The reason for the season was David Beckham. After roughly a two month stint with Tottenham Hotspur, where he trained with the players but never appeared on the roster, David Beckham was back in Los Angeles today. The former England captain joined Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, and Juan Pablo Angel in preparation for a season which is only 18 days away from kickoff. The Los Angeles Galaxy's fantastic four were all smiles as a media blitz came out to see their first practice since returning from a ten day training stint in Arizona. Preparation are now on for the team's first friendly of the season, a neutral site game in San Diego against Club Tijuana. The LA Galaxy, with a guaranteed spot in this year's CONCACAF Champions League, should be seeing many more Mexican clubs along the way.
Bruce Arena was positive about the team's time in Arizona, said they got some good training in and that it was a good way for the team to bond together. The Galaxy brought in two Argentinean players in the offseason, and Bruce was positive on their adaptation to the team, as well as reminding folk of the way Juninho and Leonardo were able to adapt to MLS and contribute right off the bat. Frankie Hejduk was also praised for his locker room presence, Arena saying that he's been able to be a positive influence on morale. Of course, Juan Pablo Angel was also one of the topics on conversation, and the inevitable question of whether he'll be able to replace Edson Buddle. While Angel is less the long term option Buddle could have been, Angel was still praised as a man who knows how to score goals, and who can make those around him perform better.
After the marathon that was 2010 for Landon Donovan, the Galaxy star was able to take the winter off. Bruce Arena said that of course he wasn't at full fitness when he reported back to camp, but that his fitness has greatly improved over the course of training. David Beckham, of course, spent his winter with Tottenham Hotspur, so he didn't have much of a problem mixing it up with the Galaxy players. He was all smiles for much of practice, wearing a LA Galaxy beanie on his head. He slid to tackle Bryan Jordan during a scrimmage, he lost his footing during a shooting drill. In short, he looked like a soccer player, enjoying the game.