It's Round and It's White
Introducing the Houston Dynamo and L.A. Galaxy in our fourth weekly intro to the MLS Teams
Houston Dynamo
Joined: 2006
Ground: BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX
Head Coach: Dominic Kinnear
The Houston Dynamo joined the MLS for their tenth season outing after a 2 year hiatus forced the players and staff of the San Jose Earthquakes to move to Houston. With players such as Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario, the Dynamo romped to a first league title in their debut season, and the season after. Since then it’s been up and down for the Dynamo, with no real consistency in finding the play-offs. The 2010 saw many players departures, which were unsuccessful, but began to bare fruit last season when the Dynamo reached the play-offs again. This season, Houston moved to a new stadium – the BBVA Compass, and are set to bring play-off action to it in its’ debut season, barring any last minute slip-ups
The Captain: Brad Davis – chosen in the 2002 SuperDraft by the MetroStars (NY Red Bulls), Brad has enjoyed a good career in the MLS with Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes, but came into his own after joining the Dynamo in 2006. He won the MLS cup in his first 2 seasons with the Dynamo and became captain after Brian Ching’s month-long departure to Montreal at the end of the 2011 season
National Treasure: Brian Ching – with 45 caps for the US National Team, Brian is highly regarded in his homeland as a striker with a good record. He initially joined Houston in 2006 along with the majority of his other San Jose teammates following relocation. Brian has won 3 MLS cups and is sure to go down as a classic MLS player
Second Spell: Ricardo Clark – a popular choice with previous National Coach Bob Bradley, Ricardo’s career stalled after joining Eintracht Frankfurt in 2010. Despite playing only 15 games in 2 years, it was seen as enough to merit inclusion in the national team. Following Geoff Cameron’s departure to Stoke in the last transfer window, Ricardo was able to return to the Dynamo where he was previously 3 shy of 100 appearances, as a second designated player
Los Angeles Galaxy
Joined: 1996
Ground: The Home Depot Center, Carson, CA
Head Coach: Bruce Arena
The Galaxy have been in the MLS from the start, and are the second most decorated club after D.C. United. LA are the current MLS holders, and perhaps the most famous MLS club worldwide thanks to the likes of David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan. The Galaxy have always been successful, with one club man Cobi Jones helping them to 5 Western Conference wins between 1996 and 2001, before winning their first MLS Cup in 2002. To cap off their first decade, LA brought Landon Donovan to the club, who helped them to the 2005 Open Cup and their second MLS Cup. In 2007, David Beckham joined from Real Madrid, which has made them favourites for the league title mot years since – a signing that brought with it the designated player rule. However, Beckham was unable to help Galaxy to an MLS Cup until last year, having fell at the final hurdle in 2009 to Real Salt Lake. This season, the Galaxy are already qualified for the play-off bye round
The Captain: Landon Donovan – A national hero as the all time USA leader in goals and assists and the most caps (144) of active players, Donovan needs no introduction to fans of the MLS and even world football. He began his career with Leverkusen, spending the majority of it on loan at San Jose. In 2005 he switched to California rivals LA Galaxy where he has spent the rest of his career, notching nearly 100 goals. His trophy cabinet includes 3 Gold Cups, and a Confederations Cup runner up medal for his country, with 4 MLS Cups, 1 Open Cup, 7 Honda Player of the year awards, MLS All Time Best XI spot, 5 MLS Best XI awards, and an MLS Soccer MVP award. Fans in England will also remember him from 2 fantastic loan spells with Everton in the MLS off season
Football Megastar: David Beckham – It’s unlikely that anyone on this planet doesn’t know who the former England captain is, a player who has now spent 5 years in the MLS. Beckham boasts 6 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups, 1 Champion’s League, 1 La Liga and 1 MLS Cup, as well as numerous individual awards including UEFA Club Footballer of the year. A set piece specialist, a pass master and football’s first megastar, Beckham was the first ever designated player in the MLS, a new ruling which allowed him to make the switch from Real Madrid where he had fell out of favour with Fabio Capello. His contract allows him to own an MLS franchise at the end of his playing career – a clause which is set to make him a true MLS icon, if he isn’t already
International Superstar: Robbie Keane – the Irish captain needs no introduction in England, where he spent the majority of his career at Tottenham Hotspur, as well as spells at Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan in Italy, Leeds, Liverpool and West Ham. The Galaxy secured his signature in summer 2011, and Keane helped fire them to their first MLS cup in 6 years when they won the 2011 title. Keane became Ireland’s all time top scorer in 2004, a record that could take some beating given that he is yet to retire from the international stage
