The post-Landon Donovan era will officially begin this Friday when the reigning champions, Los Angeles Galaxy, play hosts to the Chicago Fire – assuming an agreement can be reached on the CBA, which does not seem likely at this point.
So the question goes, how do you make a champion better? Well, do not need to do much when most of the starters return for another season. One thing that will for sure help the squad’s confidence will be the inclusion of Stevie G this summer. The lifelong Liverpool midfielder will most likely slot in behind Robbie providing pinpoint passes to everyone around the pitch.
If the season goes ahead as plan, they have a tough early stretch of matches as they travel to Portland in the second week followed up with a home match against the Dynamo after opening up the season with Chicago at the StubHub. If they get maximum points from these early fixtures that will certainly get them off on the right foot. It will certainly get harder the second month, but they have enough fire power to break down the opposition’s defenses. On April 12th, the Seattle Sounders come to town in a much anticipated rematch of the MLS Cup Semi-Finals.
A key departure for the Galaxy this offseason, other than LD, was Marcelo Sarvas as the Brazilian midfielder got traded to the Colorado Rapids for allocation money. Marcelo was a rock in the midfield often operating in front of the back four distributing the ball to all parts of the pitch. Baggio Husidic should fill in that spot for Arena and will provide the same sort of stability that the 33-year-old had during his time with the Galaxy.
The biggest question heading into the season is in terms of tactical decisions. We know that Juninho and Husidic will be acting as the double pivot, providing a way forward for the rest of the attack while providing good defensive support. Now the question is, how are the Galaxy going to line up in attack? We know that Keane is going to be playing striker, but will Zardes be joining him up top or will he be deployed on the left hand side? If Zardes does go up top who’s going on the left? Bradford Jameison IV?
Predictions
Best case scenario: Winning their sixth MLS Cup would be the icing on the cake. This would tell the rest of the league that they truly are the best of the best and they will all have to step up their game in order to catch them. Robbie Keane is still going to be Robbie Keane and the Irish striker will continue to bang in the goals. Yes, the loss of Landon Donovan is certainly going to hurt at some stage or another but the addition of Steven Gerrard will be a gigantic boost for the club and will separate them from the rest of the pack.
Worst case scenario: This would most likely be that the Galaxy do not make it out of the first round of the playoffs this season. For all of their offensive prowess, Bruce Arena’s men looked shaky at times at the back. Whether or not it was complacency the two central defenders just are not as good as they’re made out to be, the two center haves will have to be at the same level as they were last year, if they want to get back to the playoffs. However, with most of the same starting XI still around, the Los Angeles outfit should not have any problem picking up right where they left off from last year.