A True Mugging In Morelia

 Thievery. Robbery. A mugging.

The crime rate is high in Morelia, and that doesn’t stop from extending onto the soccer fields there.

Estadio Morelos was site of one of the biggest non-violent crimes in Morelia’s recent history. On Tuesday, the Galaxy had a goal and a victory stolen from them.

With the match tied 1-1 in the 90^th minute, Omar Gonzalez smashed a header on goal. Morelia’s Federico Vilar made the save but the ball remained on the goal line. Robbie Keane raced onto it, pushed it into the back of the net and appeared to have given the Galaxy the victory.

But somehow the goal did not stand. Honduran assistant referee Oscar Velasquez raised his flag just as Keane raced away from the goal to celebrate.

Absolute thievery. Total robbery. An atrocious mugging.

Moments later, Miguel Sabah scored the game-winner and the Galaxy walked away empty handed.

The replays show clearly that Keane was at least a yard onside when Gonzalez made contact. Keane passed the last defender sometime after the ball past him. When the ball fell on top of the goal line, Keane was already there.

But that’s because he’s quick and has great instincts, not because he was offside. Perhaps that’s the biggest problem. Velasquez referees the Honduran league, which is not a highly-regarded league in CONCACAF. Mexico is, of course. MLS is getting there. MLS does have top talents such as Keane and perhaps Velasquez is unable to decipher between what a talented goalscorer and what a player who is poaching offside looks like.

Whatever the case is, the Galaxy lost a game they should have won. Stolen from them. Taken right away from them.

It’s a shame really, not just that it happened to the Galaxy but that this happens all the time in this tournament. It’s almost like it’s a requirement to have things like this happen in the CONCACAF Champions League.

It seems that no matter what Champions League game you watch, you almost expect something bad to happen. You expect the game to go to hell in a matter of minutes. Bad calls are as much a part of the game as set pieces. So when the flag was raised and Keane’s goal was harshly called back, it really wasn’t a surprise to anybody.

Anger? Sure, but nobody was surprised.

And that’s the real shame.

Hating On Landon

Landon Donovan and Mexico go hand-in-hand like meat and rabid dogs. It seems that every time Donovan plays against Mexico, be it the national team or a Mexican club, Donovan seems to bring out some emotions from Mexican supporters.

He certainly has drawn some emotions out from the locals here in Morelia.

As the Galaxy began to go through their warm-ups in a mostly-empty and relatively quiet Estadio Morelos on Monday, a shout came down from above.

"Donovan! Fuck you motherfucker! Your ass is mine motherfucker!"

A small group of locals had gotten to a gate where at least part of the field was visible to them. Their villain, Public Enemy No. 1 'round these parts, was down below so why not serenade him?

I wrote a story on some of the issues that perturbs the fans. Donovan has long been a thorn in Mexico's side, having scored five goals against the national team, including the dagger in the 2002 World Cup win over El Tricolor.

Now, on Monday almost without looking for it, we found some pure Donovan hatred. A group of us went to a marketplace to look for soccer jerseys. We wound up talking to one of the vendors for about an hour on various things and the topic of our visit came up. As soon as he found out we were there for the Galaxy-Morelia match, he let loose about Donovan.

"Ask anybody here. Nobody likes him. I heard two guys walking past earlier and they were saying how they were going to go to the game just to talk shit to Donovan."

The vendor, Rafael, was adamant that Donovan did not like Mexicans. He asked several of the people around him "What was it that Donovan said about Mexico?" as if there was something that Donovan had actually said that would have inflamed Mexicans.

If you're talking about goals, that's a good enough reason to dislike Donovan I suppose. And pissing on the field in Estadio Jalisco is something so ridiculous that it's laughable. There's not a field in this planet that hasn't been pissed on.

But perhaps that's where this notion that Donovan does not like Mexicans stems from. At some point, perception certainly became reality and old habits die hard.

Maybe in the United States, Mexican supporters arent' quite as vicious in their attacks over Donovan as they are here. Perhaps since they have the chance to see him play more and, more importantly, they hear him do interviews in Spanish, they have seen for themselves that whatever supposedly racist ideas he carried were never really there.

But don't tell that to the Morelia faithful. If not all, many certainly seem to think he really does not like Mexicans. And you can rest assured that they will let him hear how much they dislike him the moment he takes the field for warm-ups in Estadio Morelos.

Primed For Success

When Galaxy coach Bruce Arena trotted out a different-looking lineup against Colorado, it wasn't just with Colorado in mind.

Sure, Chad Barrett and Paolo Cardozo did well against the Rapids but playing the likes of Barrett, Cardozo, Bryan Jordan and Donovan Ricketts allowed for the Galaxy to rest up some players for Tuesday's match against Morelia.

The Galaxy will face Morelia in a match that could set the club up well for the remainder of the group stage. If the Galaxy beat Morelia, they will have nine points and could be six points clear of the rest of the group of Motagua beat Alajuelense this week. The pressure would be off the Galaxy, not completely off but things would certainly be a bit less tense in Champions League.

Based on what I've seen in recent games and what Bruce Arena has shown, this is my best shot at a Galaxy Starting XI: Josh Saunders; Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez, AJ De La Garza, Frankie Hejduk; Mike Magee, Landon Donovan, Chris Birchall, Sean Franklin; Adam Cristman, Robbie Keane.

That lineup would be a fresh one. Of the 11 players, five did not play on Friday - Saunders, Hejduk, Magee, Birchall, Cristman. A sixth - Keane - played 30 minutes. The rest - Donovan, Dunivant, Gonzalez, De La Garza, Franklin - are extremely fit.

Off the bench, Arena has some options for goals if it comes to it. Barrett made the trip; Cardozo and Miguel Lopez are here as well. The Galaxy are primed for a strong effort and some planning ahead on Arena's part has done the team well.

Galaxy Trip Down South

There are times when covering soccer is not all that fun. Ridiculously tight deadlines, dealing with uncooperative people, dull matches... been there, done that.

But there are also times when soccer is superb. Now is one of those times.

I'm writing this post from a hotel in Morelia, Mexico, where I've traveled to for the Galaxy's Champions League match against Morelia. On Tuesday, the Galaxy will face a tough Morelia side and will try and take control of Group A.

I don't often travel for soccer. I have, but it hasn't been often. In fact, this is my first trip to Galaxy away game, unless you count the Galaxy's game against Xolos in San Diego.

It's nice here in Morelia. My parents are from the state Morelia is in, Michoacan, and I've lived here in this state on two separate occasions. But this is my first visit to Michoacan for soccer and my second time coming to Mexico for soccer (US-Mexico in 09 was the other).

Watching the Galaxy play in a place like Estadio Morelos, a stadium I've seen on TV for years, will seem a bit surreal. Already, just walking into the stadium earlier on Monday for a training session was quite an experience. I can't imagine seeing the Galaxy play in this setting.

It will be a great game and it's already been a great experience.

As for the game, well, it's garnered a lot of attention. Now some of that was on David Beckham and his first-ever trip to Mexico. That didn't happen as Beckham did not make the trip. But Landon Donovan is still very much hated here.

I wrote a story for MLSsoccer.com/LAGalaxy.com on the topic and when it is published.

In the meantime I'm gonna soak up the atmosphere here in Morelia and enjoy this visit to a place I hold dearly.