By Alex Baker
(Los Angeles, CA) – The LA Galaxy announced Friday that they will be facing Real Madrid in a summer friendly on July 16 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This will be the second summer in a row that the Galaxy have faced the Spanish powerhouse and the third meeting between the two overall.
Galaxy lost the first encounter in July of 2005, 2-0 at the Home Depot Center. Then in August of 2010 the Galaxy went two up in the first half before losing 3-2 at the Rose Bowl.
This will mark Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho’s third summer trip to LA in a row. The “Special One” spent time here last year with Real Madrid and the summer before that when his Inter Milan side lost in a friendly against Chelsea that also took place at the Rose Bowl.
Real Madrid are one of the most celebrated and successful clubs in the history of European football. They have 31 Spanish La Liga championships and nine European championships. Recently they edged out rivals Barcelona to win the Spanish Copa Del Rey. Their squad boasts many of the biggest names in the game including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka as well as Spanish World Cup winners Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas.
The July 16 match will be the second time David Beckham has faced his former club while wearing a Galaxy jersey.
The Galaxy are currently sitting atop of the Western Conference standings with a 4-2-3 record. This weekend they will be welcoming Thierry Henry and the NY Red Bulls who currently occupy the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings at 4-1-2.
New York have won twice in their last three visits to the Home Depot Center and are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak during which they not conceded a single goal.
The Galaxy lost 2-1 on the road last week in a difficult match against FC Dallas that was halted for more than an hour due to thunderstorms. However with the exception of Leonardo and Adam Cristman who are out with long-term problems, the Galaxy have few concerns in the injury department, save Gregg Berhalter who will is not available due to a sprain.
With nearly the full compliment of his starting lineup to choose from, Galaxy coach Bruce Arena will be looking for something like the commanding performance his side delivered in their last home fixture when they won a decisive 3-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on the 23rd of April.
Saturday’s home match against the Red Bulls kicks off at 8pm PST and is expected to be a sellout.
