President Barack Obama called LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena on Tuesday to congratulate him and the team on winning the Major League Soccer Cup final earlier this month.
Arena is in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the Galaxy's Asia Pacific Tour, and it was actually early Wednesday morning local time when he fielded the call, the team said.
"The president said, as a soccer fan, he wanted to let coach Arena know that the team inspired a lot of young soccer players, including his kids," read a statement released by the White House.
"The president congratulated coach Arena on all that the team has done for the game of soccer and asked him to pass along his congratulations to Landon Donovan, David Beckham and the rest of the team."
Obama also extended an invite to the Galaxy to come to the White House to celebrate their feat.
It is the first time a sitting US president has called to congratulate an MLS Cup-winning coach, according to the team.
The Galaxy will kick off their tour with an exhibition game against the Indonesian national team later Wednesday at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Jakarta police will deploy 2,819 officers for the game after two people were killed in a terrifying stampede last week when at least 90,000 fans jammed the stadium for the Southeast Asian Games soccer final.
The Asia Pacific Tour also takes in matches against the Philippines in Manila and Australian club side Melbourne Victory in Melbourne.
