Los Angeles Galaxy Will Play In The International Champions Cup

The Los Angeles Galaxy announced Wednesday their participation in the third annual International Champions Cup. This will mark the Galaxy’s second time competing in this tournament. In 2013, they finished fourth in the ICC.

Ten teams will compete this summer in the ICC from July 11 to August 5. Joining the Galaxy are fellow MLS clubs New York Red Bulls and San Jose Earthquakes. Defending ICC champions Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, PSG, Porto, Fiorentina and America are the other participants.

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This will be an awesome competition for soccer fans, especially MLS fans. It will pin their teams against some of the best teams from all over the world. Storied clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona who have so much history and championships to their name. Their fan base here in the states is vast. European clubs have their pre-season in the United States and sellout stadiums showing the immense popularity of the sport.

More importantly for the Galaxy, the most successful MLS franchise, it will be a huge test as the reigning MLS champions. They are the first club to win five titles in the MLS’ 20-year history. To add to the excitement, Steven Gerrard will join reigning MLS MVP Robbie Keane and up-and-coming star Gyasi Zardes and Co to take on some of the best soccer has to offer. Gerrard is scheduled to join the Galaxy in July.

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L.A. hasn’t been playing the best soccer this season. They’ve been very inconsistent. They currently sit seventh in the Western Conference. There’s a gaping hole of creativity in the midfield left by retired star Landon Donovan which Gerrard would fill. Juninho has been playing well as of late but not near the caliber of player Gerrard is. It’s not a knock on Juninho, but pairing him with the Englishman will do wonders for the team.

The defense in general has been shaky, allowing six goals this season. Jaime Penedo was recently named MLS player of the week for his brilliant performance in the Galaxy’s 1-0 shutout win over the Seattle Sounders. Omar Gonzalez had a strong outing against Seattle and the National Team as well. He’s rounding into form in the early part of the season. Robbie Rodgers is getting more and more comfortable in the left back position. Point being, Los Angeles has plenty of time to prepare for the tournament.

The MLS is no stranger to facing European competition. On Tuesday, the announcement was made that the MLS All-Stars will face Tottenham Hot Spurs hailing from the English Premier League. Tottenham will bring EPL’s leading scorer Harry Kane, dynamic playmaker Christian Eriksen and former MLS alum DeAndre Yedlin. This will be the tenth International team that will face the best the MLS has to offer. The All-Stars have faired well against Europe’s finest as they hold a 7-3-1 record overall.

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This bodes well for the Galaxy as they have the squad to compete against the best in the World. Plenty of star power on the roster to counter Europe’s elite. The one negative from the ICC is that the majority of the clubs from the old continent won’t be at full strength. Most of their star players will be slowly rejoining their teams from vacation. European clubs will be kicking off their pre-season. Nonetheless, the clubs will still have quality players on the pitch for the Galaxy to face.

However you want to slice it, to see the reigning MLS champs take on teams like Manchester United and Barcelona would be a treat for everyone. It would be nice to see L.A. avenge their 7-0 thrashing they received from the Red Devils in 2014. Soccer fans have to wait every summer to see these teams play in the U.S. Every MLS team in the tournament will host an ICC match. More details will be released on April 28.

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