FOUR PLAYERS THE GALAXY SHOULD BE CHASING
Los Angeles Times
Nov 5 2008
CA
If Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena shows up at the Home Depot Center on
Saturday night to watch Chivas USA in its must-win playoff game
against Real Salt Lake, he might want to take along his notebook. Or
his checkbook.
Real Salt Lake has exactly what the woeful Galaxy lacked in 2008 —
a spine.
If Arena could persuade these four players to trade Utah for
California, it would give the Galaxy strength from back to front and
make it a vastly improved team next season:
Goalkeeper: Chris Seitz, 21, is the backup to starter Nick Rimando,
but the former University of Maryland player from San Luis Obispo has
all the tools. He has represented the U.S. at the under-18, under-20
and under-23 levels, was the backup to starter Brad Guzan at the
Beijing Olympics, and, at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, is an imposing
presence in the nets.
Central defender: Jamison Olave, 27, has been a revelation for
Real Salt Lake this season and is a major reason why the team is in
the playoffs. From Medellin, Colombia, Olave has seven years of pro
experience and won a Colombian league championship with Deportivo Cali
in 2005. Physically powerful and with good mobility and positional
sense, Olave has everything the Galaxy needs. Better still, he is
only on loan to Real, making him perhaps more easily available.
Midfielder: Kyle Beckerman, 26, is as underrated a player as there
is in Major League Soccer, given his talents. He has made three
appearances for the U.S. national team, two of them at last year’s
Copa America in Venezuela, but he should have far more caps. The
dreadlocked Beckerman is a feisty competitor with a keen soccer brain,
and is a tireless worker. Originally from Denver, he is in his ninth
MLS season and is the type of hustling, ball-winning midfielder the
Galaxy sorely lacks.
Forward: Yura Movsisyan, 21, has shot to prominence in recent weeks
by scoring back-to-back, 90th-minute goals, the first of which earned
Real Salt Lake its playoff spot in the final regular-season game and
the second of which defeated Chivas USA in the playoff opener. But
the former Pasadena High and Pasadena City College standout is about
more than that. He has size, he has speed, he can play centrally or
out wide, and he has a natural goal-scoring instinct. His Armenian
heritage won’t hurt in the stands either. The Galaxy has not had a
good Armenian player since the days of Harut Karapetyan in the 1990s.
To get any or all of four players, the Galaxy would have to give up
something, and Arena doesn’t really have much to offer. A 12-for-4
trade?
Whatever it takes, the Galaxy has to make major moves, and these four
players would be an excellent start. What do you think?