Galaxy win to remain in hunt

Gavin Glinton scored in the 77th minute to give Los Angeles a 2-1 victory in front of 30,588 fans, the Houston Dynamo's first sellout in team history.

The LA Galaxy are hanging around the playoff hunt and with Beckham coming back this could be very interesting. Does Beckham help the Galaxy, a team on a roll, or do they revert ? The next few weeks will be very interesting.

Also - was the Dynamo's sellout part of the Beckham effect or what this just an energized soccer base in Houston. My beat - Beckham, but hopefully people enjoyed themselves and will come back again.

Copa Minnesota

International soccer star David Beckham is set to visit Minnesota this fall. The Minnesota Thunder announced Tuesday that Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy will play a match at the Metrodome on Oct. 10.

The Galaxy will battle a yet-to-be-named opponent for the "Copa Minnesota" trophy. The Thunder hope to make the Copa Minnesota an annual event.

With Beckham's appearance, the Thunder hope to set a new, single-game record for attendance at a Minnesota soccer match. The Metrodome can hold up to 64,000 for a soccer match.

If you want tickets go to www.copaminnesota.com.

Soccer Fan USA's Take: I guess this gives people in cities other than MLS towns a chance to see Beckham. Overall spreading Soccer around the US. Not a bad thing.

Shevchenko eyes MLS

According to the AP, Chelsea's Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko has revealed how he would like to become part of the growing football revolution in America at some stage of his career.

Shevchenko, who joined the Premiership club for £30million last summer, has failed to reproduce the kind of form which prompted Chelsea to pay AC Milan a record fee. But the 30-year-old, who missed Chelsea's FA Cup final victory over Manchester United on Saturday because of a groin injury, admits to having an ambition to play in the US.

Real Madrid's David Beckham is about to cross the Atlantic to join Los Angeles Galaxy and Shevchenko said: 'I'd like to play there, actually. Soccer is growing in the US and I'd like to be a part of that. I played there last summer against the MLS All-Stars and I saw myself that it's definitely improving.'

I hope many other foreign players starting thinking the same way.

UPDATE:
According to Eurosport.com Andriy Shevchenko says he would like to move to the American MLS league when he leaves Chelsea. Shevchenko's wife Kristen Pazik is American and spent much of her formative years in Washington DC, whose team DC United are among the leading MLS sides.

As a DC United fan I would love to see this happen!

Abel Xavier joins David Beckham

Former Middlesbrough defender Abel Xavier has signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He will be eligible to make his first-team debut once the Secondary MLS Transfer Window opens on June 15.

Xavier will link up with former England captain David Beckham, who is due to move to the Galaxy from Real Madrid at the end of the current Spanish season.

The 34-year-old former Liverpool and Everton player joins on a free transfer after he was released by Premiership club Middlesbrough last week.

Abel Xavier career stats:

Senior clubs
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1990-1993 1993-1995 1995-1996 1996-1998 1998-1999 1999-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005 2006-2007 2007	Estrela Amadora Benfica Bari Real Oviedo PSV Everton Liverpool Galatasaray Hannover 96 Roma Middlesbrough Middlesbrough LA Galaxy	85 (5) 45 (4) 08 (0) 58 (0) 19 (2) 43 (0) 14 (1) 11 (0) 05 (0) 03 (0) 04 (0) 14 (1)
National team
1993-2002	Portugal	20 (2)

Landon Donovan Interview (with ESPN)

ESPNsoccernet recently interview Landon Donovan. It interesting that now he is focused after a terrible world cup. It's a little to late in my book. Here's what he had to say:

Following a disappointing World Cup performance, Landon Donovan has grown up both mentally and physically in the last six months. The Galaxy star married longtime girlfriend Bianca Kajlich earlier this year and has been appointed captain of both club and country.

ESPNsoccernet: How does it feel to be captain of the U.S. men's national team and the Galaxy?

Landon Donovan: How does it feel? It feels great -- when you get asked about it, it's pretty cool because I think most kids growing up would be ecstatic to say I'm a professional athlete. But to say you are the captain of your national team and club team, that's awesome.

ESPNsoccernet: Do you motivate the two teams in different ways? Are you laid-back or do you give a speech in the Galaxy or national team locker rooms?

