The San Jose Earthquakes signed their first designated player, Brazilian midfielder Deiberson Mauricio, on Monday. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Geovanni is known as a versatile and creative attacking midfielder who can score. He started playing professionally in Brazil when he was 18. Since then, his career has spanned from Portugal to Spain to England.

Last year he played a crucial role in helping Hull City avoid relegation during the 2008-2009 season. Geovanni scored 13 goals in 65 games with the Tigers during his two year stint there, including a Goal of the Month strike in 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

San Jose is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with 26 points and have played fewer games every team they trail. They are in ninth place overall, meaning they are the first team out of a playoff spot.

The main question is where he will play as San Jose now have a number of options going forward. These include Khari Stephenson who debuted with an assist and well talked about performance against Kansas City last week.

Geovanni has been capped once by Brazil and is 30.

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The San Jose Earthquakes signed their first designated player, Brazilian midfielder Deiberson Mauricio, on Monday. 

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Geovanni is known as a versatile and creative attacking midfielder who can score. He started playing professionally in Brazil when he was 18. Since then, his career has spanned from Portugal to Spain to England.

Last year he played a crucial role in helping Hull City avoid relegation during the 2008-2009 season. Geovanni scored 13 goals in 65 games with the Tigers during his two year stint there, including a Goal of the Month strike in 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

San Jose is currently in sixth place in the Western Conference with 26 points and have played fewer games every team they trail. They are in ninth place overall, meaning they are the first team out of a playoff spot.

The main question is where he will play as San Jose now have a number of options going forward. These include Khari Stephenson who debuted with an assist and well talked about performance against Kansas City last week.

Despite a season ending injury to Andre Luiz, San Jose is deep going forward, with Arturo Alvarez, Bobby Convey, Sam Cronin, and Chris Wondolowski among others. Each has his own unique strengths and plays a different role in the offense.

There is some speculation about how Frank Yallop will deal with his new embarrassment of riches. One hint is that Bobby Convery started at left back last week, helping to shore up a sore defense.

The 30-year old Brazilian international may not have the name recognition of Thierry Henry or Rafael Marquez, but he might make the biggest MLS wide impact in the shortest amount of time. San Jose need to make a playoff push while the Red Bulls appear to be sitting pretty in fourth place overall.

Only time will tell how the latest foreign star adapts to the confines and quirks of Major League Soccer.

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Blackburn Rovers are set to become the latest team in the Premier League to receive new ownership as part of a big money takeover.

Indian Ahsan Ali Syed is poised to become the new owner of the Blackburn Rovers—one of only four teams to be crowned Premier League Champions—at a cost of an estimated £300 million.

Syed is said to be pledging £80-£100 million into a transfer fund for new players, and he has personally announced that he would “love to take Beckham” to Blackburn.

David Beckham will surely be glad to hear that his services are coveted by Blackburn, as he is still coming to grips with the announcement of England manager Fabio Capello that he was no longer an international option.

Beckham turned 35 last May and is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon in his left foot. There is no doubting his talent but there are questions over the productivity that he could offer to a team.

David Beckham is a global brand. He is an icon of the sport and he is the most widely recognizable and associated football player in the world. Blackburn will most definitely reap the commercial benefit that Beckham carries with him.

But it will not be anywhere close to the extent that Real Madrid or L.A Galaxy received. He will shine some light on Blackburn in other countries. but the financial benefits would not be as vast as once before.

The idea that Beckham could be used as bait to try and lure other players to Ewood Park is plausible, but how much pulling power would Beckham really have with other professionals?

On the pitch Beckham has his uses, and for both club and country Beckham has found a niche for himself to fit his lack of pace, which has further diminished over the years.

He is one of the best crossers of the ball in the game. He is also a dead-ball specialist and one of the finest passers in the game.

With that said, his fitness must be questioned after yet another foot injury and Beckham does not really fit the Blackburn or manager Sam Allardyce’s system.

Blackburn Rovers are a nitty-gritty type of team. They are built with players who are expected to get into hard tackles and fight tooth and nail for each and every challenge. Beckham is a competitor and has a great passion for the game but he does not tick any of the above boxes.

Blackburn’s midfield is a key area for the team and the warrior mentality is a must for Blackburn to strive in the system that Allardyce has implemented. David Beckham is not that type of player.

