1. Bruce Arena
2. Landon Donovan
I just have trouble coming to grips with the idea that a Major League Soccer team led by Bruce Arena and featuring Landon Donovan can be wretched. It just cannot be.
Though the results, to date, seem to indicate otherwise.
The Galaxy missed the playoffs last year, despite Arena’s midseason arrival and the presence of both Donovan and David Beckham.
And the Galaxy has a tie and a defeat from two home games to open the 2009 season — one point out of a potential six, that is — and also went out meekly in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup last night, losing a shootout to the Colorado Rapids after a scoreless 120 minutes.
All of that is bad. And did I mention the Galaxy gave up five goals in its first two MLS matches?
It would seem this is a wretched franchise, indeed. Can’t win, at home, against middling opposition. Giving up goals like mad.
But … but … I keep coming back to this one thought:
How can a team led by Bruce Arena and featuring Landon Donovan be that bad? Or, more to the point, how can it stay that bad?
I do not believe it will.
Arena led D.C. United to two MLS Cup championships and the U.S. to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. It was on his watch as national team coach, from 1999 to 2006, that the U.S. became, clearly, the best soccer nation in CONCACAF. When beating Mexico became de rigueur.
Arena has won too much and built too many good teams for this to continue. He knows he has major issues with the Galaxy, as currently constructed, and I believe he will correct them, as general manager as well as coach. He has been around too long and won too often. He didn’t just wake up stupid on the eve of the 2006 World Cup and never recover. That doesn’t happen.
Plus, he has a great chip to play right up front — Donovan, the best attacking player in U.S. soccer history. That’s like having Albert Pujols or Peyton Manning. It’s not enough to win, in a team game, but it’s a great place to start.
I believe the Galaxy will turn around before this season is over. Assuming current management gives Arena time to do what needs to be done, and I believe it will. By 2010, I believe the Galaxy will be a contender, assuming Donovan is still around. And I believe he will be.
Arena and Donovan are two major figures, two major personalities, and their place in American soccer does not include being the most prominent members of a really bad MLS team.
6 responses so far ↓
1 The Wolf // Apr 9, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Nice work Paul. Good to see some positive light shined onto a very dreary situation.
2 Sgc // Apr 9, 2009 at 4:36 PM
You still need a defense, and some possession in midfield. Maybe Gregg Berhalter helps, but he’s as old as everybody else, so it’s a risk.
3 jen // Apr 10, 2009 at 7:04 PM
Paul, I agree with you. This team can’t possibly remain this bad.
Last year the Galaxy’s season began beautifully, and look at where the season ended. I don’t think these first games are an indicator of how the season will fare. I hope to see more improvement in the Chivas match on Saturday.
4 Joseph D'Hippolito // Apr 13, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Paul, two reasons the Galaxy *are* this bad and will get worse:
1. Alexi Lalas
2. Tim Leiweke
Soccer is a sport that’s more governed by on-the-field relationships than any other, and Lalas destroyed any chemistry the team had with his incessant transactions. You cannot make the number of trades Lalas made without affecting long-term coherence on the field. Besides, most of the trades Lalas made were incredibly one-sided.
Leiweke, for his part, is nothing but a glorified booking agent. He knows nothing about sports management (ask any L.A. Kings fan). He views sports as nothing but an extention of AEG’s entertainment and venue “empire.” He was the one who fired Sigi Schmid (though Doug Hamilton) because the Galaxy wasn’t “entertaining enough.” He was the one who brought in “name coach” after “name coach” as quick fixes, only to make the situation worse (see: Ruud Gullit). He has not committed to any sort of long-term plan. Worse, he has created an atmosphere of constant, stifling, intimidating pressure that saps morale and desire.
The ill effects of those bastards’ influence will be felt long after they are gone. They’re being felt now.
Donovan is a superb player but he can’t do it all by himself. Not even Pele or Maradona could. Arena was a successful coach in the past but he’s being asked to perform miracles. He’s had to bring in numerous players just to create the right clubhouse atmosphere!
Don’t live in the past, Paul. The Galaxy is dreadful. At the very best, it will be a work in progress for most of this season.
5 joel es latest soccer news // Apr 14, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Ricketts has been a good acquisition. But, the Galaxy needs a lot of upgrades.
6 Damian // Apr 17, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Keeping in mind MLS’ economic setup/salary cap, it’s quite simple to understand why the Galaxy’s on-field product has been lousy the last couple years.
By paying Becks and Landon what the Galaxy pays them, there’s only a small pot left to divide among the other 16 players in the squad. All you can afford to sign are rookies and other free agents who have no business being on an MLS pitch and should be playing semipro soccer, or aged veterans who have no legs left for 90 minutes, are a shell of themselves and have no leverage in negotiations. These vets agree to play for next to nothing just to have a chance to play in MLS again, before dusk turns to dark on their playing careers.
So look who the Galaxy has signed in the last few months — Lewis, Berhalter, Sanneh. All Bruce Arena guys of the past.
As much as I support and like Becks and Landon, soccer is the ultimate team game in which 10 guys (no counting the goalkeeper) work together over two continuous 45-minute halves. All field players fulfill roles on offense and defense over a 65-by-120 yard pitch. This means all positions have to be stocked with players of professional quality.
As good as the Galaxy’s stars are, they can’t play on the backline and stop all of the opponent’s players in the final third. And that’s where the Galaxy’s downfall has lied. The Galaxy has scored plenty the past couple years but have seen terrible defending in the backline and goalkeeping in which I see the types of mistakes on a regular basis that are committed in any Sunday adult league. And since soccer is a defensive game by nature …
As for Bruce Arena, I suppose he can fairly organize a squad by taking a defensive stance and is a decent coach for MLS, but has been and always will be a coaching minnow in world soccer. His teams have never shown the wherewithal or structure to play a contemporary game or attacking soccer.
I feel bad for Landon that he has to play on that team. Eventually, the Galaxy can remove Becks’ salary from the books and have the money to buy a handful of serviceable players. Still, for Landon to say that he wanted to stay in Germany and not come back to the Galaxy is a stark admission to either how bad that team is or how bad the relationships within the team and organization are, or both.
It didn’t help that Leiweke/Lalas kept changing up the core of the team every month or so and there was no continuity. It didn’t help that the Galaxy dumped 2 good MLS coaches (Sigi and Yallop) and brought in a nice guy but overmatched coach in Steve Sampson.
The Galaxy will continue to struggle as long as it continues to make personnel decisions that are based on enhancing its name power and image worldwide, selling jerseys and selling tickets for its offseason tours to Asia and Australia moreso than enhancing the quality of its team. And winning brings along a positive image.
Leave a Comment