of games, and we want to win everything we’re in this year.”
On the play of AC St. Louis:
“A team like St. Louis, you know, they did a good job. We knew they were going to sit on it a little bit and they fought. These games are always difficult.”
On what was said in the locker room at halftime:
“Even though we had the ball a lot in the first half, we didn’t create that many opportunities. We talked at halftime about being patient and that the opportunities would come. The worse thing you can do is start to press in these games and start to think that they’re a league below and we should be killing them, because that’s never the case.”
LA Galaxy Forward Tristan Bowen
On his assist on Chris Klein’s goal:
“I think Birchy (Chris Birchall) played a good ball up to the line. I took a touch and initially I was thinking of taking a shot, but I just kind of just waited for support and saw Chris open so I gave it to him. I thought he was going to play it back but he took a great shot. The keep couldn’t do anything about it. It was a great goal.”
On Sunday’s game against Seattle:
“We had to get through this game first. It was tough, we had a quick turn around, but Sunday we’re going to be ready to play and hopefully we’ll get three points.”
AC St. Louis Head Coach Dale Schilly
On tonight’s game:
“I thought that in the first half we played pretty well. We knew obviously that we were going to be outmanned, that we would have to defend for long periods of time and I thought we did alright. But there is a difference between their fitness level and our fitness level and a few other things that was difficult for us to keep our game plan in place for 90 minutes. It was difficult.”
On his team’s performance:
“I think the guys fought hard and they communicated well and they tried to keep themselves organized which they did. We got out on the break a couple of times and missed a couple of chances but I thought our guys did very well and I am happy with them.”
AC St. Louis Midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer
On tonight’s game:
“I thought we fought really hard. I thought we had a good first half but in the end, the more quality ended up winning. “
On his team’s performance:
“We had a good game plan. We knew that they were a quality team and they we going to have a lot of possession and we were just going to try and withstand that possession and create some chances on the break. I thought we did that well for the first 60 or 70 minutes but they put in a nice goal and after that we kind of fell apart.”
Galaxy Beat St. Louis 2-0 to Advance to U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
Tuesday, June 28, 2010
The Home Depot Ceter - Carson, Calif.
Scoring Summary:
LA – Chris Klein 1 (Tristan Bowen 1) 69’
LA – Juninho 1 (Eddie Lewis 1) 80’
Misconduct Summary:
LA – Jovan Kirovski (Yellow Card) 55’
STL – Chris Salvaggione (Yellow Card) 72’
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Josh Saunders, Bryan Jordan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Leonardo, Alex Cazumba, Chris Klein, Jovan Kirovski, Clint Mathis (Chris Birchall 80’), Eddie Lewis, Alan Gordon, Tristan Bowen (Juninho 73’).
Subs Not Used: Donovan Ricketts, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Stepehens.
AC St. Louis: Alec Duffy, Mark Bloom, Dillon Barna, Tim Velten, Jack Traynor, Luke Kreamalmeyer, Jeff Cosgriff (Ryan Moore 85’), Gauchino, Troy Cole (Elvir Kafedic 76’), Brad Stisser (Chris Salvaggione 72’), Mike Ambersley.
Subs Not Used: Chad Becker, John Lesko.
Notes:
• With the win, the Galaxy are now 5-1 all-time in the Third Round of the U.S. Open Cup. This was their first Third Round win since 2002. The club entered the Open Cup in the Fourth Round from 2003-2006.
• The Galaxy will face the winner of tomorrow night’s match between the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers in the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on July 7. If Portland wins, the Galaxy will host the Timbers at The Home Depot Center. If Seattle wins, the Galaxy would travel to Seattle to take on the Sounders at Starfire Sports Complex.
• Chris Klein’s goal, a curling volley from outside the box that was just outside the reach of goalkeeper Alec Dufty, was his first with the club since May 2008.
• Juninho’s tally in the 80th minute was his first career goal with LA. The Brazilian midfielder, who came on for Tristan Bowen in the 73rd minute, was set up by Eddie Lewis to give the Galaxy a 2-0 lead.