LD: That's a good question. I don't ever get up and give speeches. I don't like to be that guy. If I feel it is necessary I will -- if I look around and guys are ready, then you don't need to say anything. I try to be honest -- it's nice to pretend everything is great all the time, but sometimes you need to say it's not good enough and we need to be better. Other times just a little encouragement to a certain player helps.

I have a feeling that I have respect from everybody [on the national team and Galaxy] and so that gives me freedom to say what I want. In the past I didn't always feel that way.

ESPNsoccernet: As a captain, do you prepare for games differently?

LD: I definitely do. My first five to six years in the league and playing with the national team, you kind of wake up and do what you got to do. Now I'm a lot more focused on how you make sure you are prepared and that starts even the night before the game. From what I'm eating, how I'm training, getting my body ready -- I've found that it makes a big difference.

ESPNsoccernet: You talked about your diet; can you be specific about what you are eating that makes you feel better?

LD: I want to say I didn't eat OK [in the past]. Bianca [my wife] eats a lot of good, clean foods, and it's helped me too, because it's around the house. She makes dinner, or we order and it's cleaner, healthier and it's more vegetables, more fruits and not a lot of dressings and sauces or extra fat that you don't need. I eat pretty much everything, but I eat it the right way. If I eat steak, I don't have tons of blue cheese, sauce and teriyaki on it. It's the same with any fish or meat that I eat.

ESPNsoccernet: How is life as a married man?

LD: It's great man. It is a different status but nothing has really changed. We lived together for almost two years before we got married. From our standpoint, it's not a whole lot different, but it's fun to say, "my wife." It's been fun for me, and it's probably all mental. I feel like I've grown up a little bit more. In my mind maybe I'm a little bit more responsible than I was before I got married.

ESPNsoccernet: With Bob Bradley as head coach, there is an influx of new and younger talent. How do you inspire the new guys on the team?

LD: I think the biggest issue facing the kids coming in now is they do not know how to be professionals. And that's because if you are a Benny Feilhaber at 20 years old, Michael Bradley at 18 -- whether you act like a professional or not, when you step on the field against other guys where it really means something, they are professionals and they are going to kick your ass if you are not ready to play.

Also I think there needs to be an understanding sometimes that [while] it is an honor to play for your national team, you don't get to just come in and feel like you got a cap. You have a responsibility; this team is used to winning and whether you are Bradley or Claudio [Reyna], you have to be on the field to win the game. That I think we'll get better at, but that's usually my advice to most of the young guys.

ESPNsoccernet: You've mentioned in the past that you are more locked into games. Describe what you mean by that.

LD: I'm just more focused in everything I do in games than I've ever been. Honestly almost the day I got back from the World Cup, I've felt that change. Every game I've been tuned in and focused. I've been in every game mentally, and for me that's rewarding, because I've always struggled with that.

ESPNsoccernet: The World Cup was months ago, but it seems like you took something away from it. What did you learn from your experience in Germany?

LD: It obviously was negative for all of us involved. But if you let that negativity define you, then you not only have a disappointing World Cup, you also have a disappointing rest of the year, the following year and maybe your career. If you learn from it, then you can take some positives.

I learned that I was not ready to play in two of those games [against Czech Republic and Ghana]. The Italy game I was ready to play and I think it showed, but the other two games I was not mentally ready. Guess what? In that stage you only get three shots at it. If two out of the three are not good, it's not good enough. We're not at a point like a Brazil where we can have an off day and still beat someone. That's what I learned, and given the chance to get there again, it will be a lot better.

ESPNsoccernet: What would have gotten you mentally prepared? Was there pressure to perform?

LD: I don't know, I never really thought about what the reasoning was. You have to remember in this country our soccer team has never played with that kind of pressure to perform especially in the World Cup. So maybe we were not ready mentally to carry that, because the casual sports fan watching expected the team to qualify for the next round. It's easy for me to look back now and ask questions. Going into those games, I honestly felt we could win all three games.

ESPNsoccernet: Now that you are matured with a different routine, what has changed?

