“I certainly understood coming in this would be a challenge, and six weeks later I realize it is a challenge,” L.A. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena told Mark Zeigler before a weekend that could see his side eliminated from playoff contention. “And it’s every bit a challenge as I anticipated. There is a lot of work to do.”
Zeigler’s analysis is even more honest: “It is a pitiful sight, indeed, seeing a once-mighty club brought to its knees, seeing arguably the planet’s most recognizable player patrolling the right wing for the worst team in a mediocre league, seeing a franchise that AEG President Tim Leiweke fashions as ‘a world-class brand’ win exactly one of its last 15 games.”
L.A. has a roster “with a few accomplished veterans, and a bunch of inexperienced guys making peanuts,” writes Zeigler. Arena has also noted a fitness problem on the team, and has had to deal with international calendar conflicts that have seen the Galaxy deprived of David Beckham and leading scorer Landon Donovan on a regular basis.
The real issue, though, says Zeigler, may be much deeper. “Are celebrity and championship mutually exclusive in MLS?” he asks. “Can you build an entertainment brand without sacrificing competitive integrity? Can you win with Beckham?”
Veteran defender Greg Vanney, 33, offers the view that, “with David, I think it’s a great move business-wise, but in some ways it makes the club about a person and not the team. It’s not good or bad, it just is what it is. It’s the price you pay, I think, for bringing someone like him and the kind of marketing power he has.”
Arena said that given all the issues, the team “certainly won’t change overnight. But I can promise you this team will be a better team next year.” Zeigler says it can’t get much worse. “But the real question is,” he says, “can it get much better?”