When the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-1 over the weekend, it was more than just a rare win for the Western Conference against an Eastern Conference foe. It also pushed the Galaxy into first place in the conference -- a place where they haven't been since early in the 2005 campaign.
For a team that has missed the MLS Cup Playoffs the past two seasons and has finished below .500 in each of those years, it's certainly nice to be back on top. But complacency isn't about to set in down amongst the Galaxy. While it's nice to be playing well right now, there are still a lot of games left to be played.
"(First place) means nothing right. We don't look at the table so much," said Galaxy head coach Ruud Gullit. "It feels good for the players. There are a lot of games left. We know this is going to be a long season."
If history is any lesson, it's been proven that how a team is playing in the first few months of the season has very little to do with who wins the MLS Cup in November. Still, being on top early has its advantages in the long run.
"It's means we're playing well lately, but (being in first place) means very little to be quite honest. We want to keep playing well. We want to keep gaining points," said Chris Klein. "What this team showed last year is that you can't give away points early because you get to the last game of the season and you may need them."
While it is still very early in the season, this year's Galaxy team is looking much better than the past two seasons. The team's relative health can be attributed to the good start, especially when it comes to David Beckham, who is enjoying his first full season with the Galaxy.
"The biggest thing is David's healthy. That just gives us another soccer player with a good mind and good brain that can play," said Landon Donovan. "Obviously other people need to play, but the more soccer players you have on the field that know how to play, the easier it is."
It's not just Beckham's health either. Barring any injuries this week, when the Galaxy travel to Toronto this weekend for their next league game, the only player unavailable due to injury will be reserve goalie Charles Alamo. That's a far cry from last season, when the Galaxy locker room looked more like a triage unit than a soccer team.
As good as they are playing right now, there is the potential for them to come crashing down to earth in a hurry. Several of the Galaxy's regulars, including Donovan, Beckham and a recently healthy Carlos Ruiz, will miss time with international duty this summer. How that affects the team remains to be seen, yet even there is a dip in form, it seems unlikely that this club will get knocked off of its even keel.
"A few years back Columbus went like 20 games without losing and then lost in the first round of the playoffs. That's the way this league is," said Donovan. "The key is to get into the playoffs and hopefully be playing well at the end of the year."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