LD: Not a lot, it's just mental. At the end of last year I turned over a new leaf. When I first came into the league -- and I think this happens to a lot of young, promising players too -- you come in and you are excited, everyone loves you, everything is great and you play well, because everything is going your way. Then you're at a point where you don't play well and it becomes a little heavy. There's a lot of games and you realize it is a business, such a grind and it's every day you have to be in there. You get to a point where you are burned out. Now the faster you can understand the whole business part of things, and get back to your roots where you are having fun, the better for you to become a great player. There is a new me and now I'm really enjoying myself because I understand that.

ESPNsoccernet: Are you tempted to want to take over games when teammates are not playing up to par?

LD: Yeah I do, but soccer is hard and it is funny, too. You have a couple of chances to score and you don't. Next thing you know, you are down. You put your game face on then you realize that you have 21 other guys on the field. Eleven of them are trying to keep you not only from scoring but also from getting the ball, period. People ask me all the time why I don't just get the ball and dribble through everyone. I wish it was that easy, but it's not that black and white and I probably could do more sometimes and that's another part of my game I am trying to get better at.

ESPNsoccernet: David Beckham is soon to arrive. Skeptics and fans have voiced their different opinions on his move to MLS. What is your expectation as a player and captain of this team?

LD: As a player, he is still a good player. You cannot play for Real Madrid and be a poor player, I don't care who you are, and people forget that. Honestly, I don't know how he is going to approach it. We can say he is going to be a great pro and he will come here, train and work hard, but you don't know. I don't know him from Adam, but I'm hoping and assuming that he will come ready to play.

You have to take him for his word when you see him say he really cares and wants to help this team win. People are skeptical -- but he's not going to go out there and embarrass himself, he will want to be sharp for the first game. From all accounts I hear anyway, he's a great guy. We'll reserve judgment till we meet him, but my hope is that everything will be great. How can someone like Beckham hurt us?

ESPNsoccernet: Do you ever want to return to Europe? Is it something on your mind and now that you have grown up?

LD: Sometimes it's tempting to watch a game and go like; I think I can play there. It'd be fun to play in that situation at that level where it is constantly competitive. If it did happen, good, but I don't think it would be for a while, because I'm happy where I am.

You also have to remember I'm married now; I have the dogs now too. It's not just what I think. I have to consider people around me. Does my wife want to go when her work is mainly in Los Angeles? What do we do with the dogs if that happened? If that could work out, I would consider it, but my guess is it wouldn't be for quite a while.

ESPNsoccernet: Speaking of your wife, how do you pronounce her last name?

LD: It's Donovan [laughs]. You are the second person to ask me that.

MLS potential big signings...

Here's a roundup of MLS potential big signings...

Rumor #1)
French legend Zinedine Zidane could be set to come out of retirement to join former Real Madrid teammate David Beckham at the L.A. Galaxy. Galaxy boss Alexi Lalas is now hoping he can convince the former France International to come out of retirement for a final swansong in Major League Soccer.

Rumor #2)
Crew coach Sigi Schmid remained mum about the team's possible acquisition of Boca Juniors forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto. One source close to the situation said the Argentine could be in uniform in Columbus Crew Stadium on Thursday night during a nationally televised game with the New England Revolution.

Update:
Guillermo Barros Schelotto is on his way to Major League Soccer.

Enfield Signs two-year Contract Down Under!

Former Los Angeles Galaxy forward Michael Enfield has signed a two-year deal with Australian A-League runners up Sydney FC.

The 23-year old officially joined up on Saturday after a month-long trial, but will not be eligible to suit up until the new season begins in August.

The club are currently busy in the group stage of the Asian Champions League, which Enfield could only take part in if they reach the knockouts.

While it is too early to tell exactly where he might fit in the depth chart, Bling FC coach Branko Culina will expect the Yank to battle for playing time.

"We signed for next season and the season after that," Sydney press officer Mark Worwood told YA. "We have a small squad, so anyone we sign should be in contention for the first team."

During the trial, Enfield made a big impact in each of his friendly substitute appearances, including the goal that put them ahead to stay against Wollongong on March 14th.

"He played the second half of each game," reported Worwood. "He scored a very good individual goal in the first game and had a hand in all three goals against Marconi (on April 3rd)."

Enfield, who was a UCLA teammate of Hamburg midfielder Benny Feilhaber, scored once in 11 games over two seasons with the Galaxy.

(From Yanks Abroad)