Los Angeles Galaxy

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 Supporters' Shield = 1998, 2002

The Los Angeles Galaxy are a professional football (soccer) team based in Carson, California that participates in Major League Soccer. The name "Galaxy" refers to Los Angeles being the home of many Hollywood "stars".^[2] The team's original colors were teal and gold; however the teal was changed to green from 2003 until mid 2007. In July 2007, to coincide with the arrival of David Beckham, the Galaxy unveiled a new "rebranded" logo, and a new color scheme of white, navy, and yellow. The new home strip is white kit, shorts, and socks, with yellow and navy accents. The away strip is navy kit, shorts, and socks, with yellow accents. It was rumored that Beckham helped design the new logo and kits.

The Galaxy were one of the ten founding members of Major League Soccer, that began play in 1996. The club played their home games at the Rose Bowl from 1996–2002 until they moved into their own soccer-specific stadium, The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, in 2003. Since the 2005 season, The Home Depot Center has been shared with Chivas USA.

The Galaxy have the highest all-time attendance in league history and are the first MLS team to make a profit in a season.

The Galaxy have two main supporters clubs known as The Galaxians, and The Los Angeles Riot Squad. Their mascot is known as "Cozmo", a frog-like extraterrestrial.

The Galaxy were the first MLS team to take advantage of the Designated Player Rule, also known as the "Beckham Rule," by signing the rule's namesake David Beckham to a contract worth $50 million over five years, although with outside endorsements and profit sharing, Beckham will likely make up to $250 million, $25 million will be paid by Galaxy owner Philip Anschutz through his company, AEG, and the rest of the $225 million will be paid by sponsors .^[3][4]

[edit] History

Further information: Los Angeles Soccer History

[edit] 1996-2005: Decade of Success

The Los Angeles Galaxy were an inaugural team of the MLS. They appeared in the first MLS Cup in 1996 losing to D.C. United. They appeared in it 2 more times in 1999 and 2001 before finally winning it in 2002. They were regular season champions of the Western Conference in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002, winning the league's Supporters' Shield for best record in 1998 and 2002. They won the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005 and won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 2000. After losing to Landon Donovan and the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2001 and 2003 MLS Cup playoffs, AEG orchestrated the transfer of Donovan to the Galaxy in 2005, and the Galaxy won the MLS Cup a second time in 2005 to cap off their first decade. They made the playoffs all ten seasons, the only team to make this claim.

[edit] 2006- Present: Struggling

[edit] 2006: First Taste of Failure

The 2006 season began tragically on March 16 with the sudden death of Doug Hamilton, the team's 43-year-old general manager, who suffered a heart attack on board a plane carrying the team back from Costa Rica after where they were playing Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The season is considered the worst in the Galaxy's history, as the team finished fifth in the Western Conference, eliminating them from playoff contention for the first time since the league's inception. Midway through the season, Steve Sampson was sacked as head coach, replaced by Frank Yallop. The team did manage to make a run to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup final, but lost 1-0 against the Chicago Fire.

[edit] 2007: Arrival of Beckham and More Struggles

On 11 January, 2007, Reuters reported that former England captain David Beckham would leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and enter into a five-year deal with the Galaxy. The transfer to the American league made international headlines.

In March 2007 it was announced that Herbalife would be the primary shirt sponsor of the Galaxy in a five-year deal worth between $350 million and $500 million a year through 2011.^[5]

On 18 April 2007, Rangers manager, Walter Smith announced that talks between the two clubs were underway, with regards to a player link deal. This deal would allow Galaxy to use Rangers' world class training facility, Murray Park. Rangers would be able to take Galaxy youngsters on trial, and allow them a greater exposure to the US market.^{[citation needed]}

On 21 July, David Beckham made his long-awaited debut before a record crowd of nearly 30,000 at the Home Depot Center, coming on in the 78th minute in a 1-0 loss to Chelsea F.C. in a match during the World Series of Football tournament. The match brought unprecedented TV coverage from ESPN, who used 19 cameras to cover it, including one trained only on Beckham, even when he was on the bench, and several used for interviewing and showing some of the many celebrities and dignitaries on hand, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The match set an all-time record high for TV ratings for MLS on ESPN, and was the most-watched program on all of TV that night among young adult males in the U.S.

