Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Madrid: A Play-By-Play and Other Miscellany

T-180: Well, the fans will be a bit disappointed because Kaka won't be starting today against the Los Angeles Galaxy for the Real Madrid Club de Futbol.

That's cause Kaka will be sidelined for up to four months due to knee surgery. At least the faithful will get a first-hand look at Rafael Van Der Vaart.

T-170: Still, unless Los Blancos decide to gift this game and Mr. Jose Mourinho calls back the hounds of the Bernabeu, this will be a match centered more on the visitors and not so much on the struggling Los Angeles Galaxy, who—in spite of exiting the CONCACAF Champions League on a winning note in Bayamon—have exhibited poor form with one win their last four outings.

T-160: You can bet that the masses who come down for this game will support both sides on Saturday. A large number of Galaxy supporters follow Real Madrid, and for that special group of aficionados, there will be no losers among them.

T-150: Not for this pundit. I look for Real to give Bruce Arena's Galaxy a long-deserved kick in the family jewels to get their season up and going again. No Open Cup. No Champions League. Just the Shield and the Anschutz. But first, there's the matter of this little Pasadena friendly sponsored by a casino owned by the Pechanga band of Native Americans in Temecula.

T-140: Ironically, my parents love going to this casino. Every few weeks, when they get something in the mail to "break away to endless possibilities" (at least until the one-armed bandits call it a night), they take the trip down the I-10 and I-15 to Pechanga Resort and Casino.

T-130: I suppose the earlier spot, which involved Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine" looked too snobbish, and they replaced it with Boston's "More Than A Feeling." I kinda feel bad for Tom Scholz. With the demise of Brad Delp many months ago, it really took its toll on the MIT grad, vegetarian and multi-talented musician that IS Boston.

Here's to you, Tom Scholz. Although to be honest, that song is played in its own right as well.

T-120: Two hours to kickoff at the Grandaddy Of Them All between the Galaxy and Real Madrid. This match will also mark the last involving Clint Mathis, who will retire from the game of soccer.

He's had a storied career, but it seems that his time is up. The View from Victoria Street and Bleacher Report salutes Mr. Mathis and wishes him well on his future endeavors.

(Psst, Mr. Mathis, a hint: try your hand at coaching if you haven't yet.)

T-110: Time for a little history lesson on this facility. The Rose Bowl is an outdoor American Football stadium in Pasadena, California, near Los Angeles. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-10 Conference. It hosted events during the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, and was the venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.

T-105: The natural grass playing field runs in a north–south configuration and sits at an elevation of 825 feet (251 m) above sea level. The stadium is a National Historic Landmark.

The stadium was designed by architect Myron Hunt in 1921. His design was influenced by the Yale Bowl (New Haven, Connecticut, built 1914). The Arroyo Seco dry riverbed was selected as the location for the stadium. The Rose Bowl was under construction from 1921 to 1922.

T-100: Originally built as a horseshoe, the stadium was expanded several times over the years. The southern stands were completed in 1928, making the stadium a complete bowl.

The name of the stadium was alternatively "Tournament of Roses Stadium" or "Tournament of Roses Bowl", until being settled as "Rose Bowl" before the 1923 Rose Bowl game.[8]

The stadium seating has been reconfigured several times since its original construction in 1922. The South end was filled in to complete the bowl and more seats have been added. The original wooden benches were replaced by aluminum benches in 1969. For many years, the Rose Bowl had the largest American Football stadium capacity in the United States, eventually being surpassed by Michigan Stadium in 1998.

T-95: The maximum stated seating capacity was 60,594 from 1972 to 1997. Capacity was lowered following the 1998 Rose Bowl when benches were replaced with individual seats except in the end-zones. Slightly different figures are given for the current capacity, for the lower level seats behind the team benches are not used for some events since the spectators can not see through the standing players or others on the field. UCLA reports the capacity at 91,136. The Tournament of Roses reports the capacity at 92,542. The 2006 Rose Bowl game, which was also the BCS championship game, had a crowd of 93,986. As of 2008, the Rose Bowl is number eight on the List of American football stadiums by capacity, and is still the largest stadium that hosts post-season bowl games.

In 1999, Sports Illustrated listed the Rose Bowl Stadium at number 20 in the Top 20 Venues of the Twentieth Century. In 2007, Sports Illustrated named the Rose Bowl Stadium the number one venue in college sports.

