CARSON, Calif. -- The LA Galaxy are looking to accomplish much on an 11-day trek to Europe: They're meeting Ireland's president, touring a world-renowned brewery, dropping by on their Swedish brothers, and checking in with Steven Gerrard.
Most important is their progression toward their March 6 MLS opener.
The Galaxy departed Wednesday night for Dublin, where native son Robbie Keane will serve as host and they'll train at the National Training Centre. They have a brief stopover next week in Stockholm, where they'll face Hammarby – Galaxy owner AEG is the club's majority stakeholder – then return to Dublin for a friendly with Shamrock Rovers before heading home on Feb. 22.
There are plenty of extracurricular activities on the docket, and head coach/general manager Bruce Arena and club president Chris Klein will take a side trip to Liverpool to sit down with Gerrard, who is set to join LA as a Designated Player in July.
“I think we're going to meet the president, going to go to the Guinness factory, things like that, it will be nice,” said Keane, captain of the Galaxy and Ireland's national team. “As soon as we put the hard work, the effort in on the training field, we'll have some time to relax. But the most important thing is we're over here to get ourselves ready for the start of the season.”
The Galaxy considered other European options this preseason, but settled on Dublin because it's Keane's hometown and Stockholm to face Hammarby after the club’s recent promotion to Sweden’s top flight.
“I sit on the board [at Hammarby], and they just had their most successful season in a long time, in which they were promoted [to Sweden's top division], and we thought it was a good time to bring the Galaxy over the play a match there,” Klein said. “We've been discussing how great it would be to bring [Keane] back as part of the LA Galaxy to play in Dublin. It's something that we've always wanted to do.”
The highlight might be the audience with Ireland President Michael D. Higgins, which comes on the heels of the team's White House visit to commemorate last year's MLS Cup championship.
“That will be two presidents in a very short period of time,” Klein noted. “Robbie, with everything he's done for that country, he's very tied in there, so they were able to arrange for the guys to meet the president of Ireland, which is another honor.”
The chance to see Dublin through Keane's eyes is something Arena is looking forward to.
“It'll be interesting,” he said. “I've seen Dublin through my eyes. Might be a little cloudier through Robbie's eyes. ... I know he's going to enjoy it, and there's a lot of people in Ireland that are looking forward to having Robbie there with his team.”
Swedish midfielder Stefan Ishizaki will get a day-and-a-half at home in Stockholm, but there's no time to show his teammates the sights.
“We won't have any time to do anything, really,” he said. “Just 'this is the airport. This is where you get your tax-free money back.' ”
Arena and Klein will visit Liverpool to see Gerrard at the Reds’ Europa League showdown next week with Besiktas. Gerrard, unfortunately, won’t be playing, as he’s expected to miss three weeks after injuring his hamstring in Liverpool’s win over Tottenham on Wednesday.
“[We want to] spend a little time with him and answer any questions he may have and just try to get to know each other a little bit better,” Klein said.
The primary aim of the trip, Arena said, is to “get our team better and bond a little bit.”
“It's more about fitness and getting sharp. That's what preseason is all about,” Keane said. “You play the games, you get match-fit in games, but the results are not the big thing. Of course, you want to win every time you play, but more important is the fitness end. Come the sixth of March, we should be fit and ready to go.”