Beckham did not start the match because of a nagging injury to his left ankle, sustained while playing for England in June. Beckham spent just over 16 minutes on the field, including stoppage time, and was greeted with applause from the crowd after the match and shared a hug with the man who succeeded him as England captain and scored the winning goal, John Terry.

The Galaxy played to good results in the Superliga competion, which featured four MLS teams and four Mexican league teams. The Galaxy advanced to the Superliga finals, facing Pachuca, which the Galaxy had defeated in first round play. The Galaxy lost after overtime in penalty kicks.

Beckham missed the Galaxy's next four matches, against Mexican champion Pachuca, Chivas, and F.C. Dallas in the SuperLiga tournament and the MLS match against Toronto F.C., because of the ankle injury.

In the SuperLiga match versus F.C. Dallas on 31 July, a total of 11 goals were scored, with the final 6-5 in favor of Galaxy. This match tied the all-time record for number of goals scored in a match between two MLS sides, and the win guaranteed the Galaxy a spot in the tournament's semifinals.^[6]

Beckham made his regular-season Galaxy debut on 9 August against D.C. United. He did not start the match, but came on as a substitute in the second half in a 1-0 loss. Beckham then missed the Galaxy's next MLS match against New England Revolution because he re-aggravated his injury against D.C. United and did not want to risk further injury on New England's FieldTurf pitch.

Beckham's first start in league play then came on 18 August, in an away match versus the New York Red Bulls in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.^[9] Within the first nine minutes of the match, the Galaxy scored two goals off set pieces, with Beckham assisting Carlos Pavón on both.^[10] Beckham tallied the two assists in a 5-4 loss. At over 66,000, the game set an all-time attendance record for a regular-season MLS match at Giants Stadium, and many people believe the match was one of the greatest in MLS history.^[11]

In August, following five successive league defeats, pressure mounted on the club, especially head coach, Frank Yallop, and there were widespread rumors that he would be sacked. During the SuperLiga final match against Pachuca on August 29, Beckham seriously injured his right knee in a challenge with Fernando Salazar in the 30th minute. The Galaxy went on to lose the match in penalties. An MRI scan the following day revealed that Beckham had sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) and that he would be out for six weeks. A Galaxy spokesman refuted an earlier report that Beckham had also undergone arthroscopic surgery. The news came as a massive blow to the struggling Galaxy, England, and Beckham, as he missed several key matches for the Galaxy and England. However, some believed that there was a silver lining, as it forced Beckham to rest until his problematic left ankle was fully healed before returning to the pitch.^[12]

As the result of a season-high five straight league victories, the Galaxy's post-season hopes were still alive. On October 3, the news got even better as Beckham returned to training with the club.^[13] On October 18, Beckham returned to the pitch against the New York Red Bulls at the HDC, playing 20 minutes in a 1-1 draw, that all but eliminated the Galaxy from the playoffs. ^[14]

The Galaxy were officially eliminated from the playoffs on October 21, in a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire. With a final season record of 9-14-7, both general manager Alexi Lalas and head coach Frank Yallop were rumored to be in danger of being sacked by owner Philip Anschutz, after a second consecutive losing season in which the club failed to reach the postseason.

[edit] 2007-08 Offseason: Yallop Out, Gullit In

After the 2007 season Cobi Jones retired. In addition, several players are expected to leave the club in the offseason. Former Germany manager and Orange County, California resident, Jurgen Klinsmann, was rumored to be the favorite to replace Yallop as head coach.^[15]

Amidst rumors that he was going to be sacked, Yallop resigned as head coach on November 4, 2007, following a friendly postseason match at the HDC. MLS expansion club, the San Jose Earthquakes, bought out his contract and offered a 3rd round draft pick to the Galaxy to make Yallop their new head coach.^[16]

On November 7, rumors spread that former Chelsea F.C. and Newcastle United F.C. manager, Ruud Gullit, had accepted an offer to be the Galaxy's new head coach.^[17] On November 9, Gullit was officially unveiled as the Galaxy's head coach, signing a three-year contract with the club.^[18] Newly-retired Galaxy and international star Cobi Jones was brought on as assistant coach.