It was also hinted at that Beckham is a perfect “closer” for teams to have. He can be brought on to control games and to use possession wisely and advantageously. Blackburn are not the type of team that would ever be so dominating that they would need to just dwindle down the time.

David Beckham looks appealing from afar, but up close he really has very little to offer Blackburn Rovers or their fans.

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Harrison, NJ—After 20 matches in the 2010 MLS season, the New York Red Bulls are in second place of the Eastern Conference with a 9-7-4 record. Despite the recent signings of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, the Red Bulls have gone 1-2-2 in their last five games. With 10 matches remaining in the season, are the Red Bulls syncing or sinking?

The Red Bulls Are Syncing

Despite Saturday's 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy, the Red Bulls fought the best team in MLS and were in position to tie the game on numerous occasions. Fans and critics alike have to remember that this was the second match in which recently signed Thierry Henry, and Rafa Maraquez have played together with the rest of team.

Take into consideration that this is a transition period for both players. Prior to joining the MLS, their seasons began around this time of the year. While the entire team is in MLS form, Henry and Marquez are going to need a few more games to adjust.

On a positive note, Thierry Henry has been attacking the net aggressively and has contributed three assists in four regular season matches.

Along with the physical conditioning, there's also the mental aspect of it. Both players are still learning to communicate with their new teammates. Off the pitch, they are still adjusting to life in the NY/NJ area.

Whether fans and critics want to hear it or not, these players are humans. Like any one of us who begins a new job or moves to a new location, there's a period of adjustment we've all had to endure.

In matches featuring both players, the Red Bulls faced off against the scrappy Chicago Fire and MLS Best the Los Angeles Galaxy. Against both teams, the team only allowed one goal.

Along with the consistent play of Joel Lindpere and Tim Ream, Tony Tchani has been demonstrating why he was second overall pick in the MLS Superdraft. In addition, the bench has been providing valuable minutes. With their recent elevation, the Red Bulls will have one of the deepest bench in the postseason should they continue to play in the way that they are. 

With 10 matches remaining, there's enough time for entire team to adjust to the playing styles of Marquez and Henry. In addition, there's been moments that when the time are in sync and passing the ball, opposing teams are having a difficult time of stopping them.

When it's said and done, the Red Bulls have been the dominant team in their last four matches. The reason they've been 1-1-2 instead of 4-0-0 is because the team hasn't been able to produce goals.

As Henry and Marquez are adjusting to the team, Juan Pablo Angel and Macoumba Kandji have been playing better as of late. Granted they're missed numerous opportunities for goals but there will come a time when they're not missing those opportunities. 

The Red Bulls are Sinking

The Red Bulls final 10 matches are against teams with a combined record of 68-55-49. Out those 10 matches, the Red Bulls face off twice against Real Salt Lake. With a record of 11-4-6, Real is the second best team in MLS.

If it wasn't enough, the Red Bulls have four difficult road matches against four playoff contenders: the Los Angeles Galaxy, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, and Real Salt Lake.

In addition to facing those teams, the team faces off against playoff contenders the Colorado Rapids and the San Jose Earthquakes at Red Bull Arena. In layman terms, the Red Bulls play seven out of their last 10 matches against playoff contenders.

The biggest concern facing the Red Bulls is whether they're capable of attacking the net successfully. The team has proven that they're capable of moving the ball but they've also demonstrated their inability to finish as evidenced by the number of offsides calls against them and missed scoring opportunities. 

Defensively, are the Red Bulls capable of defending their net? Bouna Koundal has played well this season but he's also had disastrous games in which gave up four goals against San Jose and three goals against rival Columbus Crew. Is he going to play well for the remainder of the season or is he going to suffer a meltdown?

Along with Koundoul's potential meltdown, will he joined by Kandji, Ream and Lindpere. Both have played play and have been the most consistent players on the team but it's a wonder if fatigue will play a factor. As for Kandji, he's either hot or cold so we'll see.

Another concern for the Red Bulls whether 10 matches is enough time for both Marquez and Henry to adjust to the physical style of MLS competition. Will Henry be able to accept that fouls aren't going to be called the way he's accustomed too in Europe?

Overall, will the team be able to produce a postseason appearance or will fans be disappointed for the second consectitive year? Is Manager Hans Backe capable of pulling the team together in time for a postseason run?

