Giovani Dos Santos: A New Star Has Arrived In Hollywood
By Pablo Jacobo
Giovani dos Santos has dazzled in his first two games for the LA Galaxy.
Dos Santos made his official home MLS debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday. He scored in the 68th minute and assisted Robbie Keane’s eleventh goal of the campaign. Gio became the fourth player in Galaxy history to score and assist on his debut.
Giovani dos Santos is the 4th @LAGalaxy player with a goal & assist in his @MLS debut, & 2nd in less than a month! pic.twitter.com/VmOhgyF6Ng
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 9, 2015
LA Galaxy’s new No. 10 also scored in Thursday’s CCL match against Central FC. In both matches he didn’t play the entire game. HC Bruce Arena acknowledged during his post-game press conference that Gio’s a “few weeks away” from full fitness. Still two goals in two matches is not a bad way to begin his LA Galaxy career.
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Dos Santos echoed his coach’s words by adding he’s coming off an injury he sustained during the Gold Cup tournament. The 26-year-old’s stats against the Seattle Sounders were not bad at all. He completed 69-percent of his passes, created four opportunities on 39 touches in the match.
The LA Galaxy coach was spot on in his assessment of his new star player. Chemistry is going to come with time but fans should be encouraged by what they saw. So much quality on the field for Los Angeles; started an attack-oriented squad of Sebastian Lletget, Gyasi Zardes, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane alongside dos Santos.
A lot of imprecision in the first half by the Galaxy team which is understandable. Other than practice, this lineup has never been on the field together. There were some moments of brilliance by the quintet. Smooth plays and quick touches created some nice opportunities for LA but the final touch just wasn’t there.
Personally I think Gio is more dangerous from the wing position but again his conditioning is not there yet. He’s a handful when he makes long runs inside utilizing his speed, either creating opportunities or making space for his own shot. Once he regains full match fitness, Arena can deploy dos Santos throughout the pitch.
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I hate sounding like a broken record but the LA Galaxy have tremendous speed on the corners with Zardes, Lletget and dos Santos. Lleget has been playing like a man possessed since joining the club. Dancing around defenders making plays and scoring goals.
Dos Santos’ versatility will be a huge asset for the LA Galaxy who are temporarily in second place with 40 points after Sunday’s victory. They continued their dominance at home but will now fly to Dallas in search of their second road win of the season.
To sum up, HC Bruce Arena on dos Santos’ performance, “I liked everything I saw today.”