On November 21, 2007, in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft to stock the returning San Jose Earthquakes, the Galaxy lost forward Gavin Glinton with the ninth pick.

The Galaxy then went to Australia and New Zealand to play a series of friendlies with teams of the new top-level A-League. In a match against Sydney FC on November 27, David Beckham scored via his trade mark free kick, but the Galaxy lost, 5-3.

The Galaxy recorded a 4-1 win over Wellington Phoenix on December 1. David Beckham scored from the penalty spot in the second half. The attendance of 31,853 was a record for any football match in New Zealand.

Most recently, now retired former midfielder Cobi Jones accepted Ruud Gullit's offer to stay on as his number 2 (Assistant Coach).

[edit] Logo

The original Galaxy logo reflected a gold galaxy and the words "GALAXY" written horizontally. After rebranding themselves in 2007, the logo changed to a crest with a star and the words "LA GALAXY". Additionally, after each MLS Cup the club added a star for each championship.

[edit] Rivalries

The Galaxy's traditional rival was the San Jose Earthquakes, with whom they battled in the California Clasico until the Earthquakes players and head coach Dominic Kinnear were relocated to Houston, Texas following the 2005 season, becoming the Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy, the Earthquakes and the Dynamo combined to win six of the last seven MLS Cup titles (2001-2007), although just two of those titles were won by the Galaxy. San Jose's victory over the Galaxy for the title in 2001 was carried out under the leadership of Frank Yallop, with Joe Cannon in goal and Landon Donovan scoring for the Quakes in a 2-1 victory. The two clubs also had epic playoff battles in 2003 and 2005. Following the former Earthquakes players' and head coach's departure to Houston, the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs for the first time in club history in 2006 and repeated the feat in 2007. Fortunately, the San Jose Earthquakes has been revived under new ownership as an MLS team for the 2008 season. The revived Earthquakes will return to the Galaxy's list of closest rivals, resuming the California Clasico.^[19]

The Galaxy's biggest rival in the 1990s was D.C. United, where the two squads met in MLS Cup 1996 and MLS Cup 1999. The Galaxy lost 3-2, in overtime, and 2-0, respectively. This rivalry remains strong.

The Galaxy's chief rival for the past two years has been Chivas USA, with whom they share a home stadium. The Galaxy–Chivas USA game is the league's first and (thus far) only derby, known as the Honda SuperClassico. Although the Galaxy won all four games the first year of the rivalry, in 2006 a more competitive Chivas side increased the popularity of the SuperClassico, which features sell-out crowds and great atmosphere. The Galaxy won 3 of 4 Classico games in 2006. In the 2007 inaugural tournament Superliga, a new much-anticipated rivalry was formed. The Galaxy took on Chivas USA's parent team Club Deportivo Guadalajara at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost 2-1, however they still advanced to the next round leaving their rivals behind.

The rivalry between the Galaxy and Chivas USA heated up during a match on August 23, 2007 when Chivas USA player Jesse Marsch applied a high kick from behind to Galaxy captain David Beckham's upper right hip (some believe he was attempting to kick Beckham in the groin), at the end of the first half. This led to a tense confrontation between Beckham and Marsch, during which Beckham was restrained by teammate Edson Buddle. A shoving match occurred, and Galaxy's midfielder Kevin Harmse threw a punch towards Chivas USA player Alex Zotinca who retaliated by headbutting Harmse. Both players received red cards, and Chivas USA went on to win the match 3-0. However, Marsch surprisingly only received a yellow card, when the recommended punishment for a tackle from behind is actually a red card.

