Over the next month I will be putting out a series of previews for MLS (not The) this season. I know you are all wondering why should I care about MLS, however here are a couple facts to get you going.

• Since 2007 the league has gone from 13 to 24 teams (and counting)
• Last year MLS added a new team in LA owned by Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra, and Mia Hamm!
• Soccer has the longest run time of the 4 major sports in 90 minutes, however because there’s no commercials the game only lasts 2 hours.
• Great players such as Josef Martinez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carlos Vela, and many many more come to a tv near you every week!
• ESPN+ has made it very easy to find each game every week.

L.A. Galaxy

Owner: Philip Anschutz

Coach: Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Previous Season Record: 13-12-9 7th in West

U.S. Open Cup 2018: Round of 16

Top Scorer: Zlatan Ibrahimovic 22 Goals

Stadium: Dignity Health Sports Park

2018 Recap

The Galaxy have always been one of the premiere franchises in MLS. They have won MLS Cup 5 times and always are a team bringing in Superstar players. Over the years they have brought in Players such as David Beckham, Robbie Keane, Ashley Cole, and of course Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Unfortunately this past season even the great and powerful Zlatan could not lift this team up, even though on paper they easily have a top 5 roster in MLS. With both Dos Santos brothers, Ola Kamara, Romain Alessandrini, Ashley Cole, and Zlatan there was no reason this team should have missed the playoffs. For some reason though it just did not work and they floundered to the finish.

Off Season Transactions

*A couple things to highlight here

• Obviously bringing Zlatan back is the biggest move in MLS this year.
• Uriel Antuna helps wing depth
• Matt Lampson is a solid MLS backup keeper

2019 Outlook

Quite simply this next season comes down to the defense for the Galaxy. They have by far the best forward line in the game, and arguably the best midfielders in the league too. However, they have not seemed to like to spend their money where it really matters and that is defense. David Bingham is an OK goalie when surrounded by a solid D, but he is not going to win you games by himself. The coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto is an MLS legend and can hopefully bring the winning spirit back to LA.

The fact that they missed the playoffs last year and still did not bring in any help in the back is very alarming. So even with all of the talent they have I think they will be fighting to make the back end of the playoffs in the West.