T-90: Some more tidbits to run you through as we are an hour and a half away from kickoff. As you know, the Rose Bowl stadium was the home ground for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer from the team's inception in 1996 until it moved into the soccer-specific Home Depot Center in 2003; the venue additionally hosted the 1998 MLS Cup. They occasionally still play games there, against marquee opponents such as the team this Play-By-Play will cover, Real Madrid. The Mexican national soccer team, which has a large following in Los Angeles, has hosted several friendly matches at the Rose Bowl. On March 3, 2010, Mexico hosted New Zealand in a tune-up match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and had a crowd of 90,500.

The Rose Bowl is one of two stadiums to have hosted the FIFA World Cup finals for both men and women. The Rose Bowl hosted the men's final in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the women's final in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The only other stadium with this honor is the Råsunda Stadium near Stockholm, Sweden, which hosted the men's final in 1958 and the women's final in 1995. Both Rose Bowl finals were scoreless after extra time and decided on penalty shootouts; Brazil defeating Italy in the 1994 men's final, and the United States defeating China in the 1999 women's tournament.

The 1999 women's final was the most-attended women's sports event in history, with an official attendance of 90,185.

The Rose Bowl is one of 21 venues that could host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup if it is awarded to the United States. I would love to see this host the final again.

T-85: Lineups, then.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY (USA)
League: Major League Soccer
Manager: Bruce Arena
Formation: 4-2-1-3
Colors: Dark blue tops, dark blue shorts, dark blue socks


1 Donovan Ricketts

28 Sean Franklin ---- 4 Omar Gonzalez ---- 16 Gregg Berhalter ---- 2 Todd Dunivant

11 Chris Birchall

26 Michael Stephens ---- 10 Landon Donovan

19 Juninho

14 Edson Buddle ---- 84 Clint Mathis (C)

Substitutes:

24 Brian Perk GK
12 Josh Saunders GK
20 A.J. De La Garza DEF
88 Alex Cazumba DEF
22 Leonardo DEF
7 Chris Klein MID
8 Dema Kovalenko MID
6 Eddie Lewis MID
17 Tristan Bowen FWD
27 Bryan Jordan FWD
9 Jovan Kirovski FWD
18 Mike Magee FWD


REAL MADRID C.F. (ESP)
League: La Liga/Liga BBVA
Manager: Jose Mourinho
Formation:
Colors: White tops with black accents, white shorts, white socks

25 Jerzy Dudek

4 Sergio Ramos (C) ----  18 Raul Arbiol ---- 19 Ezequiel Garay ---- 15 Royston Ricky Drenthe

10 Lassana Diarra ---- 11 Esteban Granero ---- 22 Angel Di Maria ---- 6 Mahamadou Diarra

9 Karim Benzema ---- 23 Rafael van der Vaart

Substitutes:

1 Iker Casillas GK
13 Antonio Adan GK
3 Pepe DEF
12 Marcelo DEF
27 Nacho Fernandez DEF
28 Alex Fernandez DEF
5 Francisco Gago MID
14 Xabi Alonso MID
7 Cristiano Ronaldo FWD
26 Marcos Tebar FWD
20 Gonzalo Higuain FWD
29 Alvaro Morata FWD
30 Juanfran Moreno FWD


T-80: In other MLS action, the Philadelphia Union fell to the Columbus Crew 2-1, Toronto FC defeated Chivas USA 2-1, New England is leading D.C. United 1-0 and the Kansas City Wizards are locked in a scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake.

In club friendly action F.C. Dallas drew 2-2 with Inter Milan and in SuperLiga play, New England Revolution downed Puebla 5-3 while Monarcas Morelia shut out the Houston Dynamo 1-0.

T-75: We are 75 minutes to kickoff, and it seems the crown got her rather early. As they should.

T-70: The record of the Galaxy in International Friendly Play (win-loss-draw) before this match...

1996: 0-1-2
1997: 1-1-2
1998: No exhibitions
1999: 3-1-2
2000: 3-1-2
2001: 3-2-1
2002: 7-0-2
2003: 4-2-3
2004: 3-1-2
2005: 2-2-2
2006: 2-3-0
2007: 2-4-0
2008: 3-3-0
2009: 2-2-1
2010: 2-0-1
Overall: 38-23-20

A decent record in international friendlies.