• Bruce Arena made eight changes to the starting lineup used this past Saturday in a 0-0 draw in Toronto. Goalkeeper Josh Saunders and defenders Alex Cazumba, A.J. DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan and Leonardo represented a new back line. Jovan Kirovski, Chris Klein, Eddie Lewis and Clint Mathis got the nod at midfield while Alan Gordon and Tristan Bowen started up top. Cazumba, Kirvoski and Bowen were holdovers from Saturday's lineup to this one.
• Eddie Lewis wore the captain’s armband for a second time this year, he also wore the armband on May 23 in the friendly against Boca Juniors.
• For the first time all season, defender Omar Gonzalez did not figure in the starting lineup or play in the game. The 2009 MLS Rookie of the Year was on the bench and available for selection but did not play.
• The Galaxy were without Mike Magee through injury while Dema Kovalenko was suspended. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan were not available for selection either having just finished their participation in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with the U.S. National Team.
• Leonardo was making his first appearance in a Galaxy lineup since straining his right quad in training in mid-April. The Brazilian defender started and played the full 90 minutes. Prior to tonight, his last appearance in a Galaxy game had come on April 10 in Houston, when the Galaxy beat the Dynamo 2-0 to start the season with three consecutive wins.
• The attendance for today’s game was 2,179.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Sunday, July 4 when they host the Fourth of July Fireworks Extravaganza match against the Seattle Sounders FC, presented by Chelada by Budweiser, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center. Following the match, which can be seen live on FS West, all fans in attendance will be able to enjoy a postgame fireworks extravaganza, powered by 104.3 MYfm.
• In MLS play, the Galaxy are now 10-1-3 on the season, leaving them with 33 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 24 points.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Set for St. Louis
Additionally, the club will begin its quest for a third U.S. Open Cup title tonight at The Home Depot Center against AC St. Louis of the USSF Division 2 Pro League.
Bruce Arena will ring in the changes tonight with a host of new faces from Saturday's 0-0 draw in Toronto. Here is the team that he will put on the field tonight, led by captain Eddie Lewis...
--------------Bowen----------Gordon-------------
Lewis----------------Mathis-----------------Klein
---------------------Kirovski----------------------
Cazumba-----Leonardo----DeLaGarza-----Jordan
---------------------Saunders--------------------
Subs: Ricketts, Dunivant, Franklin, Gonzalez, Birchall, Stephens, Juninho.
And here is how new AC St. Louis head coach Dale Schilly will line up his team in his second game in charge as he sends his troops out in a 4-5-1 formation led by captain Jack Traynor...
----------------------Ambersley--------------------
----------------------Gauchinho--------------------
Stisser-------------------------------Kreamalmeyer
---------------Cole------------Cosgriff--------------
Traynor-------Velten--------Barna----------Bloom
----------------------Dufty-------------------------
Subs: Becker, Lesko, Moore, Salvaggione, Kafedzic
Be sure to follow all the action through Cover it Live over on lagalaxy.com.
US Open Cup Preview - AC St. Louis
We're eight hours and thirty minutes away from kickoff here at The Home Depot Center, but preparations are already underway for tonight's US Open Cup Third Round match against AC St. Louis.
On Monday, the club was out on the training fields preparing for a St. Louis club that underwent a coaching change last week-- bringing in Dale Schilly to replace Claude Anelka, the older brother of Chelsea and French National Team forward Nicolas Anelka. Even though St. Louis is in last place of the USSF Division 2 league, the club is currently on a four-game unbeaten streak.
After the training session, Larry Morgan and the LAGalaxy.com staff talked to Bruce Arena and Alan Gordon about the match.
Here's a link to Larry's preview. And learn more about tonight's opposition here.
Because there is no TV or English radio for this game, we will be doing play-by-play on LAGalaxy.com using Cover It Live. All tickets are $10 and parking is free, but if you can't make it out to the game we hope you can join us there.
You know what makes me nervous?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Ops Bamboo...???
Baru2 ini aku menjalani Latihan dan operasi di satu kawasan pembalakan di daerah Sg Siput,Ipoh.Lebih kurang 30-45 minit perjalanan dari Tambun,Ipoh.Operasi nie dikenali sebagai Ops Bamboo.Kebetulan base yg didirikan oleh kitaorang berdekatan dengan sungai yang dipenuhi oleh kawasan tumbuhan bamboo.
