There are two very clear truths about the Los Angeles Galaxy heading into the 2011 MLS season. The first is that the Galaxy is one of the strongest, most star-studded and talented teams in the league.
The second is that the team is old.
The best team in the league during the 2010 MLS regular season, the Galaxy come into 2011 with a revamped roster and championship aspirations, but those aspirations have a clock ticking on them that looks set to expire this year.
David Beckham and newly-acquired Juan Pablo Angel will turn 36 this season, defender Gregg Berhalter is 37 and new arrival Frankie Hejduk is 36. All four players have enjoyed stellar careers, all four will play key roles for the Galaxy this season, but all four are running out of time.
In other words it’s win now or watch the window of opportunity close and wonder how this Galaxy side failed to win the club’s first MLS Cup since 2005.
Whether or not Los Angeles lifts a trophy in November will depend largely on how it copes with one of the biggest losses of the MLS off-season. The Galaxy lost 17-goal scorer Edson Buddle, who left MLS for German club FC Ingolstadt this winter, but Bruce Arena’s squad was delivered the most unlikely of gifts in the form of Angel, who was cut loose by the New York Red Bulls after four successful years that saw him become New York’s career scoring leader.
Angel’s goal-scoring rate in MLS is one of the best in league history, but the fact remains he struggled badly in the second half of 2010. The Galaxy need him to be at his best if he’s going to make up for the loss of Buddle, who was the league’s most dangerous forward last season. Angel will have a better supporting cast around him offensively in Los Angeles than he had in New York, so the former Aston Villa striker could enjoy a career renaissance.
As important as Angel’s arrival is, it is the arrival of a more familiar face that has the Galaxy poised to build on its Supporters Shield-winning 2010 campaign. For the first time since 2008, David Beckham will be with the Galaxy from the start of the season.
After two straight spring loans to AC Milan, Beckham is in the fold from the start and his presence could help Angel thrive, while also giving Los Angeles a very good chance of repeating as winners of the Supporters Shield, awarded to the team with the best MLS regular season record.
The Galaxy’s most vital player isn’t Beckham though, or even Angel. Landon Donovan remains the team’s best and most important player and 2011 will be an important year for the U.S. national team star. He could make a move from his familiar left wing position to the forward line alongside Angel if head coach Bruce Arena decides he has enough midfield weapons to move Donovan up.
Wherever Donovan plays, he’ll be the real focal point of the Galaxy’s attack, and after passing on a winter loan to Europe, he should be rested and ready to help lead Los Angeles to its first MLS Cup title since 2005.
Defensively, the Galaxy has few concerns in the back, where standouts Omar Gonzalez and Sean Franklin join Berhalter, Hejduk, A.J. De La Garza and Todd Dunivant in one of the deepest defenses in the league. With goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts behind them, Los Angeles should once again boast one of the league’s stingiest defenses.
That strong back-line, coupled with a star-studded attack, should have the Galaxy at or near the top of the Western Conference, and anything short of a trip to the MLS Cup Final will be a disappointment for a team that may have to wait a good while before it ever has as good an opportunity as it has this year.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY
KEY LOSSES: Edson Buddle, Dema Kovalenko
NEW ARRIVALS: Juan Pablo Angel, Chad Barrett, Frankie Hejduk, Paolo Cardozo, Miguel Lopez.
BIGGEST QUESTION: Can Juan Pablo Angel still produce? Replacing Edson Buddle’s 17 goals won’t be easy, but Angel has been a consistent goal scorer in MLS the past four years. Can he put last season’s struggles behind him and thrive in the Galaxy attack? If he does, the Galaxy should make another run at the Supporters Shield. If he can’t, Los Angeles will struggle to mount a strong title challenge.
X-FACTOR: Paolo Cardozo. The tiny midfielder has been one of the most impressive players of the preseason for L.A., and Bruce Arena might have just found himself the type of midfield weapon that will allow him to move Landon Donovan to forward.
OUTLOOK: Los Angeles remains one of the top three teams in MLS, but whether the Galaxy can actually win its third MLS Cup will depend on this aging side staying healthy, on Angel recapturing his goal-scoring form and on Bruce Arena finding the right midfield combination to beat younger and more athletic teams.
Ives Galarcep is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering Major League Soccer and the U.S. national team.
