CARSON - The 2008 MLS season is nearly here and the LA Galaxy have begun preseason training in preparation for their season opener in Colorado on March 29. The club will train all week at The Home Depot Center as they begin preparations for the inaugural Pan Pacific Championship in Hawaii, which gets underway on February 20.
Galaxy Team Notes
THIRTY-FOUR PLAYERS START CAMP:
The Galaxy held their first day of preseason training on Monday, holding a pair of training sessions at The Home Depot Center. Thirty-four players, including nine draft picks and eight non-drafted invitees took to the field for Ruud Gullit's first session of the year, which was held on University Field #1. Twenty-one of the players are under contract, meaning that there are seven roster spots still available for this year's squad barring any future transactions.
The only contracted players who were not in attendance on Monday were defender Mike Randolph who recently completed a training stint with the U.S. Under-23 National Team, midfielder Kevin Harmse who was returning from National Team duty with Canada and forward Landon Donovan. Donovan is currently with the U.S. National Team as they prepare for Wednesday night's friendly against Mexico in Houston and will rejoin the Galaxy following that game.
OFFSEASON COMINGS AND GOINGS:
Seven players who were on the Galaxy roster at the end of the 2007 MLS season have moved on to other clubs. Gavin Glinton was selected by San Jose in November's Expansion Draft while Mike Caso, Lance Friesz, Carlos Pavon and Kyle Veris were waived later that month. Those moves were followed by the trades of Joe Cannon and Chris Albright.
Additionally, Clint Mathis, who was acquired from New York in November, saw his contract come to an end at the end of the year and signed with Ergotelis of the Greek First Division, while third round SuperDraft pick Matt Allen elected to sign with Bryne FK of the Norwegian Adeccoligaen (Second Division). Greg Folk, the Galaxy's third round Supplemental Draft pick has elected to complete his degree at UCLA this spring before attempting to earn a contract with the Galaxy.
While those players have left the club, Carlos Ruiz has re-joined the Galaxy, coming back from FC Dallas in a January trade and Nigerian defender Celestine Babayaro was signed on a free transfer. Ten other players were brought in via the MLS SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft. In addition to Allen and Folk who will not be in camp, the club drafted Sean Franklin, who has already signed with MLS, as well as Ely Allen, Julian Valentin, Brandon McDonald, Matt Hatzke, Charles Alamo, and Daniel DeGeer who will be looking to earn a roster spot.
GALAXY ANNOUNCE PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
The Galaxy have scheduled five games for the 2008 preseason as Ruud Gullit gets his squad ready for the start of the MLS season. Following two weeks of training at The Home Depot Center, the Galaxy will depart for Hawaii and the inaugural Pan Pacific Championship. While on the island of Oahu, the Galaxy will play Gamba Osaka of the Japanese J-League in their first game on Wednesday, February 20 before playing either the Houston Dynamo or a yet to be determined side from the Australian A-League in either the tournament's championship game or third place game.
After a week in Hawaii, the club will head west once again, this time to Seoul, Korea for a week of training and a friendly against FC Seoul on Saturday, March 1 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Following the game, the Galaxy will make their final stop of the tour in Shanghai, China, training for five days and playing a friendly against China All-Star Union on Wednesday, March 5 at the Shanghai Stadium.
A few days after the game in Shanghai, the Galaxy will return to the U.S. to begin final preparations ahead of the season opener on March 29 in Colorado. Part of those preparations include a trip to Dallas to face fellow MLS side FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday, March 15 in the FC Dallas Foundation Charity Game, which will benefit the U.S. Fund of UNICEF, the Miracle League of Frisco and an LA Galaxy charity to be determined at a later date.
FRIDAY'S TRAINING SESSION OPEN TO SEASON TICKET HOLDERS:
Galaxy season ticket holders are welcome to attend the club's training session on Friday morning at the Track and Field Stadium. As a result of this session being held on the Track and Field Stadium, media members are asked to park in Lot 16 for Friday's session and to check-in with Galaxy Communications at the south end of the stadium, closest to Lot 16.
MEDIA PARKING AT TRAINING:
With the exception of Friday's training listed above, all media members are asked to enter through Gate D, off Victoria Blvd., and to park in Lot 17 when attending Galaxy training sessions. Members of the media who park in Lot 6 during training sessions may be ticketed now that school is back in session at California State University - Dominguez Hills.