Memang telah banyak bahan bacaan yang aku dah beli selama hampir 2 minggu di sini.Dari majalah Wisel,Mastika,Infinity,InTrend,Suria Permata dan termasuk buku yang menceritakan tentang ketuhanan,Insaf.Kalau setakat Metro,Kosmo,Utusan Malaysia dan Berita Harian memang sudah menjadi satu kemestian untuk dibaca sebab walaupun duduk di pedalaman perkampungan orang2 asli,kitaorang masih tak mahu ketinggalan untuk mengetahui berita2 terkini.Malah kami masih ade kelebihan iaitu mempunyai saluran Astro.Wallah..apalagi ditambah sekarang nie dengan kerancakan Piala Dunia 2010 di Afrika Selatan,sumer rata2 tak mahu ketinggalan untuk mengetahui pasukan pilihan memenangi perlawanan.
Aku masih ingin membawa laptop aku walaupun aku tahu di kawasan nie tak mempunyai jaringan internet,faham2 jer lar kawasan hutan.Rasenyer mana2 syarikat komunikasi pon belum mampu mencapai tahap sampai ke situ.Kalau talian telefon pon takde apelagi 3g.Huh!Tapi laptop aku leh gunakan utk menonton dvd sebab kat sini pon ade elektrik.Malah aku bawa sekali laptop ketika keluar ke Ipoh untuk mengambil bekalan dan aku leh amik kesempatan utk online dan membaca dan membalas email2 aku.
Ketika orang lain seronok untuk mandi manda kat sungai atau ghairah memancing,memasang pukat atau memasang bubu aku lebih suka berbaring di katil medan aku.Aku sebenarnya dah tak berapa minat untuk pergi mana2 latihan atau operasi apalagi duk di kawasan penempatan Markas Taktikal,cukup merimaskan aku sebenarnya.Hari2 aku merasakan seperti merangkak dan seperti banduan yang menghitung hari2 utk bebas dari hukuman.Kalau lar bukan disebabkan aku dah melanjutkan kontrak perkhidmatan aku yg ditambah ke 3 tahun lagi sudah tentu aku dah tolak untuk ikut sekali.
Ape pon mungkin aku masih punya kesempatan utk timba sedikit pengalaman lagi dalam pekerjaan aku nie.Mungkin aku perlu lebih banyak bersabar untuk menghabiskan sisa2 kehidupan aku dalam dunia yang aku fikir terlalu banyak protocol yg mengarut nie.Juga aku perlu lebih banyak berfikiran positif utk ini.Walaupon aku sendiri tak tahu ape tujuan operasi nie diadakan ketika hampir 80% orang dah balik ke Taiping menamatkan operasi lebih awal,sedangkan kami yang kat sini cuma menghabiskan masa macam tue saje...Ape benda lar....hmmmm...hayun jer lar mamat...
Welcome back to Karenworld!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Postgame Locker Room Reaction
SATURDAY JUNE 26, 2010 -- TORONTO FC 0–0 LA GALAXY
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the return of Donovan and Buddle…
“Well Landon is in the middle of his MLS season he should be fine, Edson will be fine. Landon may need a couple more days because he played so many minutes but he’s going to be fine. He’s very fit and he’s very motivated and I think he’ll be ready to go.”
LA GALAXY CHRIS BIRCHALL
Thoughts overall on game…
“I think the overall performance was improved. We played well and moved the ball around and in the first 20 minutes. We went off the ball for the last 10-15 of the half and they got into it, but I think overall we were solid and we created chances, just unfortunate we didn’t put any away.”
On strong first half…
“That’s what Bruce wanted us to do. I mean, sometimes on the road we come out and we are a bit lazy in the first 20 minutes and fortunate enough to not concede goals. Today we came out really well, we created chances and it gives people confidence when they get on the ball straight away and make good passes. We were just unfortunate to not get a goal.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD TRISTAN BOWEN
Thoughts…
“I thought we could have played better, moved the ball a little bit faster, we were a little bit slow on that. We didn’t finish the chances with our opportunities and it was disappointing to not come out of here with a win, but we’ll take a tie.”
