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Steven Gerrard’s LA Galaxy debut against Club América ends in win Steven Gerrard’s LA Galaxy debut against Club América ends in win
(35 minutes later)
After 114 appearances for England, 17 seasons with Liverpool and a Champions League title, Steven Gerrard added an odd experience to his resume Saturday night. Steven Gerrard made a winning debut for Los Angeles Galaxy after playing the first half of the 2-1 friendly win over Club América.
Gerrard made his debut with Los Angeles Galaxy in a home friendly in which most of the local fans treated the Galaxy as if they were the visitors. Gerrard was named in the starting line-up for the opening match of the International Champions Cup clash against the Mexican team but was one of a raft of changes made by the MLS side at the interval.
Mexico City’s Club America provided the opposition and attracted the majority of fans from a packed out crowd of 27,934 at the StubHub Center during the Galaxy’s 2-1 victory in the International Champions Cup. Some fans sat on a grassy knoll underneath the stadium’s huge video screen. When Gerrard made way the score was 1-1 – Robbie Keane showing superb control to cancel out Darwin Quintero’s early opener for Club América – but Galaxy won thanks to Alan Gordon’s late header at the StubHub Center.
Several hundred others, clad in Club America’s yellow home jerseys, packed the northeast corner of the stands behind a sign that read, “La Que Manda En 2 Paises.” English colloquial translation: “We rule in two countries.” The 35-year-old ex-England midfielder, who left Anfield this summer after more than 700 appearances for his home-town club, showed his new fans glimpses of what they can expect with a raking 40-yard pass to a team-mate early on.
Those fans – part of California’s vast population of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans – overwhelmed the Galaxy’s support. They loudly cheered, chanted and sang in Spanish, and even ignited a couple of smoky flares in Club America’s colors. Gerrard then almost marked his debut with a 22nd-minute goal but, after bursting into the area, he saw his low left-footed shot blocked by the Club América goalkeeper Hugo González.
Into this atmosphere stepped Gerrard, who started to the left of Juninho in the center of the Galaxy’s midfield and played only the first half. Had that gone in it would have levelled the scores up at 1-1, with Club América having taken a seventh-minute lead through Quintero, who got in behind the Galaxy defence and fired through Brian Rowe’s legs.
On some occasions, the former Liverpool captain decision-making looked a little slow after a break from competitive football. In the 11th and 42nd minutes, Gerrard reacted late when receiving simple passes. In the 18th minute, he failed to secure a clearance from a team-mate near the Galaxy’s goal. Instead, one of Club America’s players pounced on the loose ball. It would be Gerrard’s former Liverpool team-mate Keane who drew Galaxy level on the stroke of half-time with a memorable piece of skill.
“Physically, it was tough,” Gerrard said. “I haven’t played a competitive match for six or seven weeks so it was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes.” The Republic of Ireland striker brilliantly pulled down a long pass forward from Juninho with his left foot and, with González having been left in no man’s land after racing out in a bid to collect the through-ball, Keane immediately rolled his shot into a gaping net with his right from the edge of the box.
Yet at other times, Gerrard demonstrated the quality that made him one of the world’s best players. Both Keane and Gerrard made way at half-time as the Galaxy head coach, Bruce Arena, replaced all 10 of his outfield players for the second half.
In the sixth minute, he delivered a well-weighted diagonal ball to defender Dan Gargan on the right flank. A minute later, Gerrard Club America goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez had to punch away a lofted ball. Despite all those changes, Galaxy still went on to win the game as Gordon rose highest at the far post to send a looping header into the net for an 80th-minute decider.
“He’s a very dangerous passer, as you can see,” Galaxy defender AJ De La Garza said. “A few times, we kind of stuck him in bad positions. But he got out of most of them.” Arena, whose side are next in action against Real Salt Lake in the Open Cup on Tuesday, was impressed with Gerrard’s first showing for the club.
Then in the 22nd minute, Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer received Jose Villareal’s back-heel and fired off a shot that was blocked by a Club American defender. “I think Steven played well and we’re gonna see how he feels tomorrow and Monday before we make a decision about how we’re going to approach the cup game,” he said.
“Steven played well,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “His passing was very good. His partnership with Juninho was good. He won some tackles, helped create some opportunities. He could’ve had a goal. “His passing was very good, his partnership with Juninho was very good, he won some tackles, helped create some chances, could have a goal but the keeper made a great save.
“His first time out was very encouraging. He looked like he belonged.” “So his first time out was very encouraging, he looked like he belonged, his leadership was very good and I thought it was solid.”
Nevertheless, Gerrard would need “probably a month,” Arena said, to reach match fitness. Gerrard later told the club’s official website: “It was a great feeling. It was a difficult game and I thought [Club América] were very good. I thought after 15 or 20 minutes that the team settled really well, we played some good football and we got our deserved equaliser. For me personally, it was good to get 45 minutes under my belt and I’ll keep getting better and better and the more I get used to my team-mates, I’ll improve.”
“We’ll try to build him into that slowly,” Arena said. “But from what I could see, it was a good 45 minutes from him.”
For Gerrard, progress is just a matter of time.
“I’ll keep getting better and better,” he said. “The more I get used to my team-mates, I’ll improve.”
As the Galaxy players were finishing their interviews, the yellow-clad denizens of the StubHub Center’s northeast corner continued singing and chanting to a drumbeat. For them, Steven Gerrard might just as well have been an apparition.