Landon Donovan and David Beckham are each dangerous players but together the duo might be the most potent duo in Major League Soccer.
The challenge of slowing down the Los Angeles Galaxy's tandem will fall squarely on Chivas USA as the clubs will square off in the first SuperClasico of the season, Saturday night at The Home Depot Center (7:30 p.m. PT; FSE/FSE)
Chivas USA coach Preki offered up one way to silence the Galaxy's flashy pair.
"Don't let them play," Preki said. "Can't the league suspend them for this weekend?"
Barring injury, though, the tandem will line up against Chivas USA and will try and continue their strong campaigns. Donovan leads the league in goals with five while Beckham has a goal and three assists.
Few question the Galaxy pair's abilities but the strategies on how to stop them are varied. Among Chivas USA players, though, the consensus was that space will play a crucial role in Saturday's match.
"You limit their time and space. You be physical with them," midfielder Jesse Marsch offered. "With Landon specifically you have to be smart about trying to get after him and also letting him find space behind you because he's so fast."
Donovan's speed is one of his strongest assets and Chivas USA players said the club needs to be aware of it.
In the first Clasico match a year ago, Donovan raced down the field and fed Cobi Jones who netted an insurance goal in the Galaxy's 3-1 win against Chivas USA. Donovan also had a goal and another assist in the game.
"We actually haven't had much success against Landon over the years," Marsch said. "We take care of him the whole game and then he makes one or two plays late in the game and he's got one or two goals and we say 'Man, I thought we did well.'"
Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein will have among his many responsibilities the task of keeping Donovan within sights. Though Bornstein is a speedy player, Donovan's jets can be difficult for most players to keep up with, Bornstein said.
"You always have to keep an eye out for him because he's one of those guys who likes to kind of drift and you kind of forget about him and then all of a sudden he's running 100 miles an hour behind you and there's no way you are going to catch up to him," he said. "You always have to keep an eye out for him and constantly have it in mind of where he is and make sure he doesn't get the ball in spaces where he can hurt us."
Donovan was quiet for much of the first half of the Galaxy's match against Houston on Saturday. However, Donovan scored a pair of goals in the final half hour to help the Galaxy draw 2-2 with the two-time defending champs.
Beckham set up both goals and had several other dangerous crosses inside the penalty area. With the former England captain healthy and in form, Chivas USA's defense needs to be wary of providing extra help.
"We can't give away stupid fouls around the box. We can't give away stupid corner kicks because any time he's around the ball on a set piece, he's dangerous," Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. "Anywhere inside of our half he can put the ball on the money."
Guzan said his preparation and focus does not change much from game to game but said he needed to pay extra attention to the Galaxy when they had the ball, especially when it makes its way to Beckham.
"As a goalkeeper, you have to be aware for 90 minutes because any time he touches the ball whether he's 70 yards away from goal or 20 yards away from goal it's a potential scoring chance," Guzan said.
Fouls are part of the game but Bornstein said the defense needs to play Beckham as clean as possible to avoid free kicks from close proximity. One of the two goals Beckham has scored in a Galaxy uniform came off a set piece and the England international has scored numerous goals off set pieces in his illustrious career.
"You have to play hard. Fouls are something that just happen," Bornstein said. "You don't want to be overzealous so you're chopping him every time he gets the ball because that's another dangerous part of their game. You have to be smart, defend hard, defend cleanly and try to win the ball every time instead of hacking at his legs or something."
Though the Galaxy have other players who have the ability to score such as Edson Buddle and Chris Klein, limiting Donovan and Beckham will likely be Chivas USA's top priority on Saturday.
"(Beckham) and Landon are vital, vital players in what they do attacking wise. As a group we're talking about it, we're going to deal with it and make sure we're hard on them," Marsch said. "It's kind of a commitment as a team to understand what it takes to try and limit the success those two guys are going to have."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