On having the break if it affected him…
“No, not really we needed it. There was a couple of guys that were playing a significant amount of minutes but we just have to come back a little bit sharper and start off the next game better.”
TORONTO FC HEAD COACH PREKI
Thoughts on game….
“It was a difficult game after 3 weeks of not playing. I didn’t think either of the teams was very sharp. It was a tough fight and if someone makes a mistake that is how the game was going to be decided. Neither team really made any big mistakes and it ended zero-zero.
Was asked if players were affected by what’s going on in the city… “I’m sure it was in the back of their minds, everybody was following what was going on in the city. That can’t be the excuse though, once you step onto the field, once you step into the locker room actually, you've got to focus on your job and what’s ahead of you for the next couple of hours. I thought we worked hard but we’ve got to find a way to have a little bit more soccer in us and little more creativity. We didn’t create enough.”
TORONTO FC DEFENDER NANA ATTAKORA
Asked if the goings on in the city affected the team… “No… not at all. We knew we had a job here to do today. We saw it on TV and we just focused on the game - and just did what we could do.”
Was asked if they noticed the decent crowd considering what was going on in city… “To be honest we did notice, me and a few of the other guys were talking about how many people would show up today and there was 18,000 – that was shocking. We were thinking like 11 (thousand) might show up but it shows the support we have here in Toronto.”
TORONTO MIDFIELDER DAN GARGAN
On playing after the lay-off…
“You’re antsy to get back onto the field, and that makes your play kind of antsy. Defense on both sides definitely stepped up a bit because they were trying to pressure as much as possible, as they haven’t played in a couple of weeks. I think that makes it tough to settle in and get going. I think the later stages in the first half we were a lot better. We moved the ball around a bit cleaner and in the second half kind of the same thing, but we had a few chances at the end, maybe a bit unlucky but that’s the way it works sometimes.”
“Anytime you keep a clean sheet you got to be happy about that. They are sitting on top of the league with the best record so to get a draw isn’t a bad result by any means. We’re still undefeated at home and that’s the way we want to keep it. We want to be tough to play against.”
LA Earns Draw in Toronto
Saturday, June 26, 2010
BMO Field - Toronto, Canada
Scoring Summary:
LA – None
TFC – None
Misconduct Summary:
LA – None
TFC – None
Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts; Todd Dunivant, Gregg Berhalter©, Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin; Alex Cazumba (Clint Mathis 76’), Chris Birchall, Juninho, Michael Stephens; Tristan Bowen (Eddie Lewis 84’), Jovan Kirovski (Alan Gordon 66’).
Subs Not Used: Josh Saunders, A.J. DeLaGarza, Bryan Jordan, Chris Klein.
Toronto FC: Stefan Frei; Raivis Hscanovics, Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Dan Gargan; Jacob Peterson (Gabe Gala 71'), Amadou Sanyang, Martin Saric (Julian de Guzman 59'), Nick LaBrocca; Dwayne De Rosario, O'Brian White (Chad Barrett 46').
Subs Not Used: Jon Conway, Ty Harden, Maksim Usanov, Faud Ibrahim, Julian de Guzman, Gabe Gala.
Notes:
• With the tie, the Galaxy are now 10-1-3 on the season, leaving them with 33 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 24 points.
• Bruce Arena named the same starting XI with six of seven substitutes remaining the same as Leonardo replaced Bryan Jordan on the bench as he did on June 9 in Salt Lake.
• Leonardo made the trip to Toronto and for the first time since his injury dressed for the game. He has been out since mid-April with a right quad strain.
• In addition to Leonardo, the Galaxy were also without Dema Kovalenko and Mike Magee, who each remained in Los Angeles because of injury. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan remain unavailable for selection while in South Africa with the U.S. National Team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• This was just the first time this season that the Galaxy had used the same lineup in three consecutive games.
• With Landon Donovan in South Africa with the National Team, Gregg Berhalter wore the captain’s armband for the fifth consecutive game.
