LOS ANGELES GALAXY v CF PACHUCA
Group Stage - GROUP A - Match 2
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 8 p.m. PT
The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
REFEREE: Carlos Batres (GUA)
ASSISTANT REFEREES: Corey Rockwell (USA); Frank Anderson (USA)
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Kevin Stott (USA)
The Los Angeles Galaxy face a stern test to start SuperLiga 2007, when they take on defending Mexican and CONCACAF champion CF Pachuca at The Home Depot Center. The Galaxy have struggled in league play this year, but hope the arrival of David Beckham will be the start of new success. Pachuca had the best record in the Clausura 2007 with 36 points from 17 matches, then defeated Santos Laguna, Cruz Azul and Club América on their way to a fifth championship in the professional era, all since 1999.
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy last played a league match on July 7, coming back to claim a 2-2 draw with the Kansas City Wizards after winning for just the third time on the season in their previous game against the Chicago Fire. However, since then the long-awaited debut of David Beckham for the club has taken place, the Galaxy falling 1-0 to England's Chelsea FC on Saturday night. Beckham, still suffering from an ankle injury, played for the final 12 minutes. The Galaxy sit in sixth place in the Western Conference with 13 points from 12 matches, but have played anywhere from three to seven fewer games than any other team in the division.
CF Pachuca
The most successful in the Americas over the past year, Pachuca enters SuperLiga with no injuries and a full team, nearly the identical team that won the 2007 Clausura in the Mexican Primera Division, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup earlier this spring and last year's Copa Sudamericana, the first South American competition won by a Mexican club. Pachuca arrived in Los Angeles off a 3-1 defeat of Tampico-Madero in an exhibition match. Pachuca have added two strikers from Morelia, Rafael Márquez (Mexico) and Colombian international Luis Gabriel Rey, who has impressed in the preseason preparation before their league opener at Tecos UAG on Aug. 3.
State of play: Group A
Earlier this evening, the other two teams in Group A faced off at Pizza Hut Park when FC Dallas faced CD Guadalajara. On Saturday, FC Dallas will play host to Pachuca while Guadalajara will travel to Los Angeles. Two nights later, the two MLS sides will play at Pizza Hut Park, while the two Mexican clubs will meet at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
