CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy held their first outdoor training session of the year on Monday as the squad continued their preseason training at The Home Depot Center. After spending the first week of camp solely on fitness and gym work, the team took to the field this afternoon for their first complete training session of the year.
Photo Gallery: First Outdoor Training Session
The team will be back on the field the rest of the week as they continue their preparations for the 2011 season, which begins in Seattle on Tuesday, March 15. Exactly five weeks before that game, on Tuesday, February 8, the club will play their first preseason game of the year against MLS competition when they take on the Portland Timbers.
TEAM NOTES
BACK ON THE FIELD: For the first time since falling to the Newcastle Jets in The Qantas Challenge on November 27, the LA Galaxy were back on the training field this afternoon at The Home Depot Center. After a week of fitness training and gym workouts, the players were on the training field this afternoon for a two hour session under the watchful eyes of the club’s coaching staff.
The Galaxy will train at The Home Depot Center for most of the preseason, including a friendly against Club Tijuana at Torero Stadium in San Diego on Wednesday, March 2. Tickets for this game, which has been dubbed the “San Diego Clasico” go on sale to the general public, starting at just $25, on Wednesday, February 2 at 10 a.m. They are available by calling the University of San Diego’s JCP Ticket Office at (619) 260-7550 or by visiting www.tickets.com.
The club’s only trip outside of the state of California will be to Arizona, where they will train from February 13-23. While there, the Galaxy will play three preseason games against MLS opposition, facing the Vancouver Whitecaps FC twice and the Colorado Rapids once.
ROSTER AT 28: Following the official addition of Jack McBean to the club’s roster earlier today, the LA Galaxy now have 28 players on their preseason roster. Of those 28, 26 are currently in camp with the club. Only McBean, who made his U.S. Under-17 National Team debut last week in a friendly in Jamaica, and David Beckham are not currently in camp. Juan Pablo Angel, Juninho and Miguel Lopez each arrived for their first day on Monday, with Angel and Lopez taking part in the day’s session. Juninho completed his physical and fitness testing in the morning and will train with the team for the first time on Tuesday.
Beckham is currently training in England with Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League and will return next month, while McBean is in Florida with the U.S. U-17’s. He will join up with the Galaxy for preseason training after the completion of CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Qualifying for the U.S. begins on February 14 when they take on Cuba in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
NEW NUMBERS: A number of Galaxy players will be sporting new numbers this season, including three players who return from the 2010 squad.
Gregg Berhalter, who has worn the #16 since joining the club in 2009, will now wear #3. Additionally, after wearing the #28 shirt for his first three years with the club, Sean Franklin will now wear #5. Jovan Kirovski has also elected to change his number, giving the #9 shirt to Juan Pablo Angel, while taking the #7 shirt, which he wore from 2004-05 as a member of the Galaxy.
In addition to Angel, there are 10 other new faces on the Galaxy squad this season. Here are their numbers…
Chad Barrett #29
Paolo Cardozo #30
Adam Cristman #17
Frankie Hejduk #6
Hector Jimenez #16
Dan Keat #15
Miguel Lopez #25
Jack McBean #32
Dustin McCarty #21
Ryan Thomas #14
