LA Galaxy

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Template:MLS team

The Los Angeles Galaxy is a professional soccer club based in Los Angeles, California that participates in Major League Soccer. The name "Galaxy" refers to Los Angeles being the home of many Hollywood 'stars.' [1] The team colors are gold and green. The home jerseys are gold with a green sash and some minor black accents.

The Galaxy was 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 has the highest all-time attendance in league history and is the first MLS team to make a profit in a season. The Galaxy has two main supporters clubs known as The Galaxians, and the Los Angeles Riot Squad. Their mascot is known as "Cozmo," a frog-like extraterrestrial.

Recently, the Galaxy were in the news for being 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 approximately $5.5 million a year for 5 years. [1]

History

The Galaxy advanced to the MLS Cup final five times in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2005—winning in 2002 and 2005. In 2000 they won the CONCACAF Champions Cup and in 2001 the US Open Cup. They won the Open Cup again in 2005 as part of winning the domestic double, the third time a team has done so in MLS history. Their 2005 MLS Cup victory was the first time that the team with the worst record entering the playoffs won the championship.

In 2005, after an unsuccessful stint in Germany's Bundesliga, Landon Donovan returned to the MLS to play for the Galaxy. In his first season with the Galaxy, Donovan scored 12 league goals and 10 assists and added four goals and an assist in the playoffs, leading the Galaxy to a victory in the 2005 MLS Cup.

The 2006 season was considered as one of the poorest seasons (if not the worst) in the Galaxy's history as the team finished fifth in the Western Conference with an 11-15-6 record, eliminating them from playoff contention for the first time since the league's inception (10 straight seasons). It was also the season where Doug Hamilton, the team's general manager, died of a heart attack on board the airplane carrying the team back from Costa Rica after their loss to Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on March 16. Hamilton, who was only 43 years old, was also the GM of the Los Angeles Riptide of Major League Lacrosse.

On 11 January 2007 Reuters reported that former England captain David Beckham will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season and sign a five-year deal with the Galaxy. The 31-year-old, who joined Real from Manchester United in June 2003, is the most well-known player to sign up for Major League Soccer since it began play in 1996. Beckham is the fifth most capped England player of all time, has twice been the runner up in the FIFA World Player Of The Year Award (in 1999 and 2001), and was a member of Manchester United's 1999 UEFA Champions League winning team.

It has been reported that in early 2007 the Los Angeles Galaxy plan to unveil the team's new jersey design in an attempt to make the Galaxy brand a more global in its appeal. It is believed that the new jerseys will be dark blue and or black.[2] In March 2007 it was announced that Herbalife would be the primary jersey sponsor of the Galaxy in a five-year deal worth between $3.5 million and $5 million a year through 2011.[3]

Rivalries

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 biggest rival in the early 2000s was the San Jose Earthquakes until they were relocated to Houston, Texas following the 2005 season, becoming the Houston Dynamo. Currently, the league is seeking to re-establish a franchise in the San Jose area. If they are successful, this new version of the Earthquakes will likely return to the Galaxy's list of closest rivals.

The Galaxy's chief rival is now the lesser 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 SuperClasico". Although the Galaxy won all four games the first year of the rivalry, in 2006 a more competitive Chivas side has increased the popularity of the SuperClasico.

Television and radio

Galaxy matches are televised locally by FSN West. Max Bretos and Allen Hopkins are the English language announcers, while Jaime Motta and Elmer Polanco announce in Spanish.

Matches are broadcast on radio by XEPE "CASH 1700 AM" in English and in Spanish on KMXE "Radio Visa". Joe Tutino does the English play-by-play while Troy Santiago does the same in Spanish.

Team honors

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

Current roster

As of April 9, 2007 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Steve Cronin
1 GK United States USA Joe Cannon
2 DF United States USA Mike Randolph
3 DF United States USA Ty Harden
4 MF Canada CAN Ante Jazic
5 DF United States USA Chris Albright
6 MF Canada CAN Kevin Harmse
7 MF United States USA Ian Russell
8 MF United States USA Peter Vagenas
9 FW Turks and Caicos Islands TCA Gavin Glinton
10 FW United States USA Landon Donovan (Captain)[4]
11 FW United States USA Nate Jaqua
12 DF United States USA Troy Roberts
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF United States USA Cobi Jones
14 DF Jamaica JAM Tyrone Marshall
15 MF United States USA Quavas Kirk
16 DF United States USA Kyle Veris
18 MF United States USA Kyle Martino
19 MF United States USA Josh Tudela
20 FW Trinidad and Tobago TRI Robbie Findley
21 FW United States USA Alan Gordon
24 DF United States USA Nathan Sturgis
25 FW United States USA Santino Quaranta
26 DF Jamaica JAM Shavar Thomas
35 GK United States USA Lance Friesz
Source: http://web.mlsnet.com/players/roster.jsp?club=t106

