Ah, the good old days. Carlos Ruiz scoring goals, the Galaxy winning. Well, Galaxy fans can reminisce for one day at least as the Galaxy beat Shanghai-Hong Kong on Wednesday by 3-0. Ruiz scored all three goals.
Here are the highlights:
Some things of note from the game:
- David Beckham injured himself. Not sure the severity of it but he sat out the final 20 minutes. Beckham called it a dead leg and said that it would be fine in a few days, presumably he wouldn't miss Sunday's all-important clash in Hong Kong.
- Ruiz showed that he still has it. He's got enough baggage to fill a conveyor belt but the man can score. The Galaxy's dealt with him before so they know what they're getting in terms of the off-the-field stuff but his on-the-field performances are still top notch. He connected with Becks for the first goal but scored the other two when Beckham was on the bench.
- The defense isn't a sieve after all. Not sure how good Shanghai-Hong Kong is but for the Galaxy's defense, a shutout at this point against the AYSO Section 47 All-Stars would have been a good sign.
- The crowd count was around 10,000. Good to see the Galaxy went to all this effort to draw 10,000 fans. They could have drawn 10,000 in a game right here in Carson today with the same exact lineup. Can someone please explain what the purpose of this trip is?
18 comments:
I'm guessing Man U, Barca, Arsenal, etc. can fill stadiums in Asia, right?
If people only care about one player and not the team, it looks like they'll just mob him at the airport but wont bother to pay for tickets to the game.
Not only is he scoring...did you see that run he made to be in position to score that third goal? That's the Fish of old.
There is nothing wrong with a business trying to market their product to some of the world's largest markets? They are training, playing competitive games, making appearance fees, and selling merchandise all at the same time. The Galaxy could not do all of this in the US. Attendance is only a part of it. American soccer fans want their teams to do well and the sport to become popular, but when a team like LA starts to try to really make an aggressive attempt at this, they get hammered. Get over it, embrace it, enjoy it.
what are the 'off-field antics' of the fish? does he party too much? seems like a moody typa guy, but what else is there. could someone illuminate me on this? cheers, d
l.b., as you well know, the Galaxy is into being a "world brand" w/Beckham, and becoming the first soccer club to earn $10B in revenue (according to Leiweke). This isn't about soccer. This is about raw profit. Of course, as anonymous said, nothing is wrong with that goal. But the way the Galaxy approaches it is totally crass (such as the scheduling problems that accompanied this trip.)
The objective is to make all 800 of Chivas USA's fans go crazy with envy.
This isn't even about the Galaxy, it's about Herbalife. They're the ones who ponied up the dough to make sure their logo is everywhere in China.
This article says 30,000 (from Yahoo).. edited 6 hours ago..
http://sports.yahoo.com/mls/news;_ylt=AkE6hK0bAxPAjm.D8cW7B.ykvrYF?slug=txgalaxyshanghai&prov=st&type=lgns
Galaxy averages more attendance in pre-season friendlies than Chivas USA does in the general season.
The game is being repeated on FSC tonight, I should be able to tell if its 10k or 30k from the video.
The purpose of this trip is to make Los Angeles Galaxy a known brand in China and Korea, capable of selling merchandise and creating interest that will grow over a number of years.
I'm not a Galaxy fan and I'm sure I'll hate them when Seattle starts up, but I admire the ambition to make an MLS team an internationally marketable team. The entire league should benefit.
Here's hoping Seattle signs an Nakamura as DP and takes the team to Japan to become the second team with international moxie.
little fishy is one of the best scorers MLS has ever seen. i hope he comes alive again, b/c i think he's fun to watch.
@March 5, 2008 3:33 PM
I realize there are a lot of 'guests' from Mexico in this country, but I assure you Mexico is still a separate country, that being said, I'm pretty sure Chicago would argue the whole 'Seattle being the second club with international moxie' thing. :)
Chicago has been filling 30K+ in second division stadiums in Mexico on the Blanco tour this pre-season.
I am all for LA making their money. They probably paid for their entire payroll this pre-season. With the appearances bonuses they could give for this tour off the cap books, I'm sure there are players they got for cheaper knowing they'd make a buttload on this trip.
It's honestly a shame more clubs aren't able to do this sort of thing. Chicago and LA are going to make a TON of money in pre-season. If RBNY wasn't run by morons, they would have capitalized on JPA's popularity in Colombia and made money their. Though I'm guessing JCO's status there may have tempered those plans.
"International" appeal might be defined more broadly as appeal in a few different countries, not just one or two.
@AC: I buy that description of 'international'. In which case, Nakamura would be a 2 nation star. Beckham is the only one right now who could put asses in seats just about anywhere he goes.
Oh I watched the game today and there were at least 30K like the match reports were saying. Not super spectacular but solid especially considering how impoverished a nation China is.
it was 30K definitely
I do think something's wrong with the raw profit goal. This tour pissed me off. I'm not opposed touring in theory and very much like the extra money it puts in the pockets of poorly paid players. But, again, like last year, the Galaxy's concerns about profits are taking precedence over concerns about the health and quality of their product.
Also, Herbalife may have provided some funding for the tour, but it's Beckham's appearances for his own sponsor's, Adidas and Motorola, that are providing the Galaxy with the visibility, free publicity, and marketing opportunities that their matches and their own P.R. and marketing departments could never produce at this point -- with Beckham or without.
The problem from the Galaxy's point of view is that the team won't keep getting these "opportunities" unless they can put on a better show on the pitch (and they can play against more popular home teams). Beckham sells fine for these sponsors alone, so unless he's on a team that augments his image as a player and/or brings along other fan favorites, why would they bring the whole lot over?
I was impressed with some of the things we saw in Shanghai but thought it was a dangerous surface and they guys already look tired and as well as a bit bruised here and there. Adding the Hong Kong match was crazy -- although I guess I either have to get used to that kind of craziness or quit following the Galaxy. They've set themselves up to feed a long food chain (ooh, I was so tempted to say without enough beef...couldn't resist).
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