i guess this is 2 part question Who Replaces LD? No One .... no big signing .. just bring someone up from losdos And who will replace him on the DP slot? Zardes
For me Landon is to the US Soccer as Beckham was to the game globally (though Landon is indisputably the best American player ever). I consider both to be once in a generation phenomenons the likes of which we won’t see for many years to come and maybe never in a Galaxy kit. That we had one of those players let alone two playing together is remarkable.
Iniesta, Xavi, Snejider are all the type of player we need. Combination of name player with creative ability. That should be the search criteria.
Yep, although none of those 3 have the name recognition of Donovan in the US. The problem is that the list of players who are 1. As good or better than Donovan at their current level of play (i.e. not past their prime) and 2. Have high US marketability and 3. Willing/interested in coming to MLS and 4. Have a transfer fee within the realm of possibility …. is really short. As in, maybe none...
For the record, Iniesta is one of my favorite foreign players of all time…. but I don't know if he'd move the needle here in LA or not… I also don't know if he's the type of player who could handle the fast/physical MLS style of play….
It will be another 15 years before we replace Donovan. But if we want someone who will be lethal from the left, move the needle fan wise, etc etc... I wouldn't be against Guardado. Nothing would make me happier than starting to pluck El Tri players and giving them careers here in the U.S.*** ***(the "Red Bull Clause" aka "no amount of effort will ever make this team a real contender" is in full effect here)
I agree the Guardado would be a good fit for the wing/forward position and it looks like he might be available since Valencia loaned him out last January to Beyer LeverKusen and he is back with Valencia now. He has 2 years left on his contract and may be available for 5 - 8 million, possibly less. The question would be would he want to come?
Suggestion of mexicans players , why bother ? mexicans players laugh at the notion of playing in mls ..
We are the team that made it ok for high-level USMNT team players to play in MLS. We are the team who created the Beckham rule. We can sorta do whatever the hell we want.
It's gotta be a splash guy, doesn't it? A. Your attendance is down. B. The DP slots in LA are some of the definite slots that the league can use to attract splash-level players. I wouldn't count out a transfer fee player.
Iniesta plays just fine internationally and in the Champion's League. He'd be fine in MLS. But yeah, the problem is that Donovan had a profile you're not going to match---he loomed large over US soccer. But there's guys with some name recognition and a lot of skill that would do a decent job of filling the spot. You're honestly going to have to wait for the perfect player--they don't come along all the time, so someone in that mold is going to be the best for a while.
I’m not sure the days of “moving the needle” with a famous signing aren’t numbered and perhaps already over. There’s the fact there are no Donovan or Beckham-esque players out there. Then you look at the “big” name signings of the last 12 months. I’m not sure Dempsey’s arrival at Seattle had a noticeable impact on their attendance – it’s up, but not dramatically and it doesn’t appear to be a noticeable spike over their growth rate. Toronto is up, but how much of that is the allure specifically of Bradley/Defoe and home much of it is simply the organization showing signs of competence.
I think Iniesta would be pretty huge. Off the top of my head I can think of a handful of close friends that turns their noses up at MLS but would go to SHC a handful of times a season to watch Iniesta, no doubt (though that's hardly empirical).