CARSON, Calif. – Just a month after the LA Galaxy lifted their fifth MLS Cup trophy at StubHub Center, the club announced the signing of their newest Designated Player, Liverpool F.C. legend and former England captain Steven Gerrard on Wednesday.
The midfielder brings a sterling resume to StubHub Center that spans 17 seasons and includes 696 appearances and 182 goals to date for Liverpool as well as appearances at three World Cups for England. Gerrard will remain with Liverpool until the end of the 2014-15 English Premier League season before joining LA in mid-July.
The signing of the Liverpool captain ends a pursuit which began a day after the Galaxy’s MLS Cup triumph and a conversation between Head coach Bruce Arena, club president Chris Klein and AEG CEO and President Dan Beckerman. After losing their own icon, Landon Donovan, to retirement at season’s end, the opportunity to bring in a player like Gerrard who is considered by many to be one of the finest midfielders of his generation was a no-brainer for the Galaxy.
“He said it best, ‘it’s a match made in heaven,’” Galaxy president Chris Klein told reporters on Wednesday in a press conference shortly after announcing the signing. “He fits perfectly as a player and a person for what the Galaxy is about and what the team needs.”
Added Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena, “I think that his addition is similar to the addition of David Beckham years ago and Robbie Keane. He’s a very talented player, a great leader and a great professional so he’ll complement our team. How we play exactly, I can’t tell you now, but those are good problems to have and we’ll sort all of that out. Stevie is committed to give 100 percent and hopefully make our team champions again.”
The Galaxy’s actual courtship of the former England skipper was a relatively quick one as both parties had mutual interest before speaking via phone. Despite some initial apprehension about whether a deal could be reached, club president Chris Klein said that during his discussions with Liverpool captain, he could “hear in [Gerrard’s] voice” that the player was ready and willing to make the move stateside.
“The conversation was had and he was very clear that he has enough money to afford a holiday,” Klein said. “He could come to Los Angeles with his family, no problem. That’s not what this is about for him, it was about a new opportunity and playing soccer, playing for the [Galaxy] and playing for Bruce.”
Although foreign signings have long been subject to a learning curve once arriving to MLS, Arena noted that Gerrard will be coming into a “comfortable situation” with the Galaxy as he’ll join his former LFC teammate Robbie Keane in a country that he has visited many times in his career.
But while the Galaxy will undoubtedly put plenty of thought into Gerrard’s transition in July, Arena was quick to state that there is plenty of work to be done preparing the side that the Englishman will greet when he joins in mid-summer.
“We want to position the group of players that we have right now to be successful so that when Stevie arrives, he complements the group that we have and makes us better. There’s a lot of work ahead and my focus is going to be on the group of players that we have from the start. I know that when he comes into our team, we’ll be able to add him and not make a whole lot of changes.
“It’s a nice problem to have and it’s something that I’m looking forward to when he does arrive and I’m quite confident that he’ll be a great addition to our team.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
