As Sporting KC prepares to face defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy on Saturday, I caught up with LA Galaxy insider Adam Serrano to preview the match. The game at StubHub Center in Carson, California, will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT with live coverage available on 38 The Spot, SKCTV, Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
JF: After winning MLS Cup last year, how have the Galaxy started this season?
AS: The win against Seattle was very big for their confidence, particularly when you look at the way they played against Vancouver the week before. They were really kind of outclassed there against Vancouver, and that’s not something you’re used to happening for a Galaxy squad that has been the best in the league for the last four or five years. It gave them a lot of confidence, especially heading into a big game like Kansas City—a team you know is going to press them high. They’re going to have to play with a similar type of energy that they did against Seattle. Even though the start hasn’t been the best, you’re not going to find this Galaxy team worrying too much. They know it’s early in the season, and they know they have Steven Gerrard looming in July. They’re on a little bit of an uptick. Playing Seattle always helped get them out of the doldrums, and I think they’re ready for this game.
JF: With Landon Donovan retired and a few new players added to the squad, has that changed how the Galaxy plays?
AS: The Galaxy play the way the Galaxy want to play: they want to have possession and spray the ball around. They want to find the channels for players like Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes to exploit. With the loss of Landon Donovan to retirement and Marcelo Sarvas to the Colorado Rapids—that was a huge departure there—they had to find the pieces to fit into the five-man midfield against Seattle, and that’s something that Bruce Arena usually doesn’t use. He’s usually more of a 4-4-2 kind of guy who rotates the squad. This team is still in transition. I think you’re seeing different players come in and out of the squad in the center of the park. Juninho really is another general in the center of the park, and he is so vital to that hold-up play that the Galaxy like to utilize. He’s had a lot of different partners this year, and he might have a new one again with Baggio Husidic and Stefan Ishizaki out wide. There have been some losses there, and this has been a team that had Omar Gonzalez and Gyasi Zardes on international duty this week. So you never know what this team might look like, but Bruce Arena builds his teams on depth. Even though there are some losses, he still likes what we’ve got.
JF: Sporting KC is back in the Western Conference this year. How does that impact this matchup going forward?
AS: Sporting Kansas City makes the Western Conference that much better. They really have been the class of the East for the last couple years. What Peter Vermes has done there at Sporting Park has been great. They bring that much more talent to the Western Conference. But the Galaxy enjoy playing at home, and they’re unbeaten there since the first game of the season last year when they lost to Real Salt Lake. They haven’t lost in any competition at home since then. They’re going to try to use their field to their advantage. They like to try and spread teams out and find some gaps and spaces to create scoring chances. I expect this Sporting team to go out there and press them. If they fall back, they’re going to end up possibly jeopardizing their chance to win this game. That’s really the best way to go at the Galaxy, and that’s what they did last year. Sporting was able to press them up the field and make life difficult for the Galaxy. That’s what they have to do again if they’re going to be competitive on Saturday.
JF: Both teams have had some injuries, but Robbie Keane and Graham Zusi have both returned to training. What’s the health status of this Galaxy squad?
AS: It’s still up in the air in terms of guys like Robbie Keane, Leonardo and Jose Villarreal. Those three players have been dealing with little knocks, as well as Mika Vayrynen, a new player from Finland. But as I mentioned, Bruce Arena likes his depth. You saw last week it was Alan Gordon who stepped up Robbie Keane’s absence. If he has to go to Alan Gordon again or bring in a young kid like Bradford Jamieson IV, who made his first ever appearance at Sporting Park last year and had an assist, he like that. He also has Ignacio Maganto who has been improving. Even though you might not see Keane, and even though Gyasi Zardes might come off the bench having played for the U.S. national team Wednesday night, Bruce has other options for Saturday.
JF: What has been the progression of the Galaxy developing their young players such as Gyasi Zardes and Jose Villarreal?
AS: These guys are either getting minutes with the first team or with LA Galaxy II. That was a reason the La Galaxy II program was put in place—to give young guys the chance to get minutes so they’re ready for opportunities when Bruce Arena needs them, just like this one on Saturday. This is the type of game you might see some big stars absent, but this is exactly the type of game that Galaxy II gets players ready for—meaningful minutes against big time clubs with the chance to have a positive impact on the game. It may be a start or it may be 20 minutes off the bench. But Bruce expects these players to have an impact; he expects them to produce. When you look at what LA has done with Galaxy II, this sets up perfectly. You can use players who are in-form, who have had meaningful minutes against good teams. That’s going to happen when they call on their depth this Saturday.
JF: What factors and matchups are you most looking forward to in Saturday’s game?
AS: It’s going to be interesting to see what happens between Juninho and Roger Espinoza, who are two really talented midfielders. I think they’ll kind of dictate the tempo. We’ll see what happens with that battle there. Then you have a guy like Dom Dwyer, who causes so many problems for defenses because he’s so fast. I’m interested to see how the Galaxy account for that, whether it’s Omar Gonzalez or A.J. DeLaGarza. I think DeLaGarza might be the ideal matchup for the Galaxy. The iconic play in MLS Cup 2014 was when DeLaGarza chased down Charlie Davies and made a timely tackle. I think that’s something Dwyer is going to have to be aware of. So those are the two key matchups people will want to watch this Saturday.
