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Post by stellarboy on Oct 29, 2011 14:12:19 GMT 8
I know it's too early to say this but for the sake of fun, let's speculate what would be the tactics, strategies and formations will be for the LA Galaxy and the Azkals. From what I'm researching, the Galacticos' starting lineup in the past fixtures this MLS season usually come up with a modified 4-4-2 formation. Something like this: GK RCB --- LCB RB ------------- LB RCM LCM RW ----------- LW RS LS
As for the starting players: GK: Donovan Ricketts has always been their #1 GK, and Josh Saunders on the bench. DF: AJ Dela Garza is employed as RCB, but has been replaced by Omar Gonzalez in the past fixtures. Leonardo or Dasan Robinson is at LCB. Sean Franklin has took the role of RB but in some fixtures plays as RM. Todd Dunivant as a reliable LB. MF: Juninho and Chris Birchall are RCM & LCM, respectively. The almighty co-captain David Beckham plays RW. But in some cases he and Birchall switch places. Captain Landon Donovan takes the LW role, but Mike Magee has been seen as a regular LW since the Chicago Fire match in the middle of the season. FW: Robbie Keane and Chad Barrett as strikers. Donovan usually replaces Barrett in some of the fixtures I've seen. Robbie Keane hasn't been a regular starter since he debuted last August, but has been a good player in that position. Overall, they are above the level of play of the Kuwait NT, but about the same level as a mid-to-lower-level team in a top-tier Euro league. They are good attacking wise, average in the middle, shaky in defense and of course deadly in set pieces (the Beckham factor). If we will be able employ Chieffy to take advantage of their rather shaky defense, then he must be backed up by someone to deflect an unexpected counter-attack at mid. Schrocki or De Jong could be perfect for that role, if ever they are available. I can't think of a local player for that spot for now. James YH should not let Juninho break up the back or do counter-attacks. Juninho is fast, but not intelligent enough to use the whole field. If Lexton Moy is employed, he can take care of Omar Gonzalez or Robinson. As to prevent a screamer or a deadly set piece by either Beckham, Donovan or Keane, we need strong, fast players for full backs. Here's where we will miss Aly B. I don't think Jason Sabio has done well as CB as what he did during Kuwait and the ICanServe friendlies. It might be time to plug-in Leonora (or Poetscke?) at that position. If Rob Gier is available, though, to pair that man at the center, he must need assistance from the outside mids so as not let his slower speed take hold of him. Anton and Ray Jonsson must stay focused not to let Donovan or Keane find enough space outside the box. (I'm just wishing for the Danish tandem Lucena & Cagara to come by.) Phil is good at attacking, but as I have watched in the past, he is not an accurate shooter. This will be worrying if Omar or Frankie Hedjuk is at the back, as they are large and strong enough to head inaccurate shots at goal. So, someone like Misagh Bahadoran or Nate Burkey must be paired to do some assistance. I am not keen to Ian Araneta anymore; his consistent dives are not helpful already. The GK position will be a good question to take with. If Neil Etheridge won't be released, then we could get Roland Muller, simple as that. Muller has been good in keeping the back nice and tight. He's fast enough and strong enough. But I'm worried with his height, as he might be overwhelmed by missile-like shots from Keane at below the top crossbar. If he is able to do that, that's fine for me. The worst case, though is if both of the Euro GKs aren't available. I'm not keen on Sacapano, I'm optimistic for Pascual, and I'm skeptical for Camcam. 'Nuff said. Any speculations, clarifications and corrections are all welcome, because this is gonna be exciting! This might help us assess the possible results of this friendly.
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Post by melbmike on Oct 29, 2011 14:31:00 GMT 8
Angel doesn't play for the club anymore.
This is what the starting XI will more than likely look like: Keane Barrett
Donovan Juninho Birchall Beckham
Dunivant Robinson Gonzalez Franklin Rickets
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Post by stellarboy on Oct 29, 2011 14:50:01 GMT 8
Thanks for clarifying. Angel was on my researches for "last" season. hehehe.
I'm wondering if Coach Weiss would employ trying-hard defensive football here, like he did during the Kuwait leg. A 4-5-1 isn't bad if only the lone striker will not be so much of a target man, and assistance should come from the central mids or the wingers.
Open questions:
1) How will Etheridge/Muller prevent an unpredictable penalty shot by Keane?
2) How can Chieffy and James YH prevent counter attacks from the outside back?
3) Can the Beckham and Donovan tandem exploit a full back without Aly?
That remains to be seen.