• Since MLS discontinued the shootout to decide games before the 2000 season, the Galaxy are 6-2-4 following their first defeat of the season. In the last six years, LA is 4-0-3 after their first loss of the season, outscoring opponents 12-4.
• The Galaxy remain unbeaten against the Eastern Conference this season. In six games against teams from the East, the Galaxy are 3-0-3 for 12 of their league-best 33 points. Dating back to the start of last season, the Galaxy have lost just once in 19 regular season games against the East, going 11-1-8, with the only loss coming at Columbus on September 26, 2009. LA have recorded 11 clean sheets in those 20 games and allowed more than one goal just twice.
• The Galaxy are 1-1-2 all-time in MLS games in Canada, after winning at BMO Field for
the first time ever last season, defeating TFC 2-1. Alan Gordon and Edson Buddle scored the goals in that game for the Galaxy’s first ever goals north of the border.
• The attendance for today’s game was 18,809.
The Galaxy’s quest for a third Open Cup title will begin on Tuesday, June 29 when they host AC St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center.
• In MLS action, the Los Angeles will host their annual postgame fireworks show on the Fourth of July when they take on the Seattle Sounders FC at The Home Depot Center. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on FS West.
• For more about today’s game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
Ready for Kickoff in Toronto
Kickoff is just around the corner and Bruce Arena has stood pat over the break and returns with the same starting lineup from the last two matches including the 1-0 loss at Real Salt Lake. Jovan Kirovski and Tristan Bowen will be paired up top with Michael Stephens, Juninho and Alex Cazumba will lineup behind them be expected to help drive the offense tonight. Meanwhile the defense will look for the clean sheet after allowing it first road goal of the season two weeks ago.
Here is the complete Galaxy lineup...
--------------Kirovski------------Bowen-----------------
Cazumba-------------Juninho---------------Stephens
-------------------------Birchall----------------------------
Dunivant-----Berhalter-----Gonzalez-----Franklin
-------------------------Ricketts---------------------------
Subs: Saunders, Leonardo, DeLaGarza, Lewis, Klein, Mathis, Gordon
And here is how the host Toronto FC lineup...
--------------White------------De Rosario---------------
Peterson-----Sanyang------La Brocca--------Saric
Gargan--------Cann--------Attakora----Hscanovics
--------------------------Frei---------------------------------
Subs: Conway, Harden, Usanov, de Guzman, Ibrahim, Gala, Barrett
Cristiano Ronaldo world cup pictures
WC ‘Blaugrana’ Report: Spain vs. Chile
Barca is my home, Pep is my idol
Brazil vs. Portugal; Ivory Coast vs. North Korea
“The defensive midfielder is very important in football”
Sergi Gómez and Sergi Roberto renew until 2012
Friday, June 25, 2010
Final Preparations in Toronto
Meanwhile, the Galaxy went through their final training session late Friday afternoon prior to tomorrow's return to MLS action against Toronto FC. It has been more then two weeks since the team's last game and the players are ready to get back on the field.
Despite the G20 Summit being held in Toronto and increased security throughout the city, it was a short bus ride with very few cars on the road and police at almost every intersection on the ride to the training field at Cherry Beach. Although tomorrow's game will be played on grass, the team practiced on a local turf field as options were very limited.
It was a typical training session for the day before a game as the players began with a long warm up run led by strength and conditioning coach Ben Yauss, who made the trip. Then, it was on to a little 5v2 with a little running tossed in to get the players moving a bit more.
Following a run through the set plays for Saturday, the players got some time on their own to finish out the session.
However, the team would make one stop on the way back to the hotel for a quick walk through at BMO Field. With the change from Field Turf to grass, coaches and players wanted to get a feel for the surface before tomorrow's game. A few guys even kept their cleats on to get a better feel for the field in studs as opposed to runners.
After training, we caught up with Chris Birchall and Sean Franklin to get their thoughts on final prepartions, tomorrow's game and the grass surface at BMO Field.
Birchall...
Franklin...
Here are a few more photos from today's training session. Enjoy!
Ready to Go
Additionally, Chris Klein joined Dave Denholm on his World Cup Soccer Podcast over at ESPNLosAngeles.com
and Cobi Jones joined Martinez and Long, as well as Jay Mariotti, as they were filling in for Mason and Ireland on ESPN 710.
