Guillermo Barros Schelotto finally got to see his Galaxy on the field on Saturday night.
BOCA SAN MARTIN SAN JUAN
foto MARCELO CARROLL
By Ivan Yeo
After months of activity and weeks of training, the Los Angeles Galaxy finally got the chance to take the field in the preseason on Saturday night against Toronto FC.
The result, a 1-1 draw, was not much to think about. The Galaxy took the lead in the 55th minute on an own goal when Romain Alessandrini’s cross for Rolf Feltscher was deflected by Toronto’s Terique Mohammed into the back net, but Toronto got a late goal, ironically off an own goal by Dave Romney in the 87th minute.
While the result was not to think about, for most players, the game did represent the chance for the team to finally get a taste of on-field competition. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Giovani Dos Santos and Ola Kamara did not play, there was still a lot on the field for Galaxy fans to observe.
First, there was the debut of head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto, whose pedigree as a player both in Argentina and MLS as well as a head coach in Argentina made him the number one man sought by the Galaxy to restore them back to the level of success it enjoyed earlier in the decade. Then there was Diego Polenta, a 6-1 Center Back signed from Uruguay’s Nacional, who Schelotto is certainly hoping can improve a Galaxy defense that has been substandard the previous two seasons, then there was the debut of much-hyped homegrown prospect Efrain Alvarez, who after dominating with Galaxy II and impressing with Mexico’s youth squads, looks to make an impression on the Galaxy main squad.
To say that this was an important offseason for the Galaxy would be an understatement. Despite the presence of Ibrahimovic, Giovani Dos Santos and brother Jonathan Dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini, the Galaxy have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. On top of that, the Galaxy have gone through three head coaches since 2016 and are now facing increased competition for fans in Los Angeles after the stellar debut of crosstown rival LAFC.
All those factors made it vital for the Galaxy to get its house in order. The first pressing need for the Galaxy was in the front office, where Dennis te Klose was brought in as General Manager. The Dutchman has worked with numerous clubs in the Netherlands and Mexico as well as the Mexican National Team. However, it was his time with Chivas USA from 2005 to 2008 that made him an attractive candidate to the Galaxy for the General Manager position. During his time with Chivas USA, the Goats made the playoffs three straight times (plus a fourth straight appearance in 2009) and during that time, te Klose was credited with acquiring players such as Brad Guzan, Sacha Kljestan and Jorge Villafana.
Then it was time to find a head coach. The search was a grinding one, as the Galaxy were reportedly close to hiring former Portland Timbers and University of Akron head coach Caleb Porter, only for that to go the wayside once te Klose took over the search, which then allowed Porter to land with the Columbus Crew. There was the prospect of lifting the interim tag from Dominic Kinnear, who had taken over as head coach back in September and nearly led the Galaxy to the playoffs. Kinnear’s strong relationship with Ibrahimovic was certainly not lost on Galaxy management, but Kinnear reportedly wanted a little more job security, and when that wasn’t assured to him, he pulled his name out of the search.
With time and options running out, te Klose went for the home run, and he got the day after New Years Day when he hired Guillermo Barros Schelotto from Boca Juniors. The Argentine is certainly familiar to the MLS landscape, having played for the Columbus Crew from 2007 to 2010. During his time, Schelotto became one of the league’s best players, leading the Crew to two Supporters Shield titles and an MLS Cup title in 2008. Schelotto then returned to Argentina and turned his focus to coaching, where he led Boca Juniors to two league titles.
One of the reasons the Galaxy missed the playoffs the last two seasons was due to the performance of the back line, the Galaxy have taken steps to remedy that. Just two days earlier, the Galaxy signed Uruguayan defender Diego Polenta from Nacional. Despite signing just two days ago, Polenta put aside the jetlag and limited training time with his new teammates and not only got the start on Saturday night, but played 75 minutes before giving way to Romney.
“I think that he was good and never had problems during the game,” Schelotto said of Polenta’s performance. “He marked well so maybe after some time he will be even better as he gets to know his teammates and the other teams so will be better in the future.”
One thing te Klose wants to place an emphasis on is strengthening the Galaxy academy. One of the players that has come out of the academy that the Galaxy are hoping for contributions from this season is Efrain Alvarez. The 16-year old Alvarez came through the academy, then starred for Galaxy II last season with 12 goals and has already impressed with Mexico’s youth teams. Alvarez got into the game in the 65th minute, had several touches on the ball and registered one shot attempt, though he got a bad touch on the ball.
“I think that Efrain [Alvarez] and [Julian Araujo] are young players with long careers ahead of them,” Schelotto said. “It is not common for two players that are 16 and 17 years old to be with the first team but they have worked and have shown a lot of good things to prove they should be with the first team.”
As the start of the 2019 season draws near, there is certainly more curiosity surrounding the team. However, unlike the last two seasons, there seems to be a little more enthusiasm going around. With so much turnover in the front office and the coaching staff, it will certainly be more interesting to see how things work out, but now, it looks like the Galaxy might finally be trending upwards.
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