Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 1, FC Barcelona 2
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 – 8:00 p.m. PT
International Champions Cup
Rose Bowl Stadium – Pasadena, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On how the reserves played in the second half tonight:
"They did well; I think it is a fabulous experience for them. Some of those kids are 19 years old, playing against an outstanding club, obviously in the second half, [FC] Barcelona went with some young players as well, but for our guys, I don't think [Robbie] Keane and [Steven] Gerrard need these games as much as the young kids need the experience. You can tell them a lot of things, but until they actually step on the field and experience it against quality players, they don't fully comprehend. Tonight for our young players it was an invaluable experience."
On playing FC Barcelona tonight and how it affects Saturday’s game against Houston Dynamo:
"I think us playing our full team for 90 minutes doesn't mean a thing and a win in these games as opposed to a loss is insignificant, I don't think it matters. Did you see us play Juventus two years ago? Were you standing up and shouting that our league is great because we won an exhibition against Juventus? It is an exhibition, relax. It is good for both teams. I think tonight was good for the fans, mission accomplished. We have a more important game on Saturday; we are trying to get our team ready for that. We had a couple players injured tonight, which isn't good, you don't go out against [FC] Barcelona and play half speed, to be able to get through 45 minutes with both teams was good. I think a result like we had last year versus Manchester United is not a good statement for our league but tonight we are not embarrassed at all by our performance."
On the play of Ariel Lassiter:
"The young players, and Ariel [Lassiter], was in over his head as was [Ignacio] Maganto I thought in the first half, but good experiences for them. Ariel [Lassiter] got into the game and got a little bit better, going forward he is real good but he still needs to learn how to go the other way, it is an important part of the game. I think the experience for our players when they see the spacing Barcelona has possession is incredible and you think about sticking Neymar in that lineup and [Lionel] Messi, with that kind of spacing, they cut teams apart. The other part that is outstanding for Barcelona is when they lose the ball, how they pressure. I think in the first half they were outstanding in not letting us get any kind of rhythm or connect passes, they really got after the ball. They were outstanding in that area."
On the play of Bradford Jamieson IV:
"Good young player who is going to need time, he is still 19 years old; he has got to get stronger and a little bit tougher. It is going to take a little time, he is a couple years away probably, but I think he is a player with a lot of potential and hopefully a good future."
On Baggio Husidic's injury:
"I don't know if he will be ready, a slight little strain in his calf. Good thing that we got him out early, hopefully he can recover; we will just have to wait and see."
On Sebastian Lletget:
"A little bit of a tight muscle, but I think he is going to be fine."
On the play of Raul Mendiola:
"Good, he is a very competitive kid who has to get better technically with the ball at his feet. His passing needs to get better as is the case with all of our young players, but as you can see tonight he is willing to compete, he played the most minutes, I guess he played 65 minutes or so tonight. It was a good experience for him."
LA GALAXY DEFENDER TOMMY MEYER
On his goal tonight:
“It's something you dream about. I'm pretty excited. Mika [Vayrynen] served a great ball and I was luckily there to put my head on it.”
On scoring in front of 93,226:
“It's something you kind of hope happens but doesn't. Especially at the end of the game when you are trying to get a goal back and give something to our fans to cheer about, it definitely means a lot. When you walk out for warm ups you think, ‘Alright there is going to be a lot of people here.’ And then when you actually come out and the game starts and you kind of hear them you think that this is a pretty cool experience.”
On the team's performance:
“I think we have a lot of young guys on our team, kids from the academy that are part of Galaxy II now and are trying to work their way up. I think everyone wanted to go out and work as hard as they could. You make a mistake, it doesn't really matter. You are playing Barcelona and I think that was kind of our mentality in the second half.”
On the performance of Bradford Jamieson and Ariel Lassiter performance:
“They did well. I think they were trying to take people on. That is what you want to see from young guys like that. They don't get the opportunity to do this often so you want to see them take advantage of it.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD BRADFORD JAMIESON IV
On playing FC Barcelona:
“It's obviously a good place to gauge someone's potential and skill at the age that we are at against the best team in the world. It's something that you really have to let sink in because when is the next time you are going to play against Barcelona.”
On the team's performance:
“I think we showed a lot of heart out there. I think that is one of the things that showed more than anything else. Obviously our tempo is a little bit slower but it is something that we know how far off we are. It's not super far off there is a lot of things that we can work on and it is something that is not a big adjustment that we have to make to be at the level that they are.”
On what they can learn from this game:
“Experience, knowledge, making mistakes. You make a lot of mistakes and those are the things you learn from the most. When you are making mistakes against guys that are the best in the world you know where you are in the world, it really puts you in your place and you learn things that can make you better.”
On Ariel Lassiter:
“I think Ari and I complement each other well. He is a fun guy to play with obviously with the Twos we play together a lot and I think some good chemistry is building between the two of us.”
On playing in front of a large crowd:
“It's awesome. Luckily this is the second time. It is a privilege to be able play in front of many fans for back to back years. I have a lot of family and friends that were able to come out and a lot of guys TV telling me, guys from the past, guys that I haven't seen in five years talking about watching me on TV against the best team in the world and it is something that is heartwarming.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JUNINHO
On the team’s first half performance:
“It was a nice game to play, one of the best teams in the world. We could not have the ball or possession the first half. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal, but I think we did a much better job the second half; we scored a goal. We didn’t win but I think we did well the second half.”
On how this game compared to the game against Manchester United:
“I think we were more prepared for this game. This time we did not concede as many goals. It’s good for us.”
On the game’s pace:
“It is much faster than normal; they are at a different level. We tried to chase them and get the ball, but it was hard. It’s a good experience; we are going to take that for a long time.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER A.J. DELAGARZA
On the difference between last year’s game against Manchester United and today’s game:
“The mentality was different. Last year Manchester [United] was coming into their first preseason game with a new head coach, and all those guys had to impress to keep their spots on the team. It’s a little different here with the best team in the world with quality players.”
What you take from the game:
“I thought we played well defensively for the most part. We gave up a goal late in the first half, and the ball was bouncing around the second half. We took how quickly they moved and pressed, but we didn’t do a good job keeping the ball. We need to work on keeping the ball under pressure.”
On largest crowd at an MLS game:
“I think the crowd got bored after a while. Barcelona is a team that keeps 75% of the ball every game no matter whom they are playing. I remember one time sitting on the bench and it was quiet with 90,000 people.”
On the second lineup:
“I think they played well, just like they did against Club America. The guys integrated from Galaxy II played a few minutes and did very well. They kept the ball more than we did the first half, and I think we have a bright future for our club.”
