CARSON, Calif. - The Los Angeles Galaxy will play host to two-time defending J-League champions Yokohama F. Marinos in the 2005 Yokohama F. Marinos World Challenge, presented by MLJ, on Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 pm at The Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills; the club announced today.
"We are very pleased to be playing the two-time defending J-League champions," said Galaxy President and General Manager Doug Hamilton. "This match will pit us against a very athletic and successful side."
Galaxy season ticket holders will be able to use Bonus Game A in their ticket books for the match, while those interested in purchasing tickets should call the Galaxy ticket office toll-free at 1-877-3-GALAXY.
Yokohama F. Marinos joined the J-League in 1991 and have been the most successful team in Japan's first division since 2003. They won both stages of that country's national championship that season and won the overall championship in 2004. Through the first eight matches of the 2005 campaign, Marinos have amassed three wins and two draws. That puts them in seventh place (of 18 teams), eleven points off the blistering pace set by the leaders, undefeated Kashima Antlers.
Yokohama boast the J-League's third-leading scorer, forward Hideo Oshima, who has scored five goals in just six games. Also included in their ranks is one of Korea Republic's heroes at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, Jung Hwan Ahn, who is presently second on the team with three goals. The Marinos are led by coach Takeshi Okada.
Though the match is the first between the two clubs, it will not be for the first for the Galaxy against a Japanese first-division side. In the 2001 preseason, the MLS side faced both Tokyo Verdy 1969 and Urawa Reds, dropping each of those matches by a one-goal margin in a tour of Japan.