Troy Checks in Again
Say all you want about the England match, but the game against Algeria clearly had the most significance so far for the U.S. That’s the beauty of the finals, every game means more than the last and in this case, U.S. had to win in order to advance to the round of 16.This time around I was able to get a category one ticket to the game. I knew the seats would be good but I wasn’t sure how good. When I arrived at the stadium (wearing my Donovan Everton jersey) and found my section, I asked the usher where to go, when she pointed me down towards the field I knew I was in for a real treat. 15 rows up, center circle, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. The Algerian fans clearly outnumbered the U.S. fans but that was expected considering they’re from North Africa.When Algeria hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, I thought ‘here we go again’. But after that, the U.S. settled in and created several scoring chances of their own. Yet again they were victims of another tough call when Dempsey’s goal was disallowed. But that only seemed to motivate them more as they kept pressing and pressing and unfortunately, they kept missing and missing.
With every blown opportunity I thought Algeria’s chances were only improving. When the 90 minutes were up, I prayed out loud for the fourth official to hold up four minutes of stoppage time. Once he did, I truly felt that one someone was walking out of Loftus Versfeld with three points.Luckily for our country, it was Landon Donovan who came through yet again for the most dramatic goal of all-time just a minute later. When the final whistle blew and Landon ran over in front of my section and celebrated, I sobbed tears of joy for the team and for Landon himself as I could feel his emotions pouring out to all of us fans. After taping a couple segments with Yahoo! Sports’ Marcelo Balboa and Charissa Thompson we had the chance to enjoy the win a little ourselves. I can’t tell you how many hugs and high-fives I received for wearing my Donovan shirt and just how proud I was to be wearing it!The following day I had a chance to catch up with Landon and asked him what was going through his mind when the fourth official raised four minutes and if he ever thought to himself that their World Cup was coming to an end as I’m sure many of us did. Here’s what he had to say.
Last day of school
Uh oh. Stick me squarely in the horrible mother category but I hate summer holidays. How do I hate them? Let me count the ways:
- The lack of a schedule. As much as I bitch about waking up at 6:30 every weekday, I'd rather do that then somedays 8am, somedays 9.
- The constant togetherness. I love my kids but I'm over them already after just 10 days in Europe.
- It's too long. Why can't we have two week holidays every couple of months all year long instead of this patience-sapping quarter of a year break?
- The "I'm boreds". Really? You want to go there with me, kids? You guys are preteens with friends, your own bikes, have 2 amazing parks and a swimming pool within a 5 minute walk/bike, but if you're still going to insist you're bored I have a rag and bucket with your ungrateful names on them and a garage that needs some attention...
- The fact that we have only one car and a 9 month old baby. Scott will take that car from time to time and leave me alone with the kids with no means of escape. And even if I could get away, I can't leave the kids alone and go shopping or meet a friend like I used to. So long sanity. I hardly knew ye.
- The money. When we can finally get out and do activities like museums or zoos, it invariably costs a small fortune. And for some reason these kids need feeding when they're out. Another King's ransom. Why, oh why is this lottery win taking so long?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Open Cup Update
All tickets for this game will cost just $10, including the club seats between sections 110-112. Additionally, if you've ever wanted to know what it is like postgame in the Stadium Club, this is your chance as the Club will be open to all fans after the game.
Making things even better, all parking for the game will be free.
Click here to get your tickets and help cheer the Galaxy onto the Open Cup Quarterfinals.
Speaking of the Quarterfinals, if the Galaxy do advance past St. Louis, they will face the winner of the Portland/Seattle game on Tuesday, July 7. If the Timbers win that game, they will play the Galaxy at The Home Depot Center, while if Seattle wins, LA will have to fly north to Seattle for the game.
Can you cook? Got a kick-ass BBQ sauce?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
What a Day
The swing of emotions, going from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs in a span of mere minutes was something that few get to experience. And given the Slovenia game last Friday, we've all been able to do so twice in the last five days...with both coming before 9 a.m.!
