PASADENA, Calif. – Manchester United have been in Los Angeles for less than a week, but on Tuesday they received a true Southern California experience—getting stuck in rush hour traffic.
United were 45 minutes for their open training session at the Rose Bowl Stadium as their team bus found itself stuck in L.A. traffic driving from their base hotel in Beverly Hills in Pasadena. Despite the inconvenience, United manager Louis van Gaal was chipper upon his team’s arrival at the stadium’s press room.
“Of course, we were late. It was the first time that I was late for a press conference, but Los Angeles traffic,” van Gaal told reporters.
On Wednesday, the Dutchman and his side will face a stiffer test when they take on the Galaxy in the Chevrolet Cup at the world-famous Pasadena venue. Although Europeans are traditionally criticized for their blasé attitude toward friendlies with MLS sides, van Gaal insists that he’s done his homework on the Galaxy.
“We have analyzed the Galaxy and I expect a very organized and technical team that is aggressive in attack,” said van Gaal. “They are already in the rhythm of the season and we started just three days ago. We are not well prepared, we are not fit yet, but I hope that we can give a good performance and it’s a process.
“The preparation time is a process, so I hope that we can make every [preseason] match a step in that progress, but I'm also anxious to see how we do it tomorrow against the Galaxy.”