The only way to know is to simply watch the games.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for Latino Sports. Please send him your questions and comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Last night, Toronto FC knocked off Mexican soccer giant Cruz Azul to kickstart Group A of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League.

Cruz Azul, often nicknamed the Real Madrid of CONCACAF due to their record five championships (tied with Club America for most in tournament history) and back-to-back finals appearances, just couldn't keep up with Toronto, looking sluggish in the opening half which allowed TFC to get out to a 2-0 lead that the Mexico City squad just couldn't recover from, eventually falling 2-1.
The win marks the first for Major League Soccer's only Canadian team in tournament history, though realistically, TFC nor the "league" style tournament is not old enough for that to be considered a big deal. Why it is a big deal, however, is that last year TFC fell in the preliminary round to the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USSF Division 2.

The win is already being called the greatest victory in the club's short history, and it very well may be. The early win gives TFC a good chance to advance out of the group, as many believe that Cruz Azul are the favourites to claim the group. The other teams in the group are Panama's Arabe Unido and Real Salt Lake, also of MLS.

Since CONCACAF changed their championship system to the current league structure, just two MLS teams have advanced to the championship round (quarterfinals): Houston Dynamo in 2008-09, and Columbus Crew in 2009-10.

Now that TFC have earned an important and early three points in their group over the toughest opponent, they look poised and ready to advance out of their group. Two wins should be easy against the Panama squad, while the matchups against RSL will be tough. The Reds lost the first regular season match between the two sides this year, and both teams are sitting in the top three of their respective MLS conferences.

Regardless, a win for the Canadian side over the Mexican superpower has huge meanings for Canadian soccer and the MLS. Though Montreal Impact advanced to the quarterfinals in the inaugural year of the Champions League, their run went virtually unnoticed by the media, while TFC is branded as "Canada's team", and a run could bring national attention and support to the team.

The win is also huge for MLS. The league has struggled to earn respect among other major domestic leagues, but if their clubs can continue to produce wins over Mexican Primera division clubs, respect is sure to go up.

As American and Canadian teams continue to be more competitive with those of the Mexican league, it is inevitable that an MLS team will claim the Champions League (possibly as early as this year), which allows them to travel to the FIFA World Club Cup, where they could really put MLS on the map by taking on the best club teams from the other football conferences of the world.

Should a team like TFC or Seattle or RSL make it to the World Club Cup and defeat the UEFA or CONMEBOL representative, it would bring international attention to the league, and to teams aside from Galaxy or Red Bulls.

While the tournament is still very early, the Toronto FC victory is no small feat, and could lead to much greater things for the club, Major League Soccer, and Canadian soccer in general.

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Photo belongs to the CBC.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy could have been in contention for a CONCACAF Champions League title and a US Open Cup.

But pratfalls in Tukwila against the Seattle Sounders and the Home Depot Center against the Puerto Rico Islanders put the Galaxy on Easy Street.

And while the opponents the Galaxy will face are not pushovers by any stretch of the imagination (a road contest against the Chicago Fire combined with home stands against the Columbus Crew and New York Red Bulls are still on the cards), a manageable calendar is a manageable calendar. It's what we informally call a breath of fresh air.

“It’s strange,” Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant said on the reduced slate of remaining matches. “Our schedule suddenly went from crazy-hectic to pretty good. Now we have one game a week from here on out. We’ve played as many games as any team in the league. It’s going to set up well. I think we only have four more road trips. The league is definitely our focus now.

"You want to win those competitions [like the US Open Cup], you want to do well, but when you’re out, that’s definitely less games. Especially the Champions [League]; that’s six games that would have been jammed into the second half of our year.

“No question about it, we wanted to be there, but when you’re out, you look at the bright side and say, ‘Our schedule is a lot more favorable.’”

Of course, if the G's do win the MLS Cup, at least they will not have to deal with those opportunistic Islanders until the group stages of the 2011-12 edition.

“[The Supporters’ Shield] is in our sights,” Dunivant added. “We’ve kind of been in first all year and we don’t want to relinquish that. Now you look at other teams that will have those [Champions League] games – that should be an advantage for us.”



The Galaxy take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, August 21 at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT and will be televised locally by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

A.J. or the highway!

