CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane will have an opportunity to take an old rival from England on Saturday when he faces the Owen Coyle coached Houston Dynamo.
Appointed the Dynamo manager in the offseason, the Scottish-born coach spent the majority of his coaching career in England where he took on the Galaxy’s Irish captain a number of times.
“I know Owen Coyle very well. [He’s] a very, very good manager, enthusiastic. He'll have his players ready for the game,” Keane said. “We’re playing at home though; the most important thing is to continue the way we’ve played at home. Attack people and score goals.”
Keane admits that Coyle coached teams will not be easy, however.
“They’re very enthusiastic, lot of energy. Look at Owen himself, he was like that as a player and certainly as a manager,” Keane said. “It will be a tough game, well-organized. I’m delighted he’s in this league because I’ve always respected him.”
BRUCE ARENA EXPLAINS CHARLIE RUGG LOAN TO INDY ELEVEN
The LA Galaxy sent third year forward Charlie Rugg on loan to NASL club Indy Eleven on Wednesday, and a day later, Bruce Arena elaborated on the move that he hopes gives the forward added experience.
“It was a variety of reasons,” Arena explained. “There’s not much of a story right now to tell, but the NASL is theoretically a stronger league and a little better competition for Charlie. We hope it will help him grow.”
LA GALAXY II AND U.S. U-17 GOALKEEPER ERIC LOPEZ TRAINS WITH LA GALAXY FIRST TEAM
The LA Galaxy Academy product Eric Lopez trained with the first team on Thursday after returning from a stint with the U.S. Under-17 national team.
The 16-year-old Lopez who has been a part of the U.S. Residency Program for a year, but with the team on a two-week spring break, the youngster had a chance to train with LA’s first team.
“It was a different experience. Training with the first team is much harder and much faster than the youth level,” Lopez told LA Galaxy Insider. “I feel like I can get used to it quickly though, but it’s a much different experience.”
Lopez wasn’t the only youth goalkeeper to be training in the Galaxy system on Thursday as Mexico U-17 ‘keeper Abraham Romero trained with Los Dos after leading El Tri to a berth to the U-17 World Cup.