Bruce and Co. pushed training back to 11 a.m. today so that the guys could all watch the game in peace, but as soon as the final whistle blew, the guys had to start getting ready for today's training session, which happened to be the last in Carson before the team flies north to Canada.
The guys were on the field for just about 90 minutes, working through a number of technical and tactical movements as they preparred for the rematch with TFC, who were the first and only team to take a point from the Galaxy at home this season with a 0-0 draw between the two sides back on May 15.
In addition to their work on the field, a number of guys were busy with the press, talking about Saturday's game in Toronto as well as the U.S. win over Algeria. Tristan and Kleiner were on hand at the ESPN Zones at LA Live and in Anaheim, Gregg went on the Jim Rome Show, Cobi was a guest of Petros and Money and offered this analysis on ESPNLosAngeles.com and even Alecko popped up over on NorthJersey.com with this analysis to name just a few. Of course, the Man of the Hour was all over the TV screens throughout the night as Landon popped up postgame on Sportcenter and a host over other locales, including MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show.
Ack! An emergency cake!
This is so typical. Elliott's last day in Middle School is Friday. On Tuesday, he tell's me that his friends "have all voted" and they want me to make their graduation cake. Who-what-now? Are you kidding me right now?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Galaxy to Host AC St. Louis in Open Cup Third Round on June 29
Tickets for this game will go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or through the Galaxy by calling 1-877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or by visiting the club’s official website, www.lagalaxy.com. All sections on the West side of the stadium will be open for this game. Sections 107-109 and 113-115 will be General Admission with tickets costing $10 with Reserved Seating in Sections 110-112 for $50.
This will be the first-ever game between the Galaxy and AC St. Louis and LA’s first Open Cup Third Round game since 2007. The Galaxy, who won the Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, have played in the Third Round of the tournament five times, going 4-1 in those games, winning in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 but falling in 2007. From 2003-2006, the Galaxy entered the Open Cup in the Fourth Round.
WC ‘Blaugrana’ Report: Argentina vs. Greece
Live: Greece vs. Argentina
Mexico vs. Uruguay, France vs. South Africa
WC ‘Blaugrana’ Report: Spain vs. Honduras
Maradona hints Messi may captain Argentina against Greece Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/news/maradona-hints-messi-may-captain-argentina-a
Brazil vs. Ivory Coast
Berhalter to be Guest on Todd Wright Tonight at 9:05 pm
Tonight, Gregg Berhalter will join host Todd Wright on the appropriately named Todd Wright Tonight show at 9:05 p.m. PT on Sporting News Radio. You can simply click here to listen to the interview via SNR’s online player or tune your Sirius Satellite Radio receiver to SNR on Channel 127. Click here to check out the Todd Wright Tonight home page, and check out his Twitter feed at www.Twitter.com/Todd_Wright.
Todd and Troy Share Their Thoughts on the World Cup
Be sure to check out the latest from Todd Dunivant in partnership with Flo TV over at Goal.com.
Additionally, lagalaxy.com's Troy Bardy checked in with his latest from South Africa where he was able to take some time off from his work with Yahoo! to take in Friday's dramatic U.S. game against Slovenia. Here's what he had to say...
Before leaving for South Africa, the one game I wanted to see above any other was the U.S.A. vs. Slovenia match at Ellis Park. Simply for the fact of what this stadium meant to the people of South Africa.
I’m guessing that most fans who made the journey over here watched the movie Invictus ahead of time, to get an understanding of what this country was all about. I know that I did.
Once I saw the U.S. were to play at this historic stadium, I knew making it to this game would be something I would remember forever. I secured a ticket a few days before the game, assuring that win lose or draw, I would be there to cheer on the U.S. Add to that the fact that it was my first chance to see my home country play in the World Cup in person; I knew that this was going to be a special experience.
My second level seat could not have been better as it was at the same end of the field that, after surrendering two first half goals, the U.S. mounted one of the most memorable comebacks in our nation’s soccer history.
The first 45 minutes was a humbling experience. Going down 2-0, I couldn’t help but think that the last four years of their hard work could all be washed away in this one game. But to witness Landon lead the charge after the break with his brilliant goal, was something I’m not sure I can put into words. Once he scored, I knew this team had result left in them. Once they got the equalizer, you could feel that they were not content to simply take a point, but instead wanted to claim all three. Unfortunately, as you’re all well aware by this point, the referee snatched the full three points away from the guys and they had to settle for a draw.