Galaxy defender A.J. De La Garza has been earning his stripes, according to Arena. The second-year man out of Maryland has filled the shoes of Todd Dunivant quite nicely in stifling the chances of players like the Red Bulls' Dane Richards in LA's 1-0 shutout win.

“When there is an opportunity to get him on the field, we want to get him on the field,” Arena said of De La Garza. “He does give us a lot of versatility in the back. He’s been great.”

De La Garza started 21 games on the right and left sides of the Galaxy defense as a rookie in 2009 and has also been used in central defense so far this season.

“I was surprised it happened so late,” DeLaGarza said regarding the start against New York. “I don’t know whether this is something that had been bothering Todd for a while. It was something that wasn’t expected but I was real excited for it.

“At first I wasn’t that comfortable using my left foot, but after I got a few touches and settled in the game I was all right. I felt good.”

Assistant coach Dave Sarachan was equally pleased with De La Garza's performance.

“The first thing about A.J. is he’s a defender and knows what his job is,” Sarachan said during training. “Whether you play him in the middle, right or left he understands the defending concepts. As far as the pure defending goes, the alertness and the awareness, we didn’t hesitate to use him there.

"[De La Garza] understands what it means to be a professional every day. He comes to work every day; even though he’s a young player his background put him in the position to where he didn’t miss a beat at this level. When you come and work every day and hone your craft, only good things will happen. For a kid like that, it’s sort of proven out.”

Don't be surprised to see De La Garza make an impact on the backline during the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs should they punch their ticket later this season.


On the topic of Un-Designated Success...

The 2010 Major League Soccer transfer window was a hectic whirlwind for the rest of the league.

D.C. United took a gamble on Montenegrin Branko Boskovic, Toronto FC welcome Spaniard Mista. The Chicago Fire saw Nery Castillo enter the fray. The Seattle Sounders sgined Uruguayan Alvaro Fernandez and Swiss international Blaise Nkufo to deals.

The San Jose Earthquakes brought in Brazilian Geovanni. Omar Bravo will be playing in the strip of the Kansas City Wizards next year. And the New York Red Bulls are hoping to make a come back into contention for the big postseason prizes in the duo of Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez.

As for the Los Angeles Galaxy, well...they chose to thumb their noses at signing new DPs. After all, they already have their star DP in local product Landon Donovan and David Beckham is inching closer to match fitness.

Plus, they are still at the top of the overall ladder, so if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Then again, the defending MLS Cup champs Real Salt Lake also won without designated players and are chasing the Galaxy for the Supporters Shield.

So, yes, teams in MLS don't really need to go the DP route to gain leverage on the competition. Or at least purchase new ones.

Case in point: RSL and the G's.


Bruce Almighty still feeling the bite?

One week after induction into the US Soccer Hall of Fame, Arena was still feeling the effects of dengue fever.

“It’s likely that. I was obviously bit by an infected mosquito,” Arena said after training. “The blood work is still days away but that’s most likely the case.

“It certainly wasn’t the flu – I can promise you that. re very ill. You have no appetite. You’re exhausted. You have fevers. The other part of it is that if it’s not caught appropriately, it impacts some of your major organs. It impacts your liver as the starting point, and that’s not ever good.

“I’m already treated for it. That mosquito is probably dead anyway, the one that bit me. I have the medication in me for that particular...fever and a couple of others that they’ve concluded are probably the culprit. It will be like any other flu or fever at this point, that it’ll take you a couple of days to recover. It shouldn’t have any long-term effects."

“Those things happen. I got the one mosquito that was infected in Puerto Rico. I got the one in a million.”

Get well soon, Bruce. After all, optimists with a savvy for managing teams the right way are Hall of Fame material.

In fact, when this does follow the route of King Solomon, the medical minds and moguls of the world may need to consider placing him in the Dengue Fever Survivor Hall of Fame.

A little resume booster, if you will forgive the bad puns...

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A "parity league", "Minor League Soccer", or even a "footballing joke" are just a handful of the names that the international community, as well as the handful of hardcore American soccer fans label Major League Soccer.

For the past two or three years, Major League Soccer has tried every maneuver known to mankind, in an attempt to gain global recognition and be recognized as a noteworthy league. MLS has done this by straining its modest budget through importing aging stars. All in part to really bring attention to the globe that MLS is a serious league. The most notable addition is evidently, Theirry Henry signing with New York Red Bulls last month. While it may look nice on paper for an MLS club to herald the arrival of a superstar, that specific club is going to need prove on the pitch that they're a top-class soccer club.

