LA prepares for Donovan departure
Galaxy forward to miss next four games as he joins U.S. men's national team
Their captain and leading scorer will embark on what could be a month-long absence because of duty with the U.S. men's national team. Donovan will be available for Saturday's game against the Kansas City Wizards at The Home Depot Center, but then will be off for World Cup qualifiers on June 3 against Costa Rica and June 6 against Honduras and then two weeks in South Africa, where the U.S. will take part in the FIFA Confederations Cup. The USA, drawn into powerful Group B, have games against Italy on June 15, Brazil on June 18 and Egypt on June 21. The tournament runs until June 28.
Donovan could miss as many as the next four Galaxy games after Saturday, and the 27-year-old admitted to having mixed feelings about leaving with the Galaxy (1-1-8) on an eight-game unbeaten streak and making strides under head coach Bruce Arena.
"It's always bittersweet," Donovan said of his impending departure, "especially because we're playing well. I want to be here, but it's also exciting. I've never been to South Africa, and obviously the (World Cup) qualifiers are going to be fun games.
"We'll be fine while I'm gone. Bruce has done a great job, we understand what we should be doing and the guys know what's expected. Now we just have to go do it."
Donovan attributed his optimism mostly to an improved defense led by goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, fourth in MLS with a 0.88 goals-against average, and a better defensive mentality.
"That's something we didn't have in the past," Donovan said. "I know we're going to be in games. We have guys who have creative abilities, we defend well and we're going to be competitive.
"We've played better and better, and that's kind of all you can ask for."
The Galaxy, who take on a Wizards (4-4-3) team they haven't lost to at home since June 2004 and are 5-1-2 against them in all games since 2005, say they understand the importance of these upcoming games -- four of the next six are at home -- with Donovan unavailable. But one game at a time, they cautioned.
"I don't really think about the stretch of games," midfielder Chris Klein said. "For us, it's this game against Kansas City. When we think beyond this we're going to have to adjust because Landon is going to be leaving, and he's obviously a big part of our team.
"We believe we have the depth to not replace Landon but to play well without him. At the same time, we want to take advantage of this game, mostly because we have to win our home games and have that send-off for him."
Forward Alan Gordon said the club simply needs victories instead of ties. Donovan went so far as to say the team's current unbeaten streak is "misleading."
"Probably the least number of points in an unbeaten streak ever," he said with a slight grin.
"We've been playing decent," Gordon said, "but we need to capitalize on our home games. If you don't win them, it's bad news. We're very optimistic about it and I think we're going to get some wins."
But the Galaxy will have to do it without Donovan after Saturday, and Gordon is confident they will, simply because they've gotten used to his extended absences in the past.
"It's not a big deal," Gordon said. "I don't think there's a team in the league that doesn't have to deal with this stuff ... everyone loses players at some point, whether it's injuries or national team duty. Our mindset will be the same.
"It's not like we put our heads down when Landon's gone. It's actually an incentive for a lot of guys to step up and do well. Hopefully we can get motivated that way and win some games when he's not here. That would be good for us."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com
