Over the course of the first 10 years of Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy were the model of consistency. They were they only team to make the playoffs in each season, winning the MLS Cup twice.
But as MLS began its second decade of play, the Galaxy learned how the other half lived, failing to make the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Now Los Angeles is hoping that their luck will change in season No. 13 as the quest to return to the playoffs begins.
The biggest change made by the Galaxy heading into this season was the hiring of head coach Ruud Gullit. Gullit's resume as a player is unchallenged by anyone in MLS, and he brings the experience of coaching in the Premier League with him as well. He is the type of individual that Alexi Lalas and AEG feel can guide the Galaxy without getting caught up in the star power of David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz.
It was the addition of Ruiz that made the most headlines in L.A. Ruiz began his career in Los Angeles, and now returns to try and bolster what was a relatively toothless attack last season. In preseason, the combination of Beckham, Donovan and Ruiz weren't all on the field at the same time; however, there have been glimpses of what opposing defenses can expect this season.
"In the Dallas game (on March 22), they made a point of taking David away and it gave me all day on the other side to have a lot of opportunities," said Donovan. "If they want to do the same with me, then it gives David a lot of time on the ball and let's Fish (Ruiz) get in the box. If they collapse around Fish then it gives both of us time. I don't know how teams are going to deal with it, but it's going to be hard."
While the addition of Ruiz will certainly mean a much more balanced attack this year for the Galaxy, it came at a price. Like every team in MLS, the Galaxy must comply with the salary budget constraints of the league, and as a result, they had to deal a couple of key players. Joe Cannon left for the San Jose Earthquakes and Chris Albright was traded to New England.
Steve Cronin has stepped in as the starting 'keeper this season and Chris Klein has resumed his role at right back that he took over when Albright went down with a season-ending injury last year. That still leaves the Galaxy back four thin in depth and a little old as well.
At the beginning of preseason, the back line was letting teams get behind them and defensive speed looked to be an issue. But as the winter months turned to spring, the Galaxy looked to shore things up, shutting out Dallas in their final tune-up, holding the Hoops to zero shots on goal.
"We're improving in all areas of the field right now," said Gullit. "We're still trying to find our right shape. I think defensively we are looking good at the moment so I'm happy about that."
Still, it won't be one area of the field that determines the success or failure of this year's Galaxy team. Last season, the Galaxy were put at a disadvantage by the schedule, which was constructed in a manner to try and allow each market a chance to see Beckham live. As a result, the Galaxy had a heavily back loaded schedule that saw them on the road for the majority of the latter half of the season.
In addition to that, injuries plagued Los Angeles all season long, leaving the club paper thin on the bench. Los Angeles is heading into the season as close to completely healthy as they have been in several seasons, and the schedule is much more balanced this year.
Still, depth will likely become an issue for the Galaxy this season. MLS doesn't follow the FIFA international calendar, and as a result, the Galaxy will lose key contributors for World Cup qualifying and potentially for the Olympics as well. It means that several young players with little professional experience will be called on to make an impact this year.
"(Following the international calendar) is one thing I think our league eventually has to change. I understand the limitations, but it really takes away from the game," said Chris Klein. "You have guys away playing for their countries and you have an MLS game in between. For us, we lose a guy like Landon or David or Carlos, and that's a huge chunk of our roster. I think even for our fans, it takes away from the aspect of watching the best players in the league."
Donovan is one of the players likely to miss the most time for qualifying -- and potentially the Olympics as well, if he is called in as one of the USA's three allowed "overage" players.
"It's always like that. You want that, you want players on your team that play for their national teams. But during the meat part of the season, the teams that don't have a lot of call-ups always do better in that part of the season," said Donovan. "It's a disadvantage when you really only have an 18- or 20-man roster. It's not like Europe where you have 26 guys who are all capable. We have a lot of young guys who haven't played yet."
That is why the beginning of the season, once again, is so critical for the Galaxy. The last two seasons, Los Angeles has stumbled out of the gate. They can't afford any slip-ups in the early portion of the season, and must rely on the veterans to speed up the learning curve of the younger guys during that same time in order to get them ready for when they are called upon.
"That is good because the veterans can help the young ones," said Gullit. "All of the veterans started out like that. You need the older players to guide and help the younger players so they know what to do on the pitch."
Expectations are always high in Los Angeles, but this year's edition of the Galaxy will be tested to the last man on the roster in 2008. If the Galaxy can avoid a slow start and find a way to hold things together over the summer, they very well could return to the playoffs. Those are two very big ifs though, and youth will have just as big of an impact on the fortunes of the Galaxy as the headliners will.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