If the league, as well as its clubs, want to gain respect in the international world, they are going to need to excel, emphasize and take seriously in the CONCACAF Champions League, North America's top club competition.


Modeled after the UEFA Champions League, it's the "Gold Cup" for soccer club teams in North America that has been running under it's current format since the 2008-09 campaign. The competition, as well as previous continental competitions have been dominated by Mexican clubs. Last year's edition had the four Mexican-entrants all compose the competition's semifinal-round.

As for the four MLS clubs? Only one (Columbus Crew) even made it to the knockout stage, where they would fall to Mexican giants Toluca 5-4 on aggregate. Houston Dynamo and D.C. United would finish in third place in their respective groups, and not qualify for the knockout rounds, while Red Bull New York would not even reach the group stage, and lose in the preliminary play-in stage.

Granted, apart from the Crew, those three clubs were not the strongest MLS-ers a year ago, but they cannot take these games as a burden of extra games. It seems to be the reason why MLS teams have done so subpar in the past. The teams only care about one thing and one thing only: qualification into the MLS Cup play-offs, and winning the MLS Cup. It's a great title to behold, but the fact of the matter is this: winning the MLS Cup will only show the World you're the best club in the United States. Having the title saying you're the best club in North America is by far a much more eminent award.

It starts out with the MLS clubs needing to take the competition seriously, which seemed to look like it was going to happen with the Los Angeles Galaxy, but ultimately did not. Members of the LA Galaxy, including Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle emphasized how the strongest club in Major League Soccer should make a run deep into the tournament's knock out stages. However, it seemed like a laid back Galaxy squad as Donovan and Buddle had the MLS All-Star Game on their mind, rather than their preliminary qualifier against one of the worst USSF Division 2 clubs: the Puerto Rico Islanders...and would lose 5-3 on aggregate.

Now as the competitions group stages begin, reports on MLSSoccer.com talk about how the Galaxy members are relieved that there is six fewer games jammed into their schedule, so that they could focus on winning the Supporters Shield and the MLS Cup. Someone ought to remind them that either title will send them into the Group Stage of the Champions League.

Still though, this competition is the ultimate opportunity for MLS clubs to shine. We have two of our three strongest MLS clubs beginning group play this week (Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew) as well as Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC. All four of these clubs have a realistic chance of qualifying out of their group while RSL and Columbus have a decent possibility of winning their group and making it to the knockout stages. 

While the likes of Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna, Toluca and Monterrey have the most likely odds of winning the competition, this is most likely the first Champions League in over a decade where we have MLS clubs that could seriously make a noise in the tournament. We'll just have to wait and see if the clubs take it seriously or even more seriously than the domestic honors.

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The next two matches for the Rave Green focus on the international landscape. During its league bye week, the Sounders visit Honduras for the group stage opener of the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday against CD Marathón. First kick is 7 p.m. PT.

Seattle hosts CF Monterrey of Mexico August 25 on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field to begin a three-match home stand across all competitions. League play resumes August 28 as the Chicago Fire and former Sounder Freddie Ljungberg come to town.  

Seattle Sounders FC is in a shifting competitive mode with activity being balanced between the Major League Soccer race along with that of international competition.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Open Cup semifinal with Chivas USA occurs September 1 at Starfire Sports Stadium in the Seattle suburb of Tukwila.

Unbeaten in nine matches with a 6-0-3 mark and allowing only three goals since July 7, Sounders FC had its four game MLS win streak snapped with a scoreless road draw at Chivas USA last week. Seattle is 10-8-7 overall and fourth in the Western Conference at 8-8-5  with 29 points.

This week’s foray marks the second trip to Central America this month. Sounders FC secured a place in Group C by drawing, 1-1, in a preliminary round game against Metapán in San Salvador on August 3 and winning the overall aggregate 2-1.  

Three of the first four group games are on the road. Marathón visits Seattle September 29.

Sounders FC has yet to lose a non-MLS competitive match, winning all six of its Open Cup-related contests en route to the title in 2009 and going 1-0-1 in both the Open Cup and CCL so far this summer.

