ESSENTIAL FACTS
Last year in a sentence: Landon Donovan marched off into the sunset with one last MLS Cup victory.
Offseason in a sentence: The exits of Donovan and Marcelo Sarvas eroded the championship core, but the signing of Steven Gerrard injected plenty of excitement heading into the new campaign.
(as of February 27)
Incoming: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool/England)
Outgoing: Landon Donovan (retired), Rob Friend (retired), Chandler Hoffman (Houston Dynamo), James Riley (option declined), Marcelo Sarvas (Colorado Rapids), Kyle Venter (waived)
MLS MVP Robbie Keane makes the Galaxy tick with his consistency and his production.
FUNDAMENTALS
Key player: No player has performed as consistently or as excellently as Robbie Keane over the past few seasons. The reigning MVP winner continues to improve with each passing year. His remarkable run results from his application, his technical ability and his unwavering willingness to wield it to benefit his team. Those considerable contributions provide the constant drumbeat required to urge this team toward further success.
Philosophy: Galaxy coach Bruce Arena alters and tweaks his 4-4-2 shape to suit his personnel. Possession is an important tenet now, but the work on the ball also yields to a potent threat on the break with Keane and Gyasi Zardes pushing forward from time to time. Expect the usual mix of deft work through the middle and eager forays in the wide areas, too.
Strengths: Arena carefully constructs a squad suited to the rigors of the regular season and the strenuous demands of knockout play. Keane is the focal point up front. His clever movement pulls apart opposing defenses. Zardes improved his ability to assess and exploit those gaps last year. Juninho allies astute positioning with tidy work in possession to offer a firm foundation in central midfield. There is plenty of width with Robbie Rogers willing to overlap from his fullback position on the left and Stefan Ishizaki serving as a traditional winger on the right. Omar Gonzalez marshals a generally formidable defense with his assured and imposing work in the middle, but he is only one part of a solid group filled with savvy veterans in front of Jaime Penedo. Forward depth is an asset as usual with Edson Buddle now in line to join Alan Gordon as potential alternatives up front.
Weaknesses: It often takes the Galaxy a bit of time to warm to the task in the regular season. The strong finishes make up for it more often than not, but it is not advisable to play catch up given the Western Conference landscape this year. Donovan's retirement leaves a gaping hole on the left side of midfield and a few questions about the combination play in the final third and the work on the counter.
KEY QUESTIONS
* How long will it take to adjust to the absences of Donovan and Sarvas? Both players functioned in key roles on the way to a third title in four seasons. Donovan is irreplaceable for what he brought on and off the field, but Zardes must pick up at least some of the slack by continuing his progression. Sarvas formed one of the league's best central midfield tandems with Juninho. The loss of that chemistry leaves a few things for the group to sort out in possession in the first half of the campaign before Steven Gerrard arrives from Liverpool in the summer.
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will arrive in the summer to boost the Galaxy for the second half of the campaign.
* Where does Gerrard fit into the side? Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers usually prefers to play his captain in a holding role these days. It is not the best use of his talents here. Gerrard isn't the hard-charging figure of five years ago, but his talents are best suited to combine with Keane and slice open defenses with the occasional surging run. His deployment in that area of the field requires some accommodation elsewhere to ensure the defensive shape does not get stretched.
* Who will play on the left? Arena does not boast a surplus of options in that department at the moment. Zardes lingers as a potentially marauding presence in the Donovan mold, but Keane recently warned about taking him off the front two given the year he had last year. Bradford Jamieson IV presents a more likely option for the moment. Jamieson IV boasts the promise of youth and the willingness to join the play, but his defensive positioning is a work in progress.
Best-case scenario: The departures of Donovan and Sarvas do not fray the fabric of the side. Keane and Zardes thrive in a mobile, precise attack capable of cutting apart the opposition regularly. Juninho shines in the center of the park. So does Gerrard once he arrives. Gonzalez leads the defense once more. Everything leads to yet another celebration on the field at the StubHub Center.
Worst-case scenario: Small cracks start to derail the juggernaut. The attack isn't as lively or as potent without Donovan. Gerrard and Juninho struggled to strike the right balance. The goals leak here and there in the back. The champions return to the postseason, but their title defense ends with an early exit.
