Bruce wants it bad: MLS Cup or bust

Galaxy players in training at ASU earlier this month (from The Bleacher Report)

The 2011 MLS season, the 16th edition since play began in 1996, starts in one month.

No matter how you look at the off-season moves that Arena and crew made, there can be only one conclusion: Bruce Arena sees this year as the year he brings the Cup back to Los Angeles.

I know, every coach is supposed to be looking for that result at the beginning of the season, especially in a league built for parity like MLS. But there are only a few that have a legitimate shot going into First Kick and of those few, it is the Galaxy that has done the most to fill-in the gaps.

Let’s start with the few: Real Salt Lake, Red Bull New York, FC Dallas, and Seattle Sounders.

Out of every team in the league, RSL has made the fewest changes, bringing in just three players so far, while seeing three depart. The biggest addition is Arturo Alvarez from San Jose and the biggest loss is Robbie Findley to Nottingham Forest in the English second division (though Portland owns his MLS rights). Frankly, that’s a net plus for RSL. Findley is a one-dimensional player. He’s got speed to burn and that’s it. Maybe he’ll learn something in England. Alvarez, while not living up to early expectations is the kind of player who can excel with talented players around him and a strong defense that can free him up to be more creative offensively. RSL has all that. I expect them to make another run and they could go all the way, since their core players now have 3-4 seasons together and are all still in their prime.

FC Dallas keeps wheeling and dealing, shipping Heath Pearce to Chivas USA for allocation money this week on top of losing starters Dax McCarty and Atiba Harris to expansion draft action just after MLS Cup and Jeff Cunningham to the Re-Entry Draft. They have yet to bring any new big names, and they will have to reconfigure their midfield to make up for the loss of McCarty, but they have an embarrassment of young talent that can step up and the league MVP in David Ferreira. Like RSL, they should start strong and contend until the very end.

RBNY has made a passel of moves to shore up their attack which is now missing Mac Kandji (Colorado) and Juan Pablo Angel (Galaxy). They seem to be content to rely on Dane Richards, Joel Lindpere, Juan Agudelo, some French guy, and new imports like Jan Gunnar Soli and Teemu Taino. On paper its a pretty good attack to go with a defense that knows what its doing. Having Rafa Marquez doesn’t really hurt either. If they can click during the final third of the season, they could complete what they tried to do in 2008.

Finally, Seattle. Seattle struck people as a possible overachiever in their first season because their second season went worse. But the real deal is that they took some serious injuries last season and didn’t have the means to replace them. This year is different. Players are recovering, especially Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Osvaldo Alanso, and they’ve added defensive and offensive depth, while giving away players who were fragile (Nathan Sturgis) or role players (Pete Vagenas). Their key players have played together for years now and they have won back to back US Open Cups, so they know what winning is like. They will be focussed and determined and will easily make the playoffs.

But of all the teams that could be considered contenders for MLS Cup at this point, you have to like the Galaxy to bring it all home. Certainly Bruce Arena’s off-season moves indicate that he wants the Cup now, though I bet he expected to get back to the title game last year. For one thing, the long-rumored acquisition of Juan Pablo Angel up front announced his intention louder than anything else. The combination of DP-status, being top goal scorer in the league over the past four years, and being 35 means Angel is here to produce instant results. For another, bringing in another over-35 player in Frankie Hejduk means that same thing. He’s on the team to bring veteran wiles and bring the same positive locker room presence as a Chris Klein or Eddie Lewis (both retired after last season). For a third, Arena stocked up on strikers to partner Angel and find a replacement for Edson Buddle who left for Bundesliga 2 after a career year. (I, for one, am happy that he’s getting a big payday in Europe, even if he’s playing for team facing relegation to the 3rd division. He deserves it.)

The reality of the Galaxy going into 2011 is this: There is a core of players that has now been together for what will be the fourth year, including the majority of the defenders and three likely starting midfielders. The strikers pose a challenge, but that’s nothing new. The striker position have been a mess since 2007 (when the whole team was a mess) and it remains so even as the defense has solidified in to rock and the midfield has become a place where balls are won and attacks started. Having Buddle up top was a boon, but there was a perennial problem of a strike partner. In 2011 the Galaxy trade one high scorer for another and again have a partner problem.

Despite that, you really can’t discount an attack that includes Angel, Landon Donovan, and David Beckham. Getting Angel on the end of service from those two should be a continual thing of beauty and a true terror for opposing defenses. If you add in an improving Juninho who could orchestrate from the middle and the presence of someone like Michael Stephens or newcomer Miguel Lopez, with Chris Birchall in the holding/defensive midfielder role, then you have a front six that is as lethal as any in the league. RSL maybe has a more stable and tested midfield, but no team can touch a Beckham-Donovan-Angel connection up front, not even RBNY with their famous Frenchman and young USMNT talent.

Finally, the defense is deeper than it has been, which should address the kinds of problems that cropped up late in the 2010 season when injuries forced changes in assignments and exposed the limited talent on the bench. Hejduk can still contribute, Omar Gonzalez is improving every game and is fresh off of a USMNT camp, Todd Dunivant is back and will be his usual reliable and unsung self, AJ DeLaGarza is back with his versatility, and Leonardo and Gregg Berhalter are both back to vie for the spot next to Gonzalez, with Sean Franklin as the first choice in front of Frankie. Both Donovan Ricketts and Josh Saunders are back as goalkeeper options.

There are still some problems to be addressed, of course. The biggest is who partners Angel. Arena has shown continuing affinity for the 4-4-2 and seems unlikely to move away from that with the acquisition of Adam Cristman and Chad Barrett to complement Mike Magee and even Jovan Kirovski. But Cristman hasn’t done much since he made a run at Rookie of the Year in New England 4 years ago and is becoming something of a journeyman. Barrett has an unfortunate reputation for missing sitters on a regular and continuing basis, so much so that I’ve been known to call him “Chad Barnmisser”. Magee has struggled to make his mark in his time in LA. Kirovski’s just not a goal scorer. Suffice it to say that the second striker position is up for anyone to take and its not clear that anyone is.

There’s also the question of the best midfield combination. It seems certain that the initial make-up will be a diamond of Landon and Becks on the flanks, Juninho in the attacking mid position and Birchall as the d-mid. But the season is long and will include three competitions, so there will be room for Stephens, Lopez, and newcomers Paolo Cardozo and Hector Jimenez to push into the lineup on a regular basis. And frankly, if the second striker spot fizzles, the midfield will need to step up, which will offer more opportunities to what is looking like an increasingly well-stocked sector of the lineup.

There’s one more place where there’s been some change and that in the coaching staff. Cobi Jones has ended his long association with the club to take job with a team those doesn’t even exist, the New York Cosmos as the Director of Soccer or something equally cryptic. Curt Onalfo has come on board, not exactly in his place, but as a new member of the coaching staff.

What about you? What do you see in the changes Arena has made? What do you think this means for the teams 2011 prospects? Share you thoughts in the comments below.

Some Related Galaxy Posts:

Category: 2011 Season