Marathón began the Honduran Apertura campaign by drawing twice, 1-1 at home to Deportivo Savio and 2-2 away to Platense El Monstruo Verde (the Green Monster).

After Monday’s training session, coach Sigi Schmid discussed some important issues, including Seattle star scorers Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani.  

Montero sustained a thigh contusion in a collision with burly Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton.  Zakuani stayed home in Seattle and missed the Chivas USA encounter due to a pelvic injury.

“It’s sort of a day-to-day thing with both of them,” Schmid explained.  “With Fredy obviously today we wanted to keep him away from impacts and things like that. But his quad is coming along and we think he is okay. He hasn’t had any real symptoms, so we think he’s okay that way. With Steve it’s just that we wanted to see what he could do today and see how he responds tomorrow.”

Seattle’s mentor waxed enthusiasm about the challenge of international competition.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for our club,” Schmid said.  “For our players, it gives them an opportunity to get exposure internationally, for the first time in Honduras for many of our guys, guys on our team who have aspirations of maybe one day going on to play for the national teams of their respective countries.

“Anytime you get into international competition it allows that national team coach to see how you measure up, how you deal playing away from home, how you deal playing against foreign competition. So there are so many pluses to it. As a club, we want to go as far as we can in any competition we enter and we view it as an honor and a privilege, not as a burden.”

Coach Schmid also discussed the transfer window issue.

“I think we’re good,” Schmid concluded.  “Obviously adding [Blaise] Nkufo up front has been helpful.  Even though he doesn’t have a goal yet he’s still a very key player and an important player for us.

“Then the addition of [Alvaro] Fernandez has already paid dividends with the couple of goals he has gotten. I think we were able to make a couple of good additions that have helped our team and we also got ourselves on a roll a little bit in July and August. Now we just have to continue to go forward and build on that.”

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With fresh wind at their sails and a renewed confidence to delivery crucial wins on the road, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to add to their overall league lead as they face the San Jose Earthquakes in the second leg of the California Clasico.

In the previous meeting, held on July 22 at the Home Depot Center, both the Galaxy and Quakes played to a 2-2 draw. Landon Donovan salvaged a point late in stoppage time to force the decider at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

Coming off a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls, the Los Angeles Galaxy are 13-3-4 (43 points) and have a game in hand over Real Salt Lake, who are four points back from the top spot in the Supporters' Shield standings.

Frank Yallop's Earthquakes also came off a 1-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday and are in a race with Toronto FC for the final MLS Cup Playoffs spot with a 7-6-5 record (26 points).

Edson Buddle regained his scoring touch at the Red Bull Arena with his league-leading 13th goal of the season. The Galaxy will need to not rely too much on their scoring ace, as they have other competent midfielders that cam step up.

Landon Donovan leads Major League Soccer in assists with 11. Together, the Buddlevan Connection will look to pierce through a Earthquakes defense that has its reliable playmakers in Jason Hernandez and Brandon McDonald.

McDonald's second goal in the match for San Jose nearly proved to be the game-winner until Donovan's last-second heroics.

Bobby Convey is another player that will look to add to his success against the Galaxy. His first goal of the year came against LA, and don't be surprised if he enters the score sheet again.

Another question to ponder is whether or not Chris Wondolowski will play a deciding role in this second leg.

Wondo was responsible for the game-winning goal against the Wizards. He leads the team with seven goals this season but was a non-factor in the first leg in Carson.

Defensively, Joe Cannon will need to earn his stripes on Saturday at Buck Shaw. He currently has a 1.17 goals against average with 38 saves and a 6-4-2 record.

His counterpart, the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts, has a 13-3-3 record to go with a 0.68 GAA and 51 saves mades on the season.

The Galaxy's backline of A.J. De La Garza, Gregg Berhalter, Sean Franklin, and stopper Omar Gonzalez stepped it up again the Red Bulls and will need to reprise their heroics at Santa Clara University.

In the midfield, Juninho wreakes havoc on the Red Bulls and will be a key player to watch. When he has space, he will utilize his options and pace to create chances for LA.

I expect the Galaxy to use the lessons learned and come away from Buck Shaw Stadium with a win. No flash in the pan, please, that was so last month.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Under-16 and Under-18 teams are back in action on October 9 when they travel to Cupertino, California to take on the De Anza Force.

