Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, April 29, 2011

The desire for revenge

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to avenge their 2010 MLS Western Conference Final loss to FC Dallas on Sunday, May 1 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.

The fact that there will be no David Ferreira may put the Galaxy at a handicap. But don't tell that to the Galaxy, who still believe the Hoops are dangerous.

Still, the urge to get revenge will be fresh on the players' minds on Sunday.

“Of course,” defender Sean Franklin said after training Wednesday, according to LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan. “They beat us on our home field and knocked us out of our chance to go to MLS Cup. But it’s a new season and we’re looking forward to building off our victory from last weekend.

“Stick to that game plan and go in with a tough mentality that we’re going to make it hard for Dallas to beat us.”

It took Franklin about a week to put 2010 in his rear view mirror after their demise in November.

“Once the season was over, the MLS Cup was over,” Franklin said. “It was like, ‘OK, now I can look forward to next year and start off on a good note.’ And so far this year I think we’ve done that.”

"There’s still a bit of a bad taste in our mouths from last season,” goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts said. “They came here and embarrassed us on our home field. This won’t set things straight, but it will be a good three points to get.

What about the revenge factor?

“We wouldn’t gain a thing if we think that way," Ricketts said. "That was last season and that’s gone. This is a new season, new goals, new focus. We are playing some pretty good football, and we have to keep that going.”

“I think ourselves, Dallas and maybe a couple of other teams have separated from the rest of the teams over the last couple of years, and we’re always separated by a couple of points,” said forward Mike Magee. “Who gets first place to fourth place, you’re going to look back at a game like this. If Dallas beats us by two points, you look back at this game as a big one.

“These points can come back to haunt you. To not play your best is extremely disappointing. It definitely is a game you’re going to look back in your career and say you were right there to win MLS Cup and you blew it.”

First...the wedding

As for David Beckham, he has a certain wedding to go to—the one for Prince William and soon to be Princess Kate Middleton.

“I’ll go to the wedding on Friday,” Beckham told Luis Bueno of MLSSoccer.com. “I fly straight out of London on Saturday morning and I arrive [in Dallas] before the team on Saturday.”

The Galaxy manager gave Beckham his blessings.

“Bruce understands and the club understands,” Beckham said. “It’s important. [Arena] knows that I’ll be sacrificing to travel to turn up in Dallas. Bruce said to me if I wanted to not go to the game [that's fine], but it’s important that I’m there. It’s important that the fans see me there, and I’ll do that.”

“The positive is that if anyone can do it, it’s him,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. “He’s traveled the world and done this many times. He understands what it’s about and the only expectation for us is that he, like always, shows up and is ready to train and ready to play and as long as he does that, there’s no issue.”

“I’m used to the travel," Beckham addedd. "It’ll be down to the manager. I’ll speak to the manager, just to see how I feel on the day of the game. I’ll do everything right and do what’s best for the team. If I don’t feel that I’ll be able to play in the game, that’s what matters, to do what’s going to help us win the game.

“Obviously, it’s not ideal with the travel, but it’s a royal wedding, and those don’t come around very often.”

Makes you wonder if the newlyweds will be getting some Galaxy apparel coming their way...

A new combination

The combination of Chad Barrett and Miguel Lopez has been paying dividends for the Galaxy, who are riding a two-game win streak.

As for Juan Pablo Angel, who is seeing limited time off the bench, what does he make of all this?

“I’m fine with it,” Angel told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “It’s going to be a long season, we’re going to have a lot of competitions and this is a marathon, it’s not a sprint.”

“There is a language barrier," said Barrett of the connection. "I don’t speak too much Spanish and he doesn’t speak much English, but we do a great job linking up. He’s kind of the guy who likes to float underneath and I like to stay high, I like to see the balls through. He’s a great asset to this team, is a big part of this team.

“I don’t want to keep anyone on the bench, but I want to keep myself on the field. If I can get on the field and I can keep helping the team win games, that’s all I’m here to do.”

In the early part of the year, Barrett was unable to get his scoring touch going until the sixth game of the season. Afterwards, he plowed himself back into form.

“This is what I needed," Barrett said. "This is the way I wish I would have started the season. The conditions at the start of the season were less than spectacular. It was a beautiful day [on Saturday] for soccer. All the pieces are starting to fall. I’m starting to gel with my teammates which is more important to me right now.”

The former Chicago and Toronto forward knows that JP will be waiting in the wings.

“[Ángel is] a great player. He’s going to find his way back on the field one way or the other," Barrett said. "He had a great play when he came in and if López is hurt and you have Ángel to step in, that’s not a bad thing. Ángel is one of the greats, so playing alongside him, it’s been a learning experience and a pleasure.

“Miguel is younger, faster and his feet are quick, probably like Juan used to be back in the day. But Juan’s got that technical ability in front of the goal that can’t be matched. It’s kind of like [Cuauhtémoc] Blanco. I was so surprised by how slow he was, but he always created space, he always did great things, and that’s the way Juan is.”

More of The A.J. and Omar Show

With Leonardo out for the season, A.J. DeLaGarza will be paired up with Omar Gonzalez for the long haul in the center back position.

“You try to go through the same motions every week, even if you’re not starting,” DeLaGarza told MLSsoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “You’ve got to give your best effort, make yourself better every week, make the team better every week. No matter if you’re starting or the last guy on the bench, you’ve got to be ready to play. I’ve done that this season.”

Of course, it also helps that DeLaGarza and Gonzalez have had that connection as Maryland Terrapins under Sasho Cirovski.

“There is a comfort level there,” DeLaGarza said. “At the beginning of the season, it was me and Leo and we hadn’t really played together since he’s been here. Being next to Omar, there is no language barrier and it makes it a little easier on the both of us.”

DeLaGarza assures that continuity will be at utmost priority for the remainder of the season.

“There’s really no change to it," DeLaGarza said. "I’ve played with him so much, it’s just pretty natural for me and I think it’s pretty natural for him. There’s not really much change to that approach, we’ve just got to keep starting games off strong and finishing them off strong, too.”