MLS is Back Tournament: How Well Can the Galaxy Do Without Jona Dos Santos?
The LA Galaxy will kick-off their participation in the MLS is Back Tournament today against the Portland Timbers at 7:30PM PDT. Of course due to the currently ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this will be the first time the Los Angelino team see’s the pitch for competitive play in nearly 127 days. Now after such a delay in game play, what can we expect out of the LA Galaxy as they return to the pitch once more this season?
For starters, the MLS is Back Tournament can be seen as a re-start of sorts. As Galaxy midfielder, Sebastian Lletget, said in an LA Time interview leading up to todays game: “It’s kind of a fresh start”. And that of course is both good and bad for the Galaxy. Immediately, the first potential beneficiary of this fresh start can be Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. As the star Mexican player said himself in that same LA Times interview, “It was a rough start”. And indeed it was, even though the league only had the chance of playing two games of their regular season before the world came to a halt. Even still, Chicharito averaged one shot a game across both matches but with this “restart”, he’ll once again have an opportunity to re-introduce himself to fans and foes alike.
The bad part of the restart for the LA Galaxy is that they will be without a key player: Jonathan Dos Santos. Arguably the best player on the team, the younger Dos Santos brother was responsible for managing the Galaxy’s gameplay during games, both recovering on defense and serving up plays for the forwards and midfielders to capitalize on. Surely a service that Chicharito will miss but that the rest of the team will feel as well. With Dos Santos out of the tournament due to injury, the team will now have to rely on Sebastian Lletget and Sacha Kljestan to get things going on the offensive. The ace under Coach Guillermo Barros-Schelotto’s sleeve however may lie with the young Mexican-American midfielder, Julian Araujo. The youngster showed plenty of promise previously and will surely be relied upon once more, especially with the absence of Dos Santos.
The other ace that GBS is holding onto lies in Efrain Alvarez. The young Angelino native may be relied upon more as well with absence of Jona Dos Santos. Other notable absences may force GBS to rely heavily on the two youngsters. Previous to the start of the MLS season, the Galaxy had done away with winger Uriel Antuna, who have the Galaxy great speed on the sides. In his stead, the team brought in US veteran Sacha Kljestan and Aleksandar Katai. The latter was dismissed during the shutdown due to racist remarks made by the players spouse. With these absences, the Galaxy may need to rely on Araujo’s speed on the sides and on Alvarez’ talent in center field.
Today’s match against Portland should serve as a great litmus test to see just how prepared the LA Galaxy is for the, hopefully, forthcoming season. Of course, all eyes will be on the star of the team, Chicharito Hernández but the teams success will really come down to how GBS can cover for Dos Santo’s absence.