[edit] Spokesmodel

Miss LA Galaxy 2008 is Julie Bornemann, a student at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and a native of St. Louis, Missouri. The Miss LA Galaxy court consists of the three runners-up to the annual contest and those girls are: Audrey Ronquillo (1st runner-up), Caitlin O'Connor (2nd runner-up), and Lindsay Pratt (3rd runner-up). Julie, Audrey, Caitlin, and Lindsay are the official club representatives to the Southern California community and along with Galaxy players, regularly participate in various charitable work along with appearing at every home match at the Home Depot Center.

[edit] Mascot

The Los Angeles Galaxy's mascot is "Cozmo", a frog-like extraterrestrial. It is said that Cozmo was beamed down to The Home Depot Center from his intergalactic spaceship on June 7, 2003. He is known for entertaining fans and teaching kids in the Los Angeles area the basics of football. Cozmo mainly wows spectators with his goalkeeping prowess, but claims he is able to play forward for any team on the planet.

[edit] Song

The team anthem is called “We Are The Galaxy” and is performed by electronica group Kinky. ^[20]

[edit] Television and radio

Galaxy matches are televised locally by FSN West. Jim Watson and Mark Rogondino are the English language announcers, while Elmer Polanco announces in Spanish.

Matches are broadcast on radio by "San Diego 1700 AM" in English and in Spanish on "AM 830." Joe Tutino does the English play-by-play while Pepe Mantilla and Francisco X. Rivera handle the Spanish broadcasts. Sometimes, the games are broadcast in English on 1700 AM's sister station "XX Sports Radio 1090 AM / 105.7 FM" when 1700 AM doesn't air a game.

[edit] Sister team

It is rumored that one of two expansion teams in Australia's A-League will be named the Gold Coast Galaxy, and will be a formal sister-team to the LA Galaxy. ^[21]

[edit] Team honors

• CONCACAF Champions' Cup:
  • Winner (1): 2000
  • Runner-up (1): 1997

• MLS Cup:
  • Winner (2): 2002, 2005
  • Runner-up (3): 1996, 1999, 2001

• MLS Supporters' Shield:
  • Winner (2): 1998, 2002
  • Runner-up (2): 1996, 1999

• US Open Cup:
  • Winner (2): 2001, 2005
  • Runner-up (2): 2002, 2006

• SuperLiga:
  • Runner-up (1): 2007

[edit] Current squad

As of November 26, 2007.

The players in bold have senior international caps

[edit] Changes for the 2008 MLS Season

In

• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Clint Mathis Traded From Red Bull New York for a third round SuperDraft pick

Out

• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones Retired
• Image:Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Gavin Glinton Picked up by San Jose Earthquakes in Expansion Draft
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Mike Caso Waived
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Lance Friesz Waived
• Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Carlos Pavon Waived
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Veris Waived

[edit] Retired numbers

13 – Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones (1996–2007)

[edit] Notable Players

Austria:

• Image:Flag of Austria.svg Andreas Herzog (2004)

Brazil:

• Image:Flag of Brazil.svg Welton (1997–1999)

Ecuador:

• Image:Flag of Ecuador.svg Eduardo Hurtado (1996–1998)

England:

• Image:Flag of England.svg David Beckham (2007-)

El Salvador:

• Image:Flag of El Salvador.svg Mauricio Cienfuegos(1996–2003)

Guatemala:

• Image:Flag of Guatemala.svg Carlos Ruíz (2002–2004)

Honduras:

• Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Carlos Pavon (2007)

Mexico:

• Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Jorge Campos (1996–1997)
• Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Carlos Hermosillo (1998–1999)
• Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Luis Hernández (2000–2001)

South Korea:

• Image:Flag of South Korea.svg Hong Myung-Bo (2003–2004)

Turks and Caicos Islands:

• Image:Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg Gavin Glinton (2002–2003 , 2006–2007)

United States:

• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Chris Armas (1996–1997)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Paul Caligiuri (1997–2001)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Danny Califf (2000–2004)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Landon Donovan (2005-)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Robin Fraser (1996–2000)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones (1996–2007)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman (1997–2006)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Herculez Gomez (2003–2006)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Alexi Lalas (2001–2003)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Curt Onalfo (1996)

[edit] Most Valuable Players

[edit] Golden Boot Winners

The Golden Boot Winner is the leading goal scorer at the end of the season (only goals in MLS count).