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Post by Wiking on Oct 29, 2011 15:12:37 GMT 8
It's an exhibition game so it's no big deal if we win or loose. I'm just happy they're coming to the Philippines. Let's not forget how far the PFF(who set this thing up) has come compared to the Romualdez and Martinez regime. Having said that. I'm curious what we do on defense without AlyB? Could we see the U23 crew play a bigger role in this contest? Oh, and thank God for Ray Jonsson, you can always count on him to show.
I don't think the Galaxy 'stars' will play more than 45 minutes anyway. Optimistic Prediction: A tie!
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Post by stellarboy on Oct 29, 2011 15:33:23 GMT 8
We're so happy that they'd come here, Wiking, my mate. Nonong Araneta's regime must have come with a pleasant surprise, thanks to Dan "the Man" Palami. An improvement in our country's football like this is not a joke but a blessing. ;-D
Yes, the question to who will fill Aly's spot remains. And I'm really seeing the possibility of the U-23s making some work there. Matt Hartmann and Neckson Leonora could be helpful at the back if Lucena and Cagara won't be around. Jason de Jong (unless unavailable) will always be ol' reliable at holding mid. Wishing Jeff Christiaens for some help at the mid, too. I know Dan and Coach Weiss might have something surprising to offer there, so let's see then.
Yeah, it's no big deal if we win or lose, but I still think of this as a tune-up for the Challenge Cup, whether you like it or not. Think of this as a bonus for improving our team's cohesion.
Go Azkals!
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Post by cjeagle on Oct 29, 2011 22:43:45 GMT 8
It is the promoters in the US like Macabenta who made this happen. They have been working on this for months. When presented with this opportunity, the pleasantly surprised PFF and team management to their credit, took the bull by the horns and ran with it.
I think it is great that we won't have a lull in the month of December prior to the start of training camp for the Challenge Cup in January. We should have a game every month to keep the mind of the public on football throughout the year. Plus it adds another game for the players to get familiar with each others play.
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Post by xyz1000 on Oct 30, 2011 2:15:30 GMT 8
How about Areola for this game!
Last I looked he's not on the bench with the first team and this game, being a friendly, doesn't cap-tie him to the Azkals and end his dream to play for Les Bleus. There's a lot of upside here, like saving that bend-it-like-Beckham free kick, and not much downside, because he can always argue that the Azkals back four isn't on par.
Nice work by the promoters.
Go Azkals!
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Post by mrpmosh on Oct 30, 2011 2:58:41 GMT 8
From what I'm researching, the Galacticos' starting lineup in the past fixtures this MLS season... Please, no. You could ruin my childhood memories calling the Galaxy " Galacticos", even if Becks is with them. <3 As for their line-up, being a friendly I would expect some "experimentation", I think all the regular starters would get minutes, but I wouldn't expect them all to start the match.
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Post by stellarboy on Oct 30, 2011 5:23:01 GMT 8
From what I'm researching, the Galacticos' starting lineup in the past fixtures this MLS season... Please, no. You could ruin my childhood memories calling the Galaxy " Galacticos", even if Becks is with them. <3 As for their line-up, being a friendly I would expect some "experimentation", I think all the regular starters would get minutes, but I wouldn't expect them all to start the match. Fine. Call 'em "Galaxy." As this is just an "exhibition game," I expect most of the starters not playing the full 90 minutes. But as I heard from someone out here, Becks must play at least 45 minutes into the fixture, according to his contract. I'm giddy for Donovan, Keane and either Gonzalez or Hedjuk to start. ;D It is the promoters in the US like Macabenta who made this happen. They have been working on this for months. When presented with this opportunity, the pleasantly surprised PFF and team management to their credit, took the bull by the horns and ran with it. I think it is great that we won't have a lull in the month of December prior to the start of training camp for the Challenge Cup in January. We should have a game every month to keep the mind of the public on football throughout the year. Plus it adds another game for the players to get familiar with each others play. It's been great that the success of the national team gave an unexpected boost in sponsors that would want to invest with the sport. And I'm glad the promoters who handled this tour for LA Galaxy had the desire to bring quality football/soccer to Filipinos. I'm also looking into the corporate sponsorship of this event. As posted earlier in this thread San Miguel Corporation (in which MVP has shares) is interested to sponsor this event. I'm hoping the tickets should be lower than expected when they will be announced this week. Also, yes, we like the masses to expose to football/soccer every once in a while so as not to let them bore themselves with what really goes with the beautiful game. Good thing the UFL has been key in delivering football regularly. As to this friendly with the Galaxy, this is a much-needed bonus for the team as they venture in the Challenge Cup finals. Wonder what happens next.
