CARSON, Calif. - When Frank Yallop took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy last week, he faced a schedule that saw his team play two matches within his first four full days in charge. That wasn't a lot of time to put into place his ideas of how he wanted his new team to play.
After winning two MLS Cups in three seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes prior to leaving to take charge of the Canadian national team, the Galaxy's new head coach knows what it takes to win championships in MLS. Those changes are already being exhibited in the club's training sessions, which have been quite different that those run by former head coach Steve Sampson.
"There's a lot more playing I think. Sampson liked to do a lot more tactical work," said Alan Gordon. "Frank seems like he's letting us play a lot more and get into a rhythm."
Yallop's training sessions are run at a high pace with emphasis placed on simulating the game. The majority of Tuesday's training session was a small field scrimmage. Ball movement was the focus offensively, and high pressure on the ball was the focus on the defensive side. Yallop is very clear with his players in terms of what he wants to get accomplished in training, and his players are already responding.
"He says one hour, we go one hour. He says an hour and a half, we go an hour and a half. He's very precise with what he says," said Herculez Gomez. "It's very different, it's more intense. When you hit that peak for the day you don't want to keep dragging and dragging."
The most noticeable difference is the mix of players during training. Sampson often separated the first team from the reserves in training, even in scrimmages. There is no division under Yallop. Everyone is thrown into the mix together, and the players appreciate it.
"It brings a lot of unity," said Josh Gardner, who has seen a revival to his season since the arrival of Yallop. "Guys learn to play with the starters and with the reserves. It's a lot better. Guys coming off the bench are going to be more prepared. There's going to be better chemistry."
Yallop is known for getting the same level of effort from the first player on his roster all the way to the last. A huge part of that is giving each player the feeling that they can contribute and get time with the first team.
"A lot of guys that weren't getting time with Sampson are getting that confidence now. Memo Gonzalez, who with Sampson was labeled a lazy player, is one of our better players in training," said Gomez. "Guys are getting that second chance and taking advantage of it."
Yallop will need the very best out of all of his players - and soon. Landon Donovan, Chris Albright and Cornell Glen are still away on World Cup duty, and coupled with injuries to Kyle Veris, Pete Vagenas and Cobi Jones that have significantly limited their minutes, Yallop will already be relying on his younger players to get results.
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