T-60: An hour to kickoff then. It seems the north end of the stadium is full.

T-55: Real Madrid's first three contests in La Liga involve an August 29 road trip to Mallorca, the home opener on September 12 against Osasuna and a September 19 clash at Real Sociedad.

T-50: As for the Galaxy, they will hit the road for a couple of games before heading home on August 28 against the Kansas City Wizards: an August 14 road trip to the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey against Red Bull New York and a August 21 road trip to Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara for the second leg of the 2010 California Clasico.

T-45: Both teams' keepers now take the pitch for final run-throughs, and the roar of the crowd welcomes them. A magnificent moment.

T-40: Another roar for the players from the Galaxy. Magnificent.

T-30: And a standing ovation for the guests from Real Madrid.

T-25: I realize this won't go to full capacity tonight, but it will be a good turnout. Obviously it's more than the average turnout at Victoria Street.

T-15: 15 minutes to kickoff, and the place continues to fill. Yeah, this will not be a full house, but that doesn't mean it won't be loud down here.

T-10: Both teams to the change rooms.

T-0: National anthem by one of the American Idol finalists whose name escaped my head. Well, let's get this show started.

T-5: Alex Prus is our match official today. Linemsmen are Favio Tovar and Ian Anderson. Our fourth official is Ricardo Salazar.

FIRST HALF START: 7:37 P.M. PT

1' - And we're underway in this friendly. Here comes Real. A little bit of an early attack from them. Dangerous chance for Karim Benzema.

2' - Early chance for the Galaxy goes wide. Warning shot. Here is a throw-in for Todd Dunivant.

3' - This is a spirited early stanza from them. Chippy tackle from Sergio Ramos, no card. Play on, says Alex Prus. Backside-kissing to the Bernabeu Boys?

4' - Back come Los Blancos. Donovan Ricketts, the Big Cat from Montego Bay, is there to take it and reset, but here comes Real to spice things up again.

5' - Benzema is offsides. Five minutes into this scoreless affair, and Los Blancos go back on the attack.

6' - This is Sergio Ramos, Real's captain. He will be wise to keep the passing fluid here. Indeed, this minute is a game of keepaway.

7' - Ramos now makes his move. Dunivant with the initial breakup. And here is Raul Arbiol. Madrid on the offensive, but that header by Esteban Granero left much to be desired.

8' - Big chance early for Real.

9' - Here's Madrid again. But Rafael van der Vaart was not going to get to that one. Now it's Mathis himself, and Ricketts resets.

10' - Here's a good pass, and it's a corner for Real. It's Landon time. That's cleared, and it will be a throw-in for Dunivant.

11' - Good attempt, but Real Madrid clears. Jerzy Dudek should have done better on that one, but he is safe for now. Goal kick.

12' - Throw-in for Ramos. Here's Lassana Diarra. The wave rolls through the Rose Bowl.

13' - Good slider from Dunivant. Dudek is forced to elude a risky chance. And this will be a free kick.

14' - Too high from Mathis. In his younger years, he could convert those. Real's counter is countered by the G's. This will be a possession war early. So much for the prediction. I will concede as much.

15' - We are fifteen in, and it's scoreless.

16' - Here comes Real on the offensive, but the backline, in a rarity, holds.

17' - Now Los Blancos try it again. They are chopping wood while knocking on wood, Real Madrid is. Granero is marked.

18' - Ramos switches it up, and here they go. They are winning the possession battle so far. Can they open the proceedings? Angel Di Maria almost does so but it just misses the post.

19' - Another chance is stuffed by the parked blue bus of the G's. Can they get something going here?

20' - Dudek, the Polish international, goes off his line to reset.

21' - Here's Dunivant, throwing it back to the G's defense. Too long for Sean Franklin. Back come Real with he touch. Good sweep.

22' - Benzema is offsides. Ricketts resets, and now some possession is in order.

23' - Here's Real Madrid again, and another touch from Benzema. He wants to open up the proceedings, Karim Benzema does.

24' - Now where was this the past few matches? The Galaxy defense is doing something right tonight.

25' - The wave rolling through the Rose Bowl again. No penalty on that tackle. And a Real player is shaken up.