Changes for the 2007 MLS Season

In

Out

Notable former players

Most Valuable Players

Year Name Nation
2006 Landon Donovan United States
2005 Herculez Gomez United States
2004 Kevin Hartman United States
2003 Kevin Hartman United States
2002 Carlos Ruiz Guatemala
2001 Ezra Hendrickson Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
2000 Simon Elliott New Zealand
1999 Kevin Hartman United States
1998 Cobi Jones United States
1997 Mauricio Cienfuegos El Salvador
1996 Eduardo Hurtado Ecuador

Golden Boot Winners

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

Year Name Nation Goals
2006 Landon Donovan United States 12
2005 Landon Donovan United States 12
2004 Carlos Ruiz Guatemala 11
2003 Carlos Ruiz Guatemala 15
2002 Carlos Ruiz Guatemala 24
2001 Luis Hernandez Mexico 8
2000 Cobi Jones United States 7
1999 Cobi Jones United States 8
1998 Cobi Jones United States 19
1997 Welton Brazil 11
1996 Eduardo Hurtado Ecuador 21

Defensive Player of the Year

Year Name Nation
2006 Chris Albright United States
2005 Tyrone Marshall Jamaica
2004 Tyrone Marshall Jamaica
2003 Danny Califf United States
2002 Alexi Lalas United States
2001 Greg Vanney United States
2000 Danny Califf United States
1999 Robin Fraser United States
1998 Robin Fraser United States
1997 Robin Fraser United States
1996 Jorge Campos Mexico

Head coaches

Team records

MLS regular season only, through 2006 season

Home stadiums

Year-by-year

International competition

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
  • All-Time: 21,892/22,676

Trivia

Famous Fans

  • Drew Carey - Comedian
  • Samuel L. Jackson - Actor
  • Tom Cruise - Actor
  • Tom Hanks - Actor
  • Jennifer Lopez - Actress/Singer

References

  1. ^ "Meaning of the Galaxy name". Sports Ecyclopedia. Retrieved April 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Wahl, Grant (2007-01-17). "Anatomy of a blockbuster".
  3. ^ "Galaxy, Herbalife ink five-year deal to sponsor jersey". http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/. 23 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "L.A. Galaxy in the community for the holidays" (press release). Los Angeles Galaxy. 2006-12-05.

External links


Season Div Pos League Record MLS Cup US Open Cup CONCACAF Cup Top Scorer
P W L D F A Pts
1996 West 1st 32 19 13 0 59 49 49 Final Did not enter Did not enter Eduardo Hurtado 21
1997 West 2nd 32 16 16 0 55 44 44 Conf S/F Did not enter Final Welton 11
1998 West 1st 32 24 8 0 85 44 68 Conf S/F Did not enter Did not qualify Cobi Jones 19
1999 West 1st 32 20 12 0 49 29 54 Final Quarterfinals Did not qualify Cobi Jones/Carlos Hermosillo 8
2000 West 2nd 32 14 10 8 47 37 50 Semifinals Semifinals Champions Cobi Jones 7
2001 West 1st 26 14 7 5 52 36 47 Final Champions no competition Luis Hernandez 8
2002 West 1st 28 16 9 3 44 33 51 Champions Final Did not qualify Carlos Ruiz 24
2003 West 5th 30 9 12 9 35 35 36 Div S/F Semifinals Quarterfinals Carlos Ruiz 15
2004 West 2nd 30 11 9 10 42 40 43 Div Finals Rd 4 Did not qualify Carlos Ruiz 11
2005 West 4th 32 13 13 6 44 45 45 Champions Champions Did not qualify Landon Donovan 12
2006 West 4th 32 11 15 6 37 37 39 Did not qualify Final Quarterfinals Landon Donovan 12
2007 West Did not qualify
Club
Stadiums
Rivalries
Retired numbers
Key personnel
Affiliated clubs
Major honors (12)
MLS Cup (5)
Supporters' Shield (4)
U.S. Open Cup (2)
CONCACAF Champions League (1)
Seasons (29)
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