The LA Galaxy have announced their preseason roster for the 2009 MLS season. Players began reporting to camp on Monday, with the team scheduled to be on the field for the first time on Wednesday morning.
General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena has 33 players on the roster, with 24 of those players already in camp. Of the 33 players who are on the club's current roster, 20 were with the Galaxy at the end of the 2008 season, four were with other MLS teams and four were selected by the Galaxy in last week's MLS SuperDraft.
Dema Kovalenko, who the club acquired earlier today, will arrive at The Home Depot Center on Thursday and train for the first time on Friday, as will the third round SuperDraft selection Josh Boateng from Liberty University. Additionally, the newly acquired Donovan Ricketts and Omar Gonzalez will arrive next week while David Beckham and Landon Donovan will remain at AC Milan and Bayern Munich respectively on loan until March 8.
The club has also invited two trialists into camp with defenders Henry "Leo" Bautista and Tony Sanneh joining the rest of the Galaxy players at The Home Depot Center. Bautista, 25, is a native of Caracas, Venezuela who plays for Caracas F.C. of the Venezuelan Primera Division. Sanneh is an MLS and U.S. National Team veteran who has appeared in more than 100 games during his seven years in MLS while also collecting more than 40 caps with the National Team, including all five matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The 37-year old last played in MLS in 2007 as a member of the Colorado Rapids. He has also spent time with D.C. United, the Columbus Crew and the Chicago Fire in MLS, as well as Hertha Berlin and Nurnberg in Germany.
The Galaxy will remain in Southern California for the entirety of the preseason. The club will participate in the Pan-Pacific Championship, along with Oita Trinita (J.League), Shandong Luneng Taishan FC (Chinese Super League) and Suwon Samsung Bluewings (K-League) at The Home Depot Center on February 18 and 21 with other games to be announced at future dates.
LA GALAXY PRESEASON ROSTER
Goalkeepers (3):
Steve Cronin, Donovan Ricketts, Josh Wicks.
Defenders (11): Vardan Adzemian, Leo Bautista, A.J. DeLaGarza, Sean Franklin, Michael Gavin, Omar Gonzalez, Brandon McDonald, Mike Randolph, Troy Roberts, Tony Sanneh, Julian Valentin.
Midfielders (11): Ely Allen, David Beckham, Josh Boateng, Leonard Griffin, Chris Klein, Dema Kovalenko, Eddie Lewis, Stefani Miglioranzi, Mike Munoz, Kyle Patterson, Josh Tudela.
Forwards (8): Tristan Bowen, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Alan Gordon, Bryan Jordan, Jovan Kirovski, Mike Magee, Israel Sesay
