The Galaxy could actually be better in 2010 than what they were in 2009. (Getty Images)

We’re a little over half way home in our look at each Major League Soccer club this winter. So far we’ve hammered out Chicago, Colorado, Chivas, Columbus, DC, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, and Philadelphia in out preseason look ins.

So far this winter the LA Galaxy have had a similar offseason that we expected them to have. David Beckham went to Italy to be with AC Milan and Landon Donovan went to England to play for Everton until March. We knew going into the winter months that those things would happen. Unlike last year when there was a lot of bad press about loan moves for Beckham, this year was a little smoother for the two sides.

Aside from that Bruce Arena has made a couple moves since then and even with one draft pick back in January at the SuperDraft he came away with a solid draft grade by me and most people.

Let’s see how the Galaxy are looking right now and what else they need to do to their roster before the season kicks off.

Continue Reading…

Yeah we actually are at week 15 here. Hard to believe huh? This weekend is fairly light due to a number of other games going on like SuperLiga. Then you have that all important game on Sunday afternoon over in South Africa between the US and Brazil.

I won’t go into any big detail about the Brazil/US game and I am honestly undecided on whether or not to even do a preview of that game. I may just leave that to those who’ve been doing a good job of it lately. But we will see.

This weekend has some decent games on the menu in MLS even if it is a smaller portion than what we are use to here. Only four league games to mention, two on each day.

Feel free to leave your score predictions below. Continue Reading…

Dwayne De Rosario leads TFC against FC Dallas on Saturday. (Brian Stephens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

So far the 2009 season has been a lot different than most would expect. Two western teams headline the standings with perfect records, while a couple eastern clubs aren’t far off the pace. Judging by this weekend’s schedule this could be a good for some struggling clubs to get on the board here this season.

This will be the first weekend in a while that I can remember where all the games are on Saturday. Easter Sunday probably has a good bit to do with that reasoning. Seven games total, with only New England missing out on the fun due to the unbalanced schedule this season.

Feel free as always to post your score predictions for your club’s game or for all the games below. Continue Reading…

Bruce Arena really is putting the old band back together out in LA. His latest addition is defender Gregg Berhalter. The club and league announced the signing today.

“Gregg is an experienced and knowledgeable defender who will be an excellent addition to our club,” Arena said. “He is a good passer and organizer of the defense and I believe that he will help improve our team in the defensive end of the field.”

The Galaxy used their top allocation spot to sign Berhalter. The 35-year-old defender will probably get slotted into a defense that is both young and old.

If healthy this could be a good signing for LA. Even at his age I think bringing a veteran defender on board never hurts at any time of the year, especially this early in the year. Some will probably hate on this signing but I have to admit it is nice to see him in the league and I really think it could pay off for the Galaxy. Yeah, call me crazy.

We may see another US national team member return to MLS sooner rather than later. Gregg Berhalter has agreed to a release with 1860 Munich in Germany, allowing him to return to MLS on a free transfer.

Right now the most likely destination will be the LA Galaxy, who currently own the top allocation spot in the league’s allocation order. Clubs right behind the Galaxy could also make a play for Berhalter’s services if they trade up to the top spot.

I think a team like Dallas or DC need to try to make a play here as they are number two and three, respectively right now in the order. All three clubs could use a veteran defender like Berhalter.

Where do you think he will land? Think the Galaxy will really be able to afford him right now?

Gregg Berhalter could be a MLSer soon?

I found this article on the always interesting No Short Corners. Greg Seltzer looks through the potential players abroad and to the South that could see their way to Major League Soccer in a free transfer sense. You know the type of deals MLS loves to get.

Anyways, Seltzer gives us a top five (and plenty of others in the honorable mention side) that could see their way to MLS in the near future. He also throws in which clubs he sees getting those players.

I felt like looking at this and giving my own thoughts to the list because I really believe Seltzer is on to something here.

His top five were:

5. Ze Roberto
4. Gregg Berhalter
3. Christian Panucci
2. Fernando Morientes
1. Gerardo Torrado

I don’t have too many issues with this list to be honest. I’d be first to say that getting Torrado in the league would be awesome, especially to the likely destination of Chivas USA. Seltzer mentions Morientes to Dallas for the obvious reasons of Kenny Cooper leaving this summer. He could be a Juan Pablo Angel type of signing for Dallas and if that is the case I am all for it. Continue Reading…

Oh what it would have been like to be in Chinatown yesterday in New York City. We all know of the event by now and I won’t go into the details of it too much since I wasn’t there to see it firsthand. I will share a couple items I got from reading about it and a few clips that I saw online about it.

Claudio Reyna and Steve Nash had a little event. Okay little doesn’t even start to describe it.

First off, the event was packed as packed can get. Hell even Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati were sitting on the turf to watch the game because every other inch of space inside the park was taken. Outside of the park, fans climbed trees and fences, others stood on a roof of an adjacent apartment building to catch a glimpse.

The scene was crazy, the game was crazy but in all it looked like one hell of a time. The collection of soccer and basketball stars was impressive.

Nash, the two-time NBA MVP, and Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, were former Liverpool greats Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Rob Jones.

Playing with Reyna, Jozy Altidore and Gregg Berhalter were Jason Kidd and Baron Davis and Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou.

Oh yeah, some guy named Thierry Henry was there as well.

Uh yeah, that’s just a nasty combination of stars folks. Continue Reading…