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Post by locotes on Oct 30, 2011 20:30:34 GMT 8
This would also be a good venue for players to be scouted. MLS doesnt pay much but Im sure it pays more than UFL. As for Aly, Im not to worried he is not around, we have Carli, Potchke,Lucena,Cagara etc that can fill that position. Galaxy is one of the better teams in MLS that can move the ball around. Beckham may be old but his long ball, I think the guy has an extra right hand. The ball still lands where it suppose to land.
BTW. I like how the Galaxy promotes the Dec3 game, they used the PFF logo instead of the Azkals. ;D
www.lagalaxy.com/news/2011/10/la-galaxy-travel-philippines-part-asia-pacific-tour-2011
And to Stellarboy, I wont call them the "Galacticos"hahahha
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Post by Wiking on Oct 30, 2011 22:52:42 GMT 8
It got me wondering... So here's the official MLS salaries for everyone to see. I feel bad for some of them, then again you don't play professional sports because you have too, its because you want to. www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.htmlLocotes, just because one player is good in one position it doesn't me he would in another. Cagara at CB? At around 5'8" playing against 5'10" and 6 plus footers? How in the world will he defend the headers when center back priorities are just that? OP is around 5'10" and Carli around 5'10"(but does he have the CB mentality?). RobG is 5'10" but in a Cambridge United(his old team, Google it, it'll show up quick) article they said he was short for CB. OP played well in the LTC but the Chinese players aren't exactly American/European sized. Unless youre Mexican American, I wouldn't call them 'Galacticos' either sorry stellar...
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Post by stellarboy on Oct 31, 2011 10:42:14 GMT 8
Si, señores. ;D locotes: I like how they used the PFF logo instead of the "Azkals" logo. That's what I call "proper." @wiking: I see those salary figures for MLS to be adequate enough for a mid-tiered team in England, I see. Regarding who's CB for Aly... I'll just grunt myself that most of our CBs in the pool aren't that tall. But athleticism-wise, they're good enough to head well. But again... they're still too short...
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Post by melbmike on Oct 31, 2011 12:18:29 GMT 8
It got me wondering... So here's the official MLS salaries for everyone to see. I feel bad for some of them, then again you don't play professional sports because you have too, its because you want to. www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.htmlNot sure why you would feel sorry for the players. This isn't 2003 when some guys where only making 12K a year. Being a first year player, around 16-23 years old and making 30-40k is really good. About what most people graduating college would start at. Anyway, I do hope that some guys get trials because of this friendly. I mean even playing in the US second division will benefit some of the guys on the team.
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Post by Wiking on Oct 31, 2011 20:57:26 GMT 8
It got me wondering... So here's the official MLS salaries for everyone to see. I feel bad for some of them, then again you don't play professional sports because you have too, its because you want to. www.mlsplayers.org/salary_info.htmlNot sure why you would feel sorry for the players. This isn't 2003 when some guys where only making 12K a year. Being a first year player, around 16-23 years old and making 30-40k is really good. About what most people graduating college would start at. Anyway, I do hope that some guys get trials because of this friendly. I mean even playing in the US second division will benefit some of the guys on the team. Its a personal opinion mel, and comparing it with recent college grads salaries, are you talking about 2 years or 4 year degrees? Because I'll tell you now, in 1999 I was hiring college grads for 60k to start, that dollars not pesos. And yes, I hope we get trials for the younger kids but I'd rather have them close like in Singapore, Japan or Korea where we can call them up if we need them easier. The SEA games should help more than this one exhibition game
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Post by dingodile5 on Oct 31, 2011 23:31:04 GMT 8
Beckham due to arrive Dec. 1 Published : Friday, October 28, 2011 00:00 Article Views : 576 Written by : JOSEF T. RAMOS Correspondent PHILIPPINE Football Federation (PFF) President Mariano Araneta has confirmed the Philippine visit of football superstar David Beckham. Araneta, in a telephone interview with the Manila Times on Thursday said Beckham and the entire Los Angeles Galaxy is due to arrive December 1 to engage the Philippine Azkals in an exhibition game on December 3 at the Ninoy Aquino Football Stadium in Manila. “It’s very historic. I can’t remember one instance when an international football star had played here. It’s very delightful that Beckham’s visit happened during my watch,” Araneta said. Before the exhibition game with the Azkals, LA Galaxy members will conduct a football clinic for children on December 2, sponsored by Bantay Bata, also at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Beckham, 36, is an English midfielder who played for such teams as the Manchester United and Real Madrid. With 121 total career goals under his belt, he was also the recipient of the 2003 England Player of the Year award. www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sports/top-sports-news/10153-beckham-due-to-arrive-dec-1
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