CARSON, Calif. – There are a lot of elements to the LA Galaxy's struggles this year to implement a cohesive attack, and among the most critical, the team says, is a need to build chemistry in central midfield.
It's a work in progress, let's say, one that will start anew when Steven Gerrard arrives in July, and LA's early-season injury crisis hasn't made things easy.
Only midfield anchor Juninho and right-sided midfielder Stefan Ishizaki have been constants among the front six in the Galaxy lineup, as minor ailments have sidelined captain Robbie Keane, left-sided midfielder Jose Villarreal, plus two of Juninho's potential partners in the middle, Mika Väyrynen and Kenney Walker.
The constant shifting of personnel has slowed growth for the Galaxy (3-2-3), who are home Saturday night against the Colorado Rapids (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), as they seek an identity following Landon Donovan's retirement and Marcelo Sarvas' trade to Colorado.
Sarvas, who will miss the match through injury, teamed with his Brazilian countryman Juninho for most of three seasons with the Galaxy, and their partnership – among the finest in the league – was pivotal to LA's often mesmerizing brand of possession soccer, all ball movement and interchange, that fueled their MLS Cup title run last year.
“Sarvas, our relationship was for a long time,” said Juninho, who has had four different partners in the middle – Väyrynen, Walker, Baggio Husidic and Rafael Garcia – in the first eight matches. “The chemistry comes like normal. With the new guy, I have to understand them, [but] they don't play every game. That's the tough part.
“Once this starts to happen, we're going to play different, for sure more fluid, more compact, in a good system.”
The hope is that it will happen soon.
The Galaxy are still battling injuries – neither Keane nor Villarreal are expected to be available this week – and there seems to be no frontrunner for a regular job in spot next to Juninho.
Väyrynen seems the natural choice, and he had two starts before suffering a calf injury he's since recovered from. Husidic has spent the most time there, but his versatility has meant moves from one spot to the next as needed.
Garcia, a defensive specialist, had one great performance in the middle, and Walker will be back in the mix once he's fully recovered from a groin injury suffered in the opener.
“Marcelo and Juni established a really good partnership, no question,” associate head coach Dave Sarachan said. “I believe we have the players that can perform and do a good job in that role, and it's just a matter of finding the right chemistry and a consistent lineup.”
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Said Husidic: “A lot of [building chemistry] takes time, and you need to work on it as a partnership. That stuff takes work, takes time, and, unfortunately, we haven't had the opportunity game after game to play together.”
Head coach Bruce Arena rates central midfield as “OK” so far and promises the Galaxy are “going to get better as the season goes on.”
What needs to improve?
“All areas,” he says. “Everything you can think about the game, we can be better at.”
Sarachan says what's missing is “the final pass, the killer pass.”
“A little bit of cleverness, a little more switch of play, a little more of a balance between a player that may hold and player that can get forward ...,” he added. “The easy answer is to find two guys and stick with them. I just think no matter who we have in these roles, they're all capable of possession and making passes. Some are a little better at it than others.
“Once we gave established that on kind of a consistent basis, I think it will start to look a little better.”