26' - What is Alex Prus doing? He has to stop play here. Angel Di Maria is hurt. He is hurt.

27' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN 17 Tristan Bowen
OUT 84 Clint Mathis

Landon takes it from here with the band.

28' - 28 minutes in, and it's still scoreless. Excellent anticipation. This performance has been nonexistent the past few matches.

29' - Here's Real on the transition.

30' - Now it's the G's on the counter. Tristan Bowen was not going to get to that ball.

31' - Di Maria is fine. Ahh, the power of spray.

32' - Jose empties his bench-er. first teamers-er, bench and first-teamers, and the fans take photos all around. Good handling from Esteban Granero.

33' - 33 minutes in, and it's still scoreless. Oh dear, how did Di Maria blow a chance for redemption? Ayayay.

34' - Speculative volley from Los Blancos. Goal kick Ricketts. How here comes Real on the comeback.

35' - Omar Gonzalez with the clearance. That's not bad.

36' - Oh, if only this backline actually showed up in Carson several days ago...such a waste.

37' - Not sure where Edson Buddle was shooting that too...maybe the next county? 37 in, and we are still scorless.

38' - Now here's a chance from Royston Drenthe, but that didn't amount to much. Donovan misses the far post.

40' - Corner for the Galaxy, and guess who's gonna take it. Yep, Mr. Donovan.

41' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Todd Dunivant
That was a howler from Real inside the penalty box. Berhalter should have done better, but Dunivant is there. Omar Gonzalez deserves an assists on that one, but Dunivant's goal will go down as unassisted.

42' - That has to be disgusting as every expletive you can imagine if your are a Real Madrid supporter.

43' - Seems the first-teamers will be needed here for Real.

44' - You are not seeing things...Los Angeles Galaxy 1, Real Madrid 0. Where's Michael Owen when you need him?

Now here's Tristan Bown, but Ezequiel Garay clears.

45'. Okay. What was that Kung Fu tackle about? Roysten Drenthe should consider going to the Octagon after this is over.

He though he was Royston Gracie with that kick to Juninho. One minute of stoppage time, by the way. It's a penalty, and it's Landon to convert this.

46' - GOAL! Los Angeles Galaxy 10 Landon Donovan
Cool as you like. No stoppage time, that's the half.

HALFTIME

Los Angeles Galaxy 2
Todd Dunivant 41'
Landon Donovan 45' + 1'

Real Madrid 0

Halftime Stats:

Shots
Real Madrid 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 8

Shots on Goal
Real Madrid 3
Los Angeles Galaxy 4

Saves
Real Madrid 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 3

Fouls
Real Madrid 4
Los Angeles Galaxy 4

Corner Kicks
Real Madrid 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 2

Offsides
Real Madrid 2
Los Angeles Galaxy 1

SECOND HALF START: 8:41 P.M. PT

46' - Here comes the second half. We should see some changes here. The fans get their first look at Cristiano Ronaldo.


Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy

IN
18 Mike Magee
12 Josh Saunders
8 Dema Kovalenko

OUT
1 Donovan Ricketts
14 Edson Buddle
11 Chris Birchall.


Substitution Real Madrid

IN
7 Cristiano Ronaldo
1 Iker Casillas
5 Fernando Gago
14 Xabi Alonso
20 Gonzalo Higuain
17 Alvaro Abeola
16 Sergio Canales
3 Pepe
27 Nacho Fernandez
12 Marcelo

OUT
25 Jerzy Dudek
9 Karin Benzema
23 Rafael van der Vaart
22 Angel di Maria
6 Mahamadou Diarra
11 Esteban Granero
10 Lassana Diarra
15 Royston Ricky Drenthe
18 Raul Arbiol
4 Sergio Ramos


48' - 48 minutes into the contest, and it's 2-0 LA.

49' - Now it's Los Blancos on the offensive.

50' - Here's Cristiano Ronaldo with a free kick.

51' - The howls rain down as he sends that high. So much for the hype. Goal kick Josh Saunders.

52' - GOAL! Real Madrid 20 Gonzalo Higuain Assist 7 Cristiano Ronaldo.
And we have ourselves a game. Well done to the great Gonzalo Higuain. This team will be on the comeback trail now.

54' - Blown chance for Higuain to make it 2-2.

56' - Another missed chance.

