Starting XI
Brian Rowe; Pele van Anholt, Daniel Steres, Jelle Van Damme ©, Ashley Cole; Jermaine Jones, João Pedro; Romain Alessandrini, Giovani dos Santos, Emmanuel Boateng; Gyasi Zardes.
Bench
Jon Kempin, Bradley Diallo, Hugo Arellano, Rafael Garcia, Bradford Jamieson IV, Raul Mendiola, Jack McInerney.
Lineup notes
- Whew! What a week. A Galaxy coaching change, a Designated Player signing, a Saturday-night game on ESPN at StubHub Center between LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC and to top it all off, Justin Bieber hit a paparazzo with his pickup truck while driving from church.
- Sigi Schmid will coach his first game as head coach of the LA Galaxy since 2004, he enters the match against his former team as the winningest coach in MLS history. He takes over a Galaxy side that is becoming more healthy and will start a relatively first-choice lineup with the exceptions of Sebastian Lletget and Baggio Husidic.
- In net, Brian Rowe will continue in net as the first choice goalkeeper in Schmid’s first game in charge. Rowe is one of the more reliable goalkeepers in MLS. Last year, he recorded one of the best statistical seasons of any keeper in MLS last year, with nine shutouts and recording 113 saves with just a 1.07 goals against average.
- At right back, making his first start or appearance of the season, Pele van Anholt will get the nod. Van Anholt joined the Galaxy recently from the top division in Netherlands and will look to take hold of a position that has been in rotation since Robbie Rogers’ injury.
- He’s big, he’s bald, he’s Belgian and he is oh, so very beautiful to Galaxy fans: Jelle Van Damme, arguable Major League Soccer’s best centerback, will again captain the side.
- Making his third-straight MLS start after a month of absence from the lineup, defender Daniel Steres will pair alongside Van Damme in what has become first-choice central defender pairing since the start of last season. Steres has been one of the most consistent performers in the LA Galaxy lineup, starting the most of any field player since last season.
- On the left side of the backline, the ageless and consistent Ashley Cole will get the start. At 36 years of age, Cole remains the savviest and one of the most reliable left backs in the entire league. Not a fan? Too bad, he didn’t see you there. He was too busy blocking out the haters.
- In the center of the midfield, making his second-straight start after nearly two months of injury Jermaine Jones gets the nod in Schmid’s starting midfield.
- Alongside Jones in the central midfield is Portuguese midfielder João Pedro, who has quietly become a top player for the Galaxy and a standout midfielder in this league throughout the season. Pedro joined LA at the beginning of the season from Portugal’s top division.
- On the right side of the midfield, Major League Soccer’s biggest snub in the MLS All-Star game, Romain Alessandrini, will make the start. Alessandrini, in his first year in MLS, has been one of the most effective players: he has eight goals and eight assists in his first year here – leading the LA Galaxy in both categories.
- Pulling the strings on offense, Giovani dos Santos will make his third-straight MLS start after over a month of absence due to duty with the Mexican National Team. It has been a good week for the Dos Santos family, with Gio’s brother, Jonathan, signing with the team on Thursday. He will look to get going Saturday.
- On the left side of the midfield, it’s the holy-cow-he-is-short-but-wow-he-is-fast Emmanuel Boateng. Boateng has shown this year that he can be a dynamic player in this league. He will be the fastest player on the field Saturday.
- Up top is LA Galaxy Homegrown Player and USMNT veteran Gyasi Zardes, who joins the Galaxy after helping the U.S. capture the Gold Cup title on Wednesday. Zardes had a good tournament with the USMNT and will look to bring that confidence back with him to StubHub Center on Saturday.
Game notes
- The Galaxy lead the all-time series 9-6-7 against Seattle Sounders FC, scoring 30 goals in their 22 matches, while conceding 26.
- The Galaxy will attempt to break a five-game MLS losing skid against Seattle when they host Sounders FC at StubHub Center for a second time this season.
- Seattle earned a 3-0 win in the first meeting, behind strikes from Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey on top of an own goal on April 23.
- This season at home, the Galaxy have gone 1-6-3 while scoring 10 goals in 10 games.
- The Galaxy are 4-1-0 when scoring the first goal this season, and 2-9-2 in matches where they have conceded first.
- Saturday night is First to Five Night at StubHub Center, and the Galaxy will honor members from each of the team’s five MLS Cup-winning sides:
- 2002 – Mauricio Cienfuegos, Danny Califf
- 2005 – Todd Dunivant
- 2011 – Mike Magee
- 2012 – Edson Buddle
- 2014 – Baggio Husidic
Storylines
- How will the Galaxy fare in their first match under Sigi Schmid?
- Can the Galaxy begin the second half of the season with a positive result at home under a new head coach?
- Will a nearly full-strength lineup for the Galaxy show well?
- Can Gyasi Zardes carry confidence from the USMNT into Saturday’s game?
- Can Giovani dos Santos get going at StubHub Center?
- Do the Galaxy now lead MLS in vegans (Husidic, Jones, Schmid)?
Fun Fact of the Day
Did you know that LA Galaxy Communications, Digital and Marketing VP Brendan Hannan is a distant relative of Wayne Newton?
*Source: Teen Vogue
Bob Dylan Lyrics
Come gather 'round StubHub
Wherever you roam
And admit that the soccer
Around you has grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be sweatin’ to the bone
If extratime to you is worth saving
Then you better start runnin' or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
Come (sports)writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the ball’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin' who it is scorin'
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'
- The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan (1964)
