As Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop finalizes his first team for the 2007 season, he still has one major hole to fill.
When the Galaxy acquired goalkeeper Joe Cannon from the Colorado Rapids, they sent central defender Ugo Ihemelu to the Rocky Mountain club. Ihemelu had been a two-year starter at center back for L.A., and Yallop was left needing to find the right piece in replacement.
The answer could come from Troy Roberts. In his third season out of the University of California, Roberts has made 28 regular season appearances thus far in his MLS career. A year ago, Roberts played in 19 games, starting 10, but he feels as if 2007 could be his breakout year.
"We have defenders gone so I want to be able to get in there and fill that position for the season," said Roberts. "Hopefully I can keep it throughout the season and play well."
Roberts will have even more opportunity to break into the starting 11 this summer, moreso because of his versatility. Fullbacks Ante Jazic and Chris Albright will miss long stretches this summer -- Jazic is expected to be with the Canadian national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and it's likely that Albright will be with the USA for either the Gold Cup or Copa America, or possibly both.
Last season, Roberts performed well when he got his chances, playing all along the back line. His performance was good enough to garner the praises of his head coach as well.
"I thought Troy was very good last season," said Yallop. "He's finally over his jitters. He wasn't sure if he was good enough and he proved in the end he was good enough."
Even if Roberts doesn't lock down the starting job at center back out of preseason, beyond league games there will be plenty of other opportunities to prove himself. In addition to the regular season, the Galaxy will play in the U.S. Open Cup, the inaugural Superliga tournament and the World Series of Football with games against Chelsea and Tigres.
"There are a lot of games and you just have to handle yourself when you get time off," said Roberts about the Galaxy's busy schedule. "You have to take care of yourself."
When Roberts does have his chance he will definitely have to step up his game. With Yallop planning to go to a much more attack minded 4-3-3 lineup, there will be much more onus on the defense to lock things down. It's a challenge that Roberts feels he and the rest of the defense are up to.
"In the end there's four guys sitting back there. We can all defend if we're in the proper positions and we're smart back there," said Roberts. "It's just a matter of managing the game and not getting exposed when we're attacking."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