But while Koman Coulibaly was able to steal the points from our team, he will never be able to take away the feeling I had being there in person when Bob Bradley’s men made all of us so proud to wear the red, white and blue.
Mike Magee to Miss 4-6 Weeks
Magee has one goal and an assist in eight games this season, though he has missed five games, including each of the final two before the World Cup break because of injury.
Airplane movies
I have to admit that one of the things I love the most about plane flights is the movies. Nowadays you aren't stuck watching what everyone else is watching on a big screen in the middle of the aisle. Everyone gets their own choice of what seems like hundreds of channels. There were sports, contemporary, classics, avant garde, family, comedy and kids. Let alone the tv shows. I was in heaven. Whole movies all the way through with no interruptions for phone calls, medical emergencies or drinks of water. Like I said: heaven.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Golden Girls!
Portugal Goal Party
Portugal Crushed North Korea 7-0
Turning The Page On World Cup Weekend #2
But it's back to work now, for everybody
The squad returns to the training grounds later today to resume their preparations for its first game in two weeks. The Galaxy's upcoming road trip to Canada to take on Toronto FC could be extended depending on tomorrow's Second Round games of the U.S. Open Cup. If Minnesota beats AC St. Louis, the Stars will host the Galaxy at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. on Tuesday, June 29. However, if AC St. Louis win that game, the Galaxy will host them on Tuesday, June 29.
But, before we truly turn the page on the weekend, check out the images captured by Robert Mora and German Alegria last Friday at the ESPN Zone viewing parties.
ESPN Zone at L.A. Live Viewing Party (Photos by Robert Mora)
ESPN Zone Anaheim (Photos by German Alegria)
Fans inside the sky box at ESPN Zone Anaheim react to Michael Bradley's game-tying goal.
Clint Mathis gave one fan a special surprise autograph. The fan to the left on the photo was involved in a car accident on her way to the U.S.-England viewing party at the Hermosa Beach Pier two weeks ago.
Eddie Lewis was at ESPN Zone at L.A. Live giving out autographs and posing for photos at halftime.
Fox 11 reporter Susan Hirasuna at ESPN Zone at L.A. Live during a live report for Fox's Good Day LA Live show.
Finally, if you get a minute, take a look at how you can help the LA Galaxy Foundation win $250,000 through the Chase Community Giving Program via Facebook.
Video Highlights Portugal 7 - 0 North Korea
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Hércules to join Real Sociedad and Levante in the Spanish first division Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/news/hercules-to-join-real-socieda
Rafa Marquez: I’ll speak to Guardiola about my future after the World Cup Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2010/news/rafa-marquez-ill-speak-to-gu
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Looking Ahead
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Green Dream 2
Pride Is Algeria
Nesrine Tafesh.. Algerian's fan
Amel bouchoucha, 1 2 3 Viva Algeria
Cheb Khaled FIFA World Cup 2010
Wahiba Ribery
Majid Bougherra & Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney tackled by Hassan Yebda and Rafik Halliche
Algeria's midfielder Riad Boudebouz
Hassen Yebda & Steven Gerrard
England vs Algeria Opening Ceremony
David James vs Madjid Bougherra
England vs Algeria
Medhi Lacen & Frank Lampard
The England National team vs Algeria.
Algerian Fan
The Algerian national team vs England
Algerian fan blows a vuvuzela, Algeria / England
David Beckham, England vs Algeria
Karim Matmour, England vs Algeria
England / Algeria
Peter Crouch & Nadir Belhadj
Wayne Rooney & Karim Matmour
Wayne Rooney & Djamel Abdoun
Birchall and Ricketts Return to Training; Dema Closing in On Return
Morgan also chatted briefly with Dema Kovalenko (pictured in the white vest above) about his ongoing battle to get back on the field. Dema was back on the field taking part in training this week for the first time since a hamstring injury forced him out during warmups against Houston.
Be sure to read the complete article, which has these stories and more, right here.