LA Galaxy: What about a defender?
The LA Galaxy are being linked to another Argentinian winger, this time Ricardo Centurion. However, it might be time for Guillermo Barros Schelotto to invest some time and resources in his defence.
The Los Angeles Galaxy scored 58 goals last season. Only one team in the Western Conference scored more, and we all know who they are. That should be enough to build a formidable team upon. And yet, they succumbed to a fifth-place finish in the West and did not host a playoff game.
In fact, not only did they slip to a disappointing end to the season, they actually ended the season with a negative goal difference. The New England Revolution are the only other team to qualify for the playoffs with a negative goal difference. It is very difficult to do.
What is even more difficult to do is to score 58 goals and concede more at the other. In fact, the LA Galaxy conceded an average of 1.73 goals per game. David Bingham led MLS in saves. They conceded five goals to Los Angeles FC to knock them out of the playoffs. It is remarkable that they were as good as they are with such defensive numbers.
Put simply, the LA Galaxy were not very good at defending. And this season comes on the heel on one in which they missed the playoffs entirely despite scoring 66 goals. That year, only four teams conceded more goals. All of them missed the playoffs. So, given these basic facts, it is quite clear what the LA Galaxy must do this offseason to push themselves into an establishing MLS elite: invest in the defence.
Yet, at present, per reports, that is not what is happening. While ridding of Zlatan Ibrahimovic opens up both a designated player slot and a large portion of the wage budget, the rumours that have circled through the media thus far have centred on attacking players. Cristian Pavon has been signed on a permanent basis, though criticising that deal is a little foolish, while Edinson Cavani is viewed as a direct replacement for his former teammate and Argentinian winger, Ricardo Centurion, has also been mentioned as a possible transfer target.
In a vacuum, these are not ill-advised deals. Zlatan has set goalscoring records since his arrival 18 months ago and will need replacing sufficiently, while Pavon was a critical piece of the attacking jigsaw in the latter months of last season. However, if the LA Galaxy are to really improve, focusing on their offensive options is not where the greatest amount of growth will come.
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At present, the Galaxy have only five defenders on their roster:
- Julian Araujo
- Rolf Feltscher
- Giancarlo Gonzalez
- Jorgen Skjelvik
- Diedie Traore
Whichever way you look at it, not only is this an uninspiring group of defenders, it is a thin one, meaning that both the top-end quality and the depth of the position is problematic.
This also comes in the aftermath of Diego Polenta’s announcement that he would not return to the Galaxy in 2020. The Uruguayan led the backline admirably last season. He was arguably the LA Galaxy’s best defender. The Galaxy only had three defenders play more than 2000 minutes last season (equivalent to two-third of the MLS season), and two, Polenta and Daniel Steres, have now left.
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The LA Galaxy may want to sign the big name. They always do. But if they really want to push for another MLS Cup, they might want to spend some time on their defence first. A good football team is built from the back. The Galaxy are building the house before the foundations, and we all know how that ends.