57' - And this could be a foul, and it is. Free kick for Real Madrid, who have turned it over to their first team/starters.

Yellow card 16 Gregg Berhalter
Los Angeles Galaxy

Clumsy challenge, to say the least.

58' - Off the crossbar. The bad luck of Cristiano Ronaldo continues.

59' - That goal for Higuain was called offsides, to the dismay of the crowd.

60' - Goal kick for Josh Saunders.

61' - 61 minutes into the contest, and it's 2-1 Los Angeles. Great touch from Cristiano Ronaldo.

62' - Misses wide right. And Ronaldo's plight continues. Goal kick.

63' - GOAL! Real Madrid 20 Gonzalo Higuain

Initial clearance from the Galaxy's Omar Gonzales, but they didn't have enough numbers and Higuain converts on the rebound for his brace.

64' - Now this is what I was looking for.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN
9 Jovan Kirovski
20 A.J. de La Garza
7 chris Klein

OUT
10 Landon Donovan
16 Gregg Berhalter
19 Juninho

65' - 65 minutes into the game, and we are all square at two goals apiece.

67' - Back come the Galaxy. Here is Marcelo for Real Madrid. And the wave returns.

68' - Seems tha fans got what they paid for here.

69' - Real Madrid will look to break through the porous defending. This will be a corner. Great punchout from Josh Saunders.

70' - Leonardo with the clearance. Corner misses, and the G's go on the transition. That didn't amount to much. It's a goal kick.

71' - We are less than 20 and stoppage away from sorting this out.

Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN
88 Alex Cazumba
6 Eddie Lewis
OUT
26 Michael Stephens
2 Todd Dunivant

72' - GOAL! Real Madrid 14 Xabi Alonso
Josh Saunders had the initial clearance on Cristiano, but it was Xabi Alonso on the follow-through. 3-2 Real.

73' - Now this was the Real Madrid I was looking to see. I just hope Jose does not become sympathetic and sit on this.

74' - Well, Josh Saunders has been showing poor form behind the net, so this is no surprise, really. Cristiano Ronaldo gets turned.

75' - Substitution Los Angeles Galaxy
IN 27 Bryan Jordan
OUT 4 Omar Gonzalez

76' - Shot goes wide, but it will be a Real Madrid corner. Hot dog, this is what I was talking about. Doesn't amount to much.

77' - We are now 77 minutes into the proceedings, and here's Real Madrid again.

78' - This is Iker Casillas, the starting goalkeeper on the World Cup winning Spanish side. Cool touch from Cristiano Ronaldo. I pity the fool donning the strip of Los Blancos who chooses to sit on this lead.

Higuain should have done better on that shot.

80' - Leonardo with another expert clearance. And that was a suicidal clearance that should have been an own goal against the Galaxy.

81' - Here's Cristiano Ronaldo...with a pass that goes nowhere. Now here comes Los Angeles on the counter. That doesn't amount to much.

82' - Some of the fans have seen enough and are heading to beat postgame traffic.

83' - 83 minutes into the match, and Real Madrid has come back to make it 3-2.

84' - And Cristiano Ronaldo's plight continues. Sigh. Pitiful.

85' - Knuckleheaded move from Chris Klein. 89,134 came out tonight. Not bad.

86' - Now here is Sergio Canales, looking to do some mop-up duty for Los Blancos.

87' - Pedro Leon with the chance, but that goes wide. Is it just me, or have both sides chose to call it a day?

88' - A few minutes away from calling this a wrap, and it's 3-2 Real Madrid.

Substitution Real Madrid
IN 29 Alvaro Morata
OUT 21 Pedro Leon

90' - Four minutes of stoppage time.

90' + 2' - Yet another miss for Cristiano Ronaldo. Boy, he has struggled. I have no doubt six goals—at the minimum—would have been scored tonight.

Substitution Real Madrid
IN 28 Alex Fernandez
OUT 16 Sergio Canales

90' + 4' - Another solid grab from Josh Saunders, and Iker Casillas grabs the last chance for the G's. That's a wrap.

FINAL

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2
Todd Dunivant 41'
Landon Donovan 45' + 1'

REAL MADRID 3
Gonzalo Higuain 53', 63'
Xabi Alonso 72'

So it's back to league action for Los Galacticos, then. In the meantime, stay tuned for my take on this match on The View and on Bleacher Report.