Los Angeles Galaxy Protect Players Ahead of Expansion Draft

In anticipation of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, the Los Angeles Galaxy announced their players on their protected list. The players are as follows:

David Beckham – Midfielder (International Player)

Chris Birchall – Midfielder (International Player)

Edson Buddle – Forward

A.J. DeLaGarza – Defender

Landon Donovan – Forward

Todd Dunivant – Defender

Sean Franklin – Defender

Omar Gonzalez – Defender

Juninho – Midfielder (International Player)

Donovan Ricketts – Goalkeeper (International Player)

Michael Stephens – Midfielder

As a member of Generation Adidas, forward Tristan Bowen was automatically protected. Bowen did not graduate from the program and will be classified as a Generation Adidas player for the 2011 season.

The Galaxy's unprotected players are:

Gregg Berhalter – Defender

Alex Cazumba – Midfielder (International Player)

Bryan Jordan – Forward

Jovan Kirovski – Midfielder

Chris Klein – Midfielder

Dema Kovalenko – Midfielder

Leonardo – Defender (International Player)

Eddie Lewis – Midfielder

Mike Magee – Forward

Yohance Marshall – Defender (International Player)

Brian Perk – Goalkeeper

Josh Saunders – Goalkeeper

The Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps will be the 17th and 18th clubs to join Major League Soccer when they begin play in 2011. Both expansion clubs will select 10 players from the list of unprotected players supplied by the other 16 MLS clubs, though no current team can lose more than two players in the Expansion Draft. The draft will be held via conference call on Wednesday, November 24 at 11 a.m. (PT), with the call being streamed live on MLSsoccer.com.

Each of the 16 teams that competed in MLS during the 2010 season were allowed to protect 11 players, as well as any Generation adidas or Home Grown players, leaving all others unprotected. Additionally, per the rules of the Expansion Draft, the Galaxy had to protect a minimum of three of the seven international players on their roster. The club elected to protect four of their internationals, meaning that three of the club’s 12 unprotected players are categorized as internationals.

Once the draft begins, a team that has a player selected by either the Timbers or Whitecaps can then move one player from their unprotected list to their protected list. If a second player is then selected from that club, the rest of their unprotected players will become protected, ending their involvement in the Expansion Draft.

INS & OUTS

These are the unprotected players for the MLS Expansion Draft from the other 15 teams that competed this past season:

Chivas USA

Borja, Carlos

Bornstein, Jonathan

Chijundu, Chukwudi

Espinoza, Rodolfo

Galindo, Maykel

Gordon, Alan

Kennedy, Dan

Lillington, Eduardo

Maldonado, Giancarlo

Mayen, Gerson

Padilla, Jesus

Romero, Osael

Saragosa, Marcelo

Trujillo, Mariano

Zotinca, Alex

Chicago Fire

Castillo, Nery

Dykstra, Andrew

John, Collins

Krol, Krzysztof

Ljungberg, Freddie

Lowry, Peter

Robinson, Dasan

Thorrington, John

Umanzor, Deris

Colorado Rapids

Akpan, Andre

Amarikwa, Quincy

Ceus, Steward

Joyce, Ian

LaBauex, Ross

Lopez, Claudio

O'Brien, Ciaran

Palguta, Scott

Schunk, Ross

Thompson, Wells

Vagenas, Peter

Wallace, Anthony

Columbus Crew

Brunner, Eric

Burns, Kevin

Garey, Jason

Griffit, Leandre

Gruenebaum, Andy

Hejduk, Frankie

Moffat, Adam

Oughton, Duncan

Padula, Gino

Schelotto, Guillermo Barros

Williams, Joshua

FC Dallas

Avila, Eric

Cunningham, Jeff

Davies, Kyle

Edward, Edson

Guarda, Bruno

Harris, Atiba

Hernandez, Daniel

McCarty, Dax

Rodriguez, Milton

Sala, Dario

Yeisley, Jason

D.C. United

Allsopp, Daniel

Barklage, Brandon

Cristman, Adam

Graye, Jordan

Hernandez, Pablo

McTavish, Devon

Morsink, Kurt

Pena, Juan

Perkins, Troy

Rice, Barry

Varela, Carlos

Houston Dynamo

Appiah, Samuel

Ashe, Corey

Cochrane, Ryan

Mulrooney, Richard

Ngwenya, Joseph

Obodai, Anthony

Oduro, Dominic

Onstad, Pat

Robinson, Eddie

Sporting Kansas City

Aiyegbusi, Korede

Beasley, Jamar

Chhetri, Sunil

Conrad, Jimmy

Diop, Birahim

Hercegfalvi, Zoltan

Hohlbein, Aaron

Kounenakis, Nick

Kronberg, Eric

Leathers, Jonathan

Myers, Chance

Thomas, Shavar

Wolff, Josh

New England Revolution

Boggs, Zak

Burpo, Preston

Colaluca, Nico

Dube, Kheli

Gibbs, Cory

Griffiths, Jason

Linck, Roberto

Murray, Tim

Phelan, Pat

Sinovic, Seth

Smith, Khano

Stolica, Ilija

New York Red Bulls

Angel, Juan Pablo

Boyens, Andrew

Chinn, Conor

da Luz, Austin

Garcia, Irving

Nielsen, Brian

Robinson, Carl

Salou, Ibrahim

Sassano, Luke

Sutton, Greg

Talley, Carey

Ubiparipovic, Sinisa

Philadelphia Union

Arrieta, Cristian

Coudet, E.

Fred

Jacobson, Andrew

Knighton, Brad

Miglioranzi, Stefani

Moreno, Alejandro

Noone, Joseph

Salinas, Shea

Seitz, Chris

Zimmerman, Nick

Real Salt Lake

Alexandre, Jean

Campos, Pablo

Findley, Robbie

Gonzalez, Nelson

Grabavoy, Ned

Horst, David

McKenzie, Rauwshan

Melia, Timothy

Nimo, Alex

Reynish, Kyle

Russell, Robbie

Schuler, Chris

Warner, Collen

Williams, Andy 

San Jose Earthquakes

Alvarez, Arturo

Beitashour, Steve

Burling, Bobby

Cannon, Joe

Corrales, Ramiro

Eduado

Geovanni

Glen, Cornell

Leitch, Chris

Andre Luiz

Morrow, Justin

Ring, Brad

Ward, Tim 

Seattle Sounders FC

Baudet, Julien

Boss, Terry

Earls, Danny

Estrada, David

Gonzalez, L.

Graham, Taylor

Ianni, Patrick

Levesque, Roger

Marshall, Tyrone

Montano, Miguel

Nkufo, Blaise

Noonan, Pat

Nyassi, Sanna

Scott, Zacharias

Seamon, Michael

Sturgis, Nathan

Wahl, Tyson 

Toronto FC

Barrett, Chad

de Guzman, Julian

Gala, Gabe

Garcia, Nick

Hscanovics, Raivis

Ibrahim, Fuad

Kocic, Milos

Martinez, Miguel Angel Ferrer

Nane, Joseph

Sanyang, Amadou

Saric, Martin

Usanov, Maxim

White, O'Brian

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy were in action on Saturday for their only match in November, against the California Development Academy.

Both the Under-16s and the Under-18s won by the score of 3-1.

Scoring for the Under-16s were John McBean in the 22nd minute, Drew Murphy in the 49th minute and Justin Dhillon in the 80th minute.

In the Under-18s contest, Neil Ignacio opened the scoring in the 39th minute. Eric Verso made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute, and Riley Wolfe put the game out of reach in the 45th minute.

Up next will be a series of matches at the Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Ariz. The Galaxy Youth Academy will face the Andromeda Academy on Dec. 4, South Carolina United FC on Dec. 6 and Birmingham United on Dec. 7.

Kickoff for the Under-16s against Andromeda is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. PT, while the Under-18s get underway at 9:00 a.m. PT. Both matches are at Field 3.

Kickoff for the Under-16s against South Carolina United is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. PT, while the Under-18s' kickoff time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT. Both matches are at Field 5.

Kickoff for the Under-16s against Birmingham United will take place at Field 14, while the Under-18s kickoff at Field 13. Both matches will begin at 9:00 a.m. PT.

So long Wizards...hello Sporting Kansas City!?

There is a new team in town...a rebranded one that is. The Kansas City Wizards are now...Sporting Kansas City. Rugby and lacrosse teams under construction.

“This continues the forward-thinking and innovation started by Mr. (former Chiefs owner Lamar) Hunt,” said Heineman, who spoke during a rally at the Power & Light District on Nov. 18.

“Keeping the status quo, quite honestly, was never going to be an option,” Heineman said. “This is all about a new start. It’s a new name, a new stadium, a new time.

“This, to us, is not European whatsoever. This is all about our connection to the community and us trying to be innovative in what we’re trying to do.

“(It’s not) a ripoff. That’s the furthest thing from the truth…we’re not just calling ourselves Real Salt Lake or F.C. Dallas. We’re going to go do and embody the name we’re giving (ourselves). That’s not to say it won’t fail. But I don’t feel it’s going to.

“There’s nothing innovative about the Kansas City Wizards name to me. It’s a name that already exists. It’s a name that doesn’t necessarily connect to any of the things we want to do with the brand going forward. Our convictions are pretty high, we’re committed to it and we’re going to invest and spend against it.  From there, we’ll let the chips fall where they may.”

Who are you fooling, you guys? You will always be the Wizards to the View from Victoria Street.