DENVER – The Colorado Rapids won’t be the only opponent that the LA Galaxy must defeat during Sunday’s Western Conference Semifinal second leg at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park—they’ll also need to overcome the altitude of the Mile-High City.
Playing at altitude has always been a challenge for Rapids’ opponents and this year, Pablo Mastroeni’s squad have used it to their advantage to earn 11-0-6 record at home. The first of those 11 victories occurred back in March when a late Marco Pappa goal gave the Rapids a 1-0 victory over the Galaxy.
To combat the conditions, Bruce Arena and the Galaxy departed Los Angeles less than 24 hours before their 11 a.m. MT kick-off on Sunday. The practice is commonplace for Arena who has long searched for a way to lessen altitude’s impact on his teams.
“Not a whole lot you can do. Make sure your team’s hydrated. We don’t spend any time at altitude before a game. If you’re fit, you can deal with it. The fitter you are the better you’re able to cope with it. That’s about all the game plan is for that,” Arena said. “I’ve done this for years. I’ve talked to specialists on altitude getting the U.S. team ready for Mexico City, going into Denver … nobody knows.
“The only way to get acclimated to altitude is to live there [in Denver] for three weeks or so. They say in Mexico City; they say it takes three months. Nobody knows.”
Landon Donovan, who is no stranger to trips to altitude for club and country, agrees with his manager’s assessment.
“There’s nothing that you can do about the altitude unless you spend two weeks training at altitude getting used to it,” Donovan said. “For us, it’s a mental thing, and I don’t put too much stock into it. It’s not easy because you get out of breath faster, but we’re all very fit, and at this point the season, we can handle anything.”
