CARSON, Calif. – The revamped LA Galaxy take on four-time Armenian Premier League champion FC Shirak on Saturday at 7 p.m. at StubHub Center in a preseason match Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena views as a learning experience.
The MLS regular season doesn’t start until Sunday, March 6 against D.C. United at home, but Saturday’s game should provide Arena an indication of how far along his retooled club is in a training camp that’s barely a week old.
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“I think we can learn a lot of things… where some of the young players are, fitness,” Arena said. “I don’t know exactly where our opponent are in terms of their preseason work and all of that, but we’ll find out when we play a real game on Saturday.
“We’ll see where both teams are at.”
In the Galaxy’s case, that remains to be seen. An offseason of major changes has continued into camp, thanks to the impending arrivals of Belgian defender Jelle Van Damme and English international Ashley Cole from Serie A powerhouse AS Roma. Both players will help solidify a struggling back line that led to a surprisingly early MLS Cup playoff exit in 2015.
The Galaxy already have said goodbye to central defender Omar Gonzalez and midfield stalwart Juninho, who joined Mexico’s CF Pachuca and Club Tijuana, respectively. Veteran left back Todd Dunivant retired and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was replaced by Dan Kennedy.
Arena said his main concern at this point is conditioning. His team played a 35-minute intra-squad game on Thursday and admitted there was a long way to go.
“This was real hard for them today playing 35 minutes,” he said. “We’ve only been out since Friday, so it’s going to take a little time.
“Obviously this time of the year we’ve got to work on getting our fitness up, and you only do that by playing. Training is important as well, but I think building them up to 45 minutes on Saturday and getting that accomplished will be a real plus for us.”
Saturday’s match will mark the second time the clubs have met. The Galaxy won 2-1 in 2014 thanks to goals from Gyasi Zardes, currently training with the U.S. men’s national team, and former Galaxy striker Samuel in front of a crowd of more than 12,000 at StubHub Center.
