Giovani dos Santos Makes His LA Galaxy Debut
- Updated: August 10, 2015
(Photo via Twitter User @LAGalaxy)
On August 6, 2015, the LA Galaxy participated in the team’s first match of the 2015 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage (CCL) and played Central FC, a Trinidad & Tobago team based in California. Because it won the 2014 MLS Cup, the Galaxy qualified for the annual tournament after it last played during the 2013-2014 tournament. For more information about the Galaxy’s history in the CCL, read this article by Adam Serrano: A look back at the LA Galaxy’s history in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Central FC qualified for the CCL for the first time. The team won the 2015 Caribbean Football Union Club Championship.
Starting Lineups and Substitutions
| LA Galaxy | Central FC | ||||
| 12 | GK | Brian Rowe | 21 | GK | Jan-Michael Williams |
| 25 | D | Rafael Garcia | 15 | D | Kaydion Gabriel |
| 21 | D | Tommy Meyer | 12 | D | Jamal Jack |
| 27 | D | Dave Romney | 5 | D | Akeem Benjamin |
| 33 | D | Dan Gargan | 3 | D | Keion Goodridge |
| 40 | M | Raul Mendiola | 2 | M | Elton John |
| 34 | M | Kenney Walker | 8 | M | Sean De Silva |
| 3 | M | Mika Vayrynen | 7 | M | Jason Marcano |
| 15 | M | Nacho Maganto | 45 | M | Ataullah Guerra |
| 11 | F | Gyasi Zardes | 11 | M | Darren Mitchell |
| 9 | F | Alan Gordon | 33 | F | Willis Plaza |
| 31 | GK | Andrew Wolverton | 30 | GK | Akel Clarke |
| 4 | D | Omar Gonzalez | 17 | D | Marcelle Francois |
| 14 | M | Robbie Rogers | 19 | M | Nathaniel Garcia |
| 19 | M | Juninho | 24 | M | Kevon Villaroel |
| 17 | M | Sebastian Lletget | 6 | F | Kerry Baptiste |
| 10 | F | Giovani dos Santos | 14 | F | Isaiah Lopez |
| 20 | F | A.J. DeLaGarza | |||
Ahead of the CCL match, the LA Galaxy signed Dave Romney, a defender from Los Dos—as the LA Galaxy II is typically called. He is the first player from the USL team to sign with the senior team. He proved himself to be worthy when he played with the Galaxy against Club America, Barcelona, and the Houston Dynamo (during LA’s Open Cup loss). With Robbie Rogers’ suffering from a chronic ankle injury, we need someone consistently on the left side—I think Romney will be that player.
Because the Galaxy will play the Seattle Sounders on August 9, the usual starters needed to rest—that’s one reason for the odd lineup. Also, Baggio Husidic, Jose Villarreal, and Todd Dunivant still have issues with injuries.
I highly enjoyed watching this match for several reasons—the referees were out of control, both teams played physically, and the LA Galaxy made an excellent recovery then smashed Central FC.
Before the game, Bruce Arena commented on the officials of previous years, “The officiating you never know in CONCACAF,” and his statement certainly proved true.
The Galaxy started off with an early goal from Alan Gordon in the 4th minute, but two minutes later, the referee called a weird foul against Brian Rowe and gave Central FC a penalty kick. Ataullah Guerra scored, but Rowe nearly saved it—he just dove forward too much rather than straight to the side. The referee later called several other odd fouls and failed to call numerous others.
Raul Mendiola scored the game-winning goal, but unfortunately, his night came to a close just a few minutes later. He took a nasty blow from Jan-Michaels Williams as they collided while going for the ball. Williams hit Mendiola with his forearm, and Galaxy medics carried him off the field by stretcher. Luckily, he walked to the locker rooms by himself at halftime. No news yet on his status, but I’m hoping for the best. I’ve seen some bad collisions that resulted in concussions, and even suffered a few concussions myself during my high school career.
The Galaxy scored three times in the second half—Gyasi Zardes (55’ penalty kick), Giovani dos Santos (76’), and Ignacio Maganto (84’)—and won the match 5-1.
Giovani dos Santos made his first appearance for the LA Galaxy on Thursday, and I will say that I am definitely impressed with his skill and his future with the team. He played quite well and even scored a goal! I wonder how he will fit within the normal lineup, and who will be left out—obviously with his injury, Baggio Husidic won’t play and Sebastian Lletget will probably take his place. But where does that leave Juninho?
On August 9, 2015, we will get our first peek at the rest of the season and how Bruce will choose the lineup with the transfer window closed and all acquisitions finalized. The match should be entertaining since the LA Galaxy will play the Seattle Sounders—a rival team despised (and probably hated) by LA fans.
Match Preview: LA Galaxy Prepared for “Unpredictable” Champions League Match with Central FC
Galaxy sign defender Dave Romney from Galaxy II
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things LA Galaxy and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
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