The LA Galaxy signed U.S. National Team midfielder Eddie Lewis Thursday. The Galaxy held the top spot in the MLS Allocation Table and have used that position to acquire Lewis, a Cerritos, Calif. native who played for the U.S. National Team in their 1-0 road win over Guatemala last night in a World Cup Qualifier. Per club and league policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
To make room for Lewis on the club's 18-man senior roster, the Galaxy have traded forward Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC in exchange for a first and second round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and salary budget considerations.
"I strongly believe that Eddie Lewis will be an outstanding addition to the Galaxy," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "He brings great experience to the club and will be a wonderful addition to our locker room and is a player that the fans are sure to support. I have known Eddie for a number of years, I rate him as a first class player and person and I'm honored to welcome him to the Galaxy family."
"Unfortunately, the sport of soccer is also a business and in order to bring Eddie to the Galaxy we were required to make salary budget space available and our only available option was to move Carlos," Arena added. "Carlos is proven to be one of the great goalscorers in the history of this league and I have the highest regard for him. We wish him the very best in the future."
A veteran left-sided player with both MLS and European playing experience, Lewis comes to the Galaxy following a one-year stay with Derby County of the English Premier League. Prior to joining Derby, the 34-year old had stints with fellow English sides, Fulham, Preston North End and Leeds United, as well as a four-year stay with San Jose of Major League Soccer, with who he began his professional career in 1996.
After playing four years at UCLA and helping the Bruins to a 67-14-4 record during his time in Westwood, Lewis was selected by the San Jose Clash (now Earthquakes) in the Third Round of the 1996 MLS College Draft. In four years with San Jose, Lewis became an integral member of that club, appearing in 115 of the club's 128 games, scoring nine goals and adding 35 assists. He set a career-high with 14 assists in 1997 and matched that figure in 1999 when his four goals and 14 assists in 29 games earned him a spot on the MLS Best XI.
Following the 1999 MLS season, Lewis signed with Fulham of the English First Division (now English Championship). He appeared in a handful of games in his two and a half seasons at Craven Cottage before signing with fellow First Division side Preston North End in the summer of 2002. He appeared in more than 100 games for Preston, during his three seasons with the club and narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League in 2004-05, when his side were knocked off by West Ham United in the Championship Playoff Final. After that season, Lewis joined Leeds United of the League Championship and helped that club reach the Playoff Final, only to fall one step short of qualifying for the Premier League.
After two seasons at Leeds, Lewis signed with Derby County, who had just been promoted to the Premier League. He played 27 games in all competitions for Derby last season, and left the club by mutual consent earlier this month in order to sign with the Galaxy. He will join up with the rest of his new teammates in Los Angeles today after retuning from National Team duty.
A true left-sided player who is capable of playing both in midfield and at left back, Lewis has also made his mark with the U.S. National Team, with who he appeared in both the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. In 81 career appearances with the Red, White and Blue, Lewis has 10 goals and 16 assists, including an assist on Landon Donovan's goal in the 2-0 win over Mexico in the Round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup. He scored his 10th National Team goal in July when he captained the U.S. to a 1-0 win in Barbados.
Ruiz, who captained the Guatemalan National Team last night in their loss to the United States, appeared in 10 games for the Galaxy, scoring just one goal while missing nearly two months of action after undergoing surgery on his right knee in early April. The second leading scorer in club history, Ruiz returned to the Galaxy, his first MLS club, in January after spending three seasons with FC Dallas.
In three and a half years with the Galaxy, Ruiz scored 62 goals in 93 regular season and postseason games, with more than half of those goals coming during the 2002 season, when he scored a club record 24 goals in the regular season and an MLS record eight more in the postseason to lead the Galaxy to their first-ever MLS Cup.
The Galaxy are back in action tonight, Thursday, August 21 when they host the Chicago Fire at The Home Depot Center. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. and tickets are still available. To purchase tickets or for more information on this game, please visit www.lagalaxy.com or call 877-3GALAXY.
TRANSACTION: LA Galaxy sign midfielder Eddie Lewis and trade forward Carlos Ruiz to Toronto FC in exchange for a first and second round pick in the 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft and salary budget considerations.
