The LA Galaxy announced on Wednesday that the club will host reigning Liga MX champions Club Tijuana in an exhibition game at the Home Depot Center on Feb. 19, giving the two-time MLS champs an up close and personal look at some of the players making headlines south of the border.
Tijuana’s first game in the Copa Libertadores tournament, which will be played against Colombian side Millonarios and Fredy Montero, will also be played on Feb. 19, meaning that players who do not travel to Colombia will face the Galaxy at the HDC.
Tijuana won the Apertura title in December to complete a meteoric rise from obscurity five years ago to the title of best in Mexico and a berth in the Copa Libertadores. The club – which was formed in 2007 – has garnered attention both in Mexico and in the United States, thanks in large part to three Americans who featured prominently in their run to the title last year.
Winger Joe Corona (above) – a fixture in the US national team youth ranks and a peripheral player on the senior team – is a Los Angeles native, while defender Edgar Castillo (New Mexico) and Greg Garza (Texas) have also established themselves as regulars for the club.
Xolos midfielder Alejandro Guido, meanwhile, is a San Diego native, while youngster Stevie Rodriguez signed with the team last year after a stint with the Chivas USA U-18 team in Los Angeles. Midfielder Bryan de la Fuente, who hails from Texas, is also on the Tijuana roster.
The Galaxy Academy U-18 side will face Tijuana’s U-18 squad as part of the event earlier in the day.
