The LA Galaxy will close out their 11-day European tour on Saturday when they face off against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin.
Saturday’s match will not only be the Galaxy’s penultimate preseason game before the start of the 2015 regular season, but also serve as a homecoming for the club’s Irish captain Robbie Keane.
During the week, Keane has been playing the good host for his teammates in Dublin, even leading a visit to Republic of Ireland President Michael D. Higgins on Wednesday.
“He’s been buzzing about being home and having a chance to show the guys around,” said defender Omar Gonzalez. “It’s been a great time for everyone. … I hope that we get a win against Shamrock Rovers. That’s what everyone wants.”
As cheerful an experience the trip has been for Keane, spending more than a week in Europe in the midst of preseason had a threat of being overly taxing on the group as a whole. However, Galaxy striker Gyasi Zardes is bullish that the club will remain in good form due to the diligent nature of the team’s coaching staff.
“We’re paying attention to our bodies and the coaching staff is moving players to different positions. I think the team is looking great and I know that I’m fired up, and everyone else is as well. I’m looking forward to keep on preparing for March 6,” said Zardes. “This [trip] has been beneficial because we’re in a different environment and we learned how to adapt.
“It’s an important mental aspect of the game to adapt to teams with different styles of play because in Sweden we saw one style and in Ireland, we’ll see another.”
On Saturday, Galaxy will face a Rovers side that is no slouch as the Tallaght-based side is the winningest club in the Republic of Ireland. After a disappointing fifth place finish a year ago, Rovers will look to return to prominence when their season starts up again next month.
“It’s been a good trip for us,” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, “Obviously the timing and the fitness aren’t there yet, but that’s why they call it preseason. You make some baby steps along the way and just keep getting better. But I think that since we reported [in January], we’ve gotten better as a team.”
Even though the goal for the Galaxy is to get a win and move forward in their preseason preparations, Gonzalez has his own personal reason that he hopes that LA can end their Euro trip with a victory.
“To finish this tour with a win would be great for everyone because it’d make for a better flight,” said Gonzalez referring to the 14 hour jaunt that awaits the club post match.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
