A.J. DeLaGarza in contention for right back spot on LA Galaxy XI
Aug 11, 2013; Frisco, TX, USA; FC Dallas forward Fabian Castillo (11) shoots on goal while defended by Los Angeles Galaxy defender A.J. DeLaGarza (20) during the second half at FC Dallas Stadium. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Defender A.J. DeLaGarza has been penciled in to start at right back for Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy, but he will be in a dogfight with three other players: veterans Dan Gargan and James Riley, and former Los Angeles Blues back Matt Hall.
131 league starts in five seasons for DeLaGarza is a strong enough case to win the job, but will it be enough?
“We’ll see what happens,” said DeLaGarza tol MLSSoccer.com’s Scott French. “Nothing’s given yet, not a single position. Bruce reiterates that every single day. Everyone out here is fighting for a spot, and we have a lot of right backs out here. Five guys can play that position. I think between the five of us, someone’s got to step up and win it.”
“Every day is a challenge because you have to come ready to play,” said Hall. “It’s definitely a position that’s open, it’s something that everyone’s hungry for, and you have to treat every practice like it’s a game and be ready to perform out there at all times.”
“[Dan and Matt] are great guys. I carpool with them into training,” Riley added. “The competition is great. You try to go out and do your bit, do what you can, do it simply, do it consistently – that’s kind of been my motto – and let Bruce make the decision. Make it tough for him.”
A good portion of the battle may be decided when the Galaxy take on FC Shirak of the Armenian Premier League today at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. The match means a lot to one man: former Galaxy striker Alecko Eskandarian, who is now an assistant manager with the New York Cosmos.
“The great thing about Los Angeles is that somehow all of these Armenians migrated to the same part of town which is great for the spirit of community,” Eskandarian told LAGalaxy.com’s Adam Serrano. “I know that the parks in Glendale are always full of people playing soccer. It took the community a little while to follow soccer in the states, but they’ve really taken to MLS.
“The one thing that I can say about the Armenian people is that they are very supportive of their own. In my own experiences, I didn’t go to a single stadium in my career where at some point that an Armenian person that didn’t offer their support.
“[Los Angeles’s Armenian community] was one of the main draws in my decision to head to Southern California to play with Chivas USA and the Galaxy. There’s a huge Armenian community in Southern California and I have a lot of family in the area in places like Glendale. I’ve always strongly identified with my culture so it was very gratifying to play in Los Angeles in front of Armenian people.”
A low-key approach will be made for today’s match, but the intensity will be anything but, as Shirak are a team that one shouldn’t sell short on.
“I did notice that when we had talks about playing them,” Arena said of FC Shirak to LAGalaxy.com’s Larry Morgan. “They’re not a team of no quality. I would imagine they’re going to have some pretty good players and probably will be a difficult team for us to play at this time of year.
“We want to see a few different combinations. All the practice games we’ve played to date we’ve mixed the lineup a little bit. We’ll do the same on Saturday as well.”