The View from Victoria and the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue will give you updates throughout the offseason on the LA Galaxy Youth Academy's 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaigns.


On the importance of Designated Players

David Beckham, during training last week at the Home Depot Center, spoke about the importance of designated players to MLS.

“I heard someone say the other day that it’s a bad thing for European players are coming over, give the young lads a chance,” Beckham said regarding the DP rule.

“When I was a young kid at Manchester United, I was playing with players like Eric Cantona who had come over to England to play. You learn from these players, and it’s going to make the league grow, it’s going to make the sport grow in this country and it can only be a good thing.

“That’s what we hoped for when the league started up, that you continue to have that progress and that’s gone on each year. It’s continued to get bigger, it’s continued to grow. More franchises are coming into the league and the league is in a healthy state at the moment.”

Here's hoping that Beckham as player will soon be in a similarly healthy state come match day...

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With fresh wind at their sails and a renewed confidence to delivery crucial wins on the road, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to add to their overall league lead as they face the San Jose Earthquakes in the second leg of the California Clasico.

In the previous meeting, held on July 22 at the Home Depot Center, both the Galaxy and Quakes played to a 2-2 draw. Landon Donovan salvaged a point late in stoppage time to force the decider at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.

Coming off a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls, the Los Angeles Galaxy are 13-3-4 (43 points) and have a game in hand over Real Salt Lake, who are four points back from the top spot in the Supporters' Shield standings.

Frank Yallop's Earthquakes also came off a 1-0 win against the Kansas City Wizards last Saturday and are in a race with Toronto FC for the final MLS Cup Playoffs spot with a 7-6-5 record (26 points).

Edson Buddle regained his scoring touch at the Red Bull Arena with his league-leading 13th goal of the season. The Galaxy will need to not rely too much on their scoring ace, as they have other competent midfielders that cam step up.

Landon Donovan leads Major League Soccer in assists with 11. Together, the Buddlevan Connection will look to pierce through a Earthquakes defense that has its reliable playmakers in Jason Hernandez and Brandon McDonald.

McDonald's second goal in the match for San Jose nearly proved to be the game-winner until Donovan's last-second heroics.

Bobby Convey is another player that will look to add to his success against the Galaxy. His first goal of the year came against LA, and don't be surprised if he enters the score sheet again.

Another question to ponder is whether or not Chris Wondolowski will play a deciding role in this second leg.

Wondo was responsible for the game-winning goal against the Wizards. He leads the team with seven goals this season but was a non-factor in the first leg in Carson.

Defensively, Joe Cannon will need to earn his stripes on Saturday at Buck Shaw. He currently has a 1.17 goals against average with 38 saves and a 6-4-2 record.

His counterpart, the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts, has a 13-3-3 record to go with a 0.68 GAA and 51 saves mades on the season.

The Galaxy's backline of A.J. De La Garza, Gregg Berhalter, Sean Franklin, and stopper Omar Gonzalez stepped it up again the Red Bulls and will need to reprise their heroics at Santa Clara University.

In the midfield, Juninho wreakes havoc on the Red Bulls and will be a key player to watch. When he has space, he will utilize his options and pace to create chances for LA.

I expect the Galaxy to use the lessons learned and come away from Buck Shaw Stadium with a win. No flash in the pan, please, that was so last month.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, August 21 at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports West and Telefutura.

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Under-16 and Under-18 teams are back in action on October 9 when they travel to Cupertino, California to take on the De Anza Force.

The View from Victoria and the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue will give you updates throughout the offseason on the LA Galaxy Youth Academy's 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaigns.


On the importance of Designated Players

David Beckham, during training last week at the Home Depot Center, spoke about the importance of designated players to MLS.

“I heard someone say the other day that it’s a bad thing for European players are coming over, give the young lads a chance,” Beckham said regarding the DP rule.

“When I was a young kid at Manchester United, I was playing with players like Eric Cantona who had come over to England to play. You learn from these players, and it’s going to make the league grow, it’s going to make the sport grow in this country and it can only be a good thing.

“That’s what we hoped for when the league started up, that you continue to have that progress and that’s gone on each year. It’s continued to get bigger, it’s continued to grow. More franchises are coming into the league and the league is in a healthy state at the moment.”

Here's hoping that Beckham as player will soon be in a similarly healthy state come match day...

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