[edit] Defensive Player of the Year

[edit] Head coaches

• Image:Flag of Germany.svg Lothar Osiander (1996–1997)
• Image:Flag of Ecuador.svg Octavio Zambrano (1997–1999)
• Image:Flag of Germany.svg Sigi Schmid (1999–2004)
• Image:Flag of the United States.svg Steve Sampson (2004–2006)
• Image:Flag of Canada.svg Frank Yallop (2006–2007)
• Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Ruud Gullit ^[23] (2007-present)

[edit] Team records

• Games: Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones, 300
• Goals: Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones, 70
• Assists: Image:Flag of the United States.svg Cobi Jones, 86
• Shutouts: Image:Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Hartman, 62

MLS regular season only, through 2006 season

[edit] Home stadiums

• Rose Bowl (1996–2002)
• The Home Depot Center (2003–present)

[edit] Year-by-year

* Won MLS Supporters' Shield

[edit] Year-by-year stats

[edit] International competition

• 1997 Champions' Cup
  • Qualifying Playoff v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Santos Laguna -- 4:1
  • Quarterfinals v. Image:Flag of El Salvador.svg Luis Angel Firpo -- 2:0
  • Semifinals v. Image:Flag of the United States.svg D.C. United -- 1:0
  • Final v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Cruz Azul -- 3:5
• 2000 Champions' Cup
  • Quarterfinals v. Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Real España -- 0:0 (Galaxy advance 5:3 on penalties)
  • Semifinals v. Image:Flag of the United States.svg D.C. United -- 1:1 (Galaxy advance 4:2 on penalties)
  • Final v. Image:Flag of Honduras.svg CD Olimpia -- 3:2
• 2003 La Manga Cup
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Norway.svg Lyn Oslo -- 5:0
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Russia.svg Torpedo Moskva -- 3:0
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Norway.svg Odd Grenland -- 0:1
  • Third Place Match v. Image:Flag of Norway.svg Viking Stavanger -- 3:0
• 2003 Champions' Cup
  • First round v. Image:Flag of Honduras.svg Motagua -- 2:2, 1:0 (Galaxy advance 3:2 on aggregate)
  • Quarterfinals v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Necaxa -- 1:4, 1:2 (Necaxa advance 6:2 on aggregate)
• 2003 Peace Cup
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Uruguay.svg Nacional -- 0:0
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Germany.svg 1860 München -- 0:0
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg PSV Eindhoven -- 1:4
• 2006 Champions' Cup
  • Quarterfinals v. Image:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Saprissa -- 0:0, 2:3AET (Saprissa advance 3:2 on aggregate)
• 2007 SuperLiga
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Pachuca -- 2:1
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Guadalajara -- 1:2
  • Group Stage v. Image:Flag of the United States.svg FC Dallas -- 6:5
  • Semifinals v. Image:Flag of the United States.svg D.C. United -- 2:0
  • Final v. Image:Flag of Mexico.svg Pachuca -- 1:1 (Pachuca wins 4:3 on penalties)

[edit] Average attendance

regular season/playoffs

• 1996: 30,129/29,883
• 1997: 23,626/26,703
• 1998: 21,784/13,175
• 1999: 17,632/21,039
• 2000: 20,400/25,033
• 2001: 17,387/28,462
• 2002: 19,047/24,596
• 2003: 21,983/20,201
• 2004: 23,809/20,206
• 2005: 24,204/17,466
• 2006: 20,814/ Missed Playoffs
• 2007: 24,252/ Missed Playoffs
• All-Time: 21,892/22,676

[edit] Popular Culture

• In a 2007 episode of Saturday Night Live, during the Weekend Update segment, Amy Poehler commented that David Beckham would be joining "the Los Angeles Galaxy which, apparently, exists".

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Los Angeles Riot Squad
• Galaxy Ambassadors
• The Galaxians Fan Club
• L.A. Galaxy Best Goals

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