The Los Angeles Galaxy announced on Tuesday that defender Robbie Rogers, forward Jose Villarreal and midfielder Rafael Garcia have signed the three of them to new contracts. The details of the contracts have not yet been made available to the public.
Signing Rogers to a new contract was necessary for the Galaxy. He has established himself as a starter for them since arriving in 2013. After coming out in 2012 Rogers briefly retired from the game. However, he then decided to return back to the world of soccer the same year.
He wanted to play for the Galaxy, but since the Chicago Fire had first dibs on his signing rights the Galaxy had to make a deal. So LA sent Mike Magee to Chicago and in return the Galaxy was able to sign Rogers.
At the start, the 28-year-old struggled to get minutes and find his footing. The last time Rogers had played consistently was in 2011 for the Columbus Crew. Rogers played in 27 games and started in 24 of them. He also scored two goals and dished out seven assists. He then decided to take a chance across the Atlantic Ocean, in the English Championship to be exact. He was signed by Leeds United F.C. in 2012.
He was in Europe for a year and only made four appearances for Leeds. Rogers was then loaned to League Two side, Stevenage F.C. He struggled with the Boro’s as well and only played in six games. So when he arrived to the Galaxy it was fair to say that the 28-year-old was rusty.
LA’s head coach Bruce Arena gambled in attempting to convert the Huntington Beach, Calif. native from his usual midfield position to a full back. Since then Rogers has been an automatic member of the starting 11 for LA.
Jose Villarreal
Villarreal was the third homegrown signing at the age of 18 for the Galaxy in December of 2011. He had a hot start to his career, but in recent years he has become a bench player for LA.
In his first year, the Inglewood, California native made 10 appearances in the regular season for LA and managed to score and pick up an assist as well.
Since 2012 he has made more appearances for the Galaxy but not as much damage. In the following years, he has played 43 times and has scored four goals and assisted on five.
At the start of the 2015 regular season he was a starter, but once the Galaxy brought in players like Sebastian Lletget, Giovani Dos Santos and Steven Gerrard he got lost in the shuffle. His solid start to the year ended with 16 games played, nine starts, two goals and four assists.
The 22-year-old striker has found some success in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL). He has made six appearances, started five games and has scored two goals. However, the U.S. youth international has shown plenty of potential maybe this might be the year that Villarreal breaks out for LA.
Rafael Garcia
Garcia, similar to Villarreal, has spent most of his time with LA on the bench. He was drafted by the Galaxy in the 2012 Major League Soccer (MLS) Supplemental Draft. Since then he has played a total of 21 games for the first team.
The Canoga Park, California native has enjoyed success with the Galaxy second team: LA Galaxy II or also known as “Los Dos”. The 27-year-old has participated in 25 games in two years and has scored four goals for them. Like Villarreal, he has debuted more for the first team in the CCL. He has played in nine games and started in seven.
With a busy 2016 ahead for LA, Arena will need as much depth to succeed in both the second round of the CCL and in the MLS regular season.