Galaxy earns spot in MLS title game with 3-1 win

A first-half penalty-kick score from Landon Donovan and second-half goals by Mike Magee and Robbie Keane lifted the Galaxy to a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake at the Home Depot Center on Sunday, giving it Major League Soccer's Western Conference crown and earning a trip to the MLS title game in two weeks on its home field.

Real Salt Lake's goal came on a header by Alvaro Saborio midway through the first half.

The Galaxy will meet the Houston Dynamo in the championship game Nov. 20 Houston won the Eastern Conference final Sunday, upsetting Sporting Kansas City, 2-0, despite losing midfielder Brad Davis, a leading MVP candidate, to a strained right quadriceps late in the first half.

Houston’s goals, both in the second half, came from Andre Hainault and Carlos Costly.

The Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, were the most difficult teams to score against during the MLS regular season. And Sunday, playing in chilly weather before an announced crowd of 23,437, they showed why, bending but rarely breaking on the defensive end.

The Galaxy missed a chance to take a quick lead when Chad Barrett got loose behind the Real Salt Lake defense in the third minute and ran down a through ball. But his open left-footed shot from inside the 18-yard box was high.

Two minutes later Salt Lake missed a great chance of its own after Javier Morales' corner kick was volleyed in front of the Galaxy net where Robbie Russell got a foot on it. But his hard shot from short range went right into midsection of a surprised Josh Saunders, allowing the Galaxy keeper to make the save.

And that just the start of what would be an active and entertaining first half in which the teams combined for 11 shots and 17 fouls, with the Galaxy leading by one in both categories.

The Galaxy finally broke on top in the 23rd minute after Real Salt Lake's Andy Williams chested Omar Gonzalez in the penalty area as the Galaxy defender tried to get his head on a cross in front of the goal. Williams was whistled for the foul and Donovan converted the penalty shot cleanly, driving a right-footed shot into the right corner for his second penalty-shot goal in as many games.

The lead lasted just two minutes, though, before defender Jamison Olave redirected Javier Morales' corner kick from the left side of the goal back in front, where Saborio drove a hard header by Saunders.

The Galaxy had a chance to get the lead back in the 33rd minute but Keane's open right-footer struck the post. Nine minutes later it was Keane again, taking a feed from Barrett, slipping Olave with a beautiful move, then firing a low, bending shot that just missed to the far side.

The last shot of the half came from Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman, whose right-footed blast from the top of the box struck the post with seconds left in stoppage time.

Both teams picked up right where they left off after the intermission and less than six minutes in, the Galaxy raced nearly the length of the field with David Beckham feeding Keane, whose cross gave Barrett a great chance in front of the goal. But the header from about five yards hit Will Johnson directly in the face, sending the midfielder to the turf as the ball caromed harmlessly over the goal.

Less than five minutes later it was Magee missing high with a header off another beautiful cross from Beckham. He didn't miss on his next chance, though, scoring on a diving header off another perfect Beckham pass in the 58th minute.

Keane finished the scoring in the 68th minute, taking a pass from Donovan and racing up the left wing, deking Olave again with another deft move, then sending a low shot into the far corner.

Salt Lake didn't quit, so it fell to Saunders to keep the lead at two goals with a diving right-handed save on Morales in the 84th minute. Seconds into stoppage time, RSL came up short again when Fabian Espindola missed just wide of the right post.

The win left the Galaxy unbeaten in 23 matches this season at the Home Depot Center, where the MLS Cup will be contested in two weeks. The Galaxy will be playing in the league championship for the second time in three seasons. In its last final, in 2009, Los Angeles lost to Real Salt Lake on penalty kicks.

-- Kevin Baxter

Photo: Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan celebrates with teammate Todd Dunivant after scoring on a penalty kick against Real Salt Lake in the first half Sunday at Home Depot Center. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

No men allowed, but 41,000 still attend soccer game in Turkey

Turkey's soccer association is trying something new in an effort to prevent violence at soccer games involving teams sanctioned for unruly fan behavior -- ban men and give free tickets to women and children under 12.

On Tuesday, Fenerbahce gave out free tickets -- to women and children only -- for its game against Manisapor in Istanbul. Long lines formed around Sukru Saracoglu stadium, with some women carrying babies in team colors, and more than 41,000 tickets were given away.

"This really is a historic day," Yasemin Mercil, a female member of Fenerbahce's executive board, said before the game. "For the first time in the world, only women and children will watch a game. The women know all the chants. The same anthems, the same chants will be sung."

The experiment seems to have been a success. Players tossed flowers at the fans before the game, and the visiting team received applause, according to the Anatolia news agency.

“This memory will stay with me forever," Fenerbahce captain Alex de Sousa said. "It's not always that you see so many women and children in one game."

Manisaspor midfielder Omer Aysan added: "It was such a fun and pleasant atmosphere."

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-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: More than 41,000 women and children filled Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul to watch Fenerbahce play against Manisapor in a Turkish League soccer match Tuesday. Credit: Turkpix / Associated Press

Landon Donovan on U.S. loss to Costa Rica

Landon Donovan put Friday’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in proper perspective, addressing the immediate ramifications for the U.S. men’s national soccer team.

Still, he managed to take aim at the bigger picture.

“Sometimes this game is cruel,” Donovan said. “I don’t think we deserved to lose the game. At a minimum, we probably deserved to tie the game. When you’re not good in front of the goal and you make mistakes defensively, that can happen.

“We were still in a fine position to get something out of that game. Unfortunately we fell asleep on one play and they made us pay. We did a good job in possession. We did a good job moving the ball. We probably weren’t quite dangerous enough and didn’t get enough pressure on their goalie."

Donovan felt that the team tired near the end of the game, a byproduct of difficult travel (for some) and intense training sessions this week under a new coaching staff.

"I think there’s no question tonight is going to benefit us," he said. "There’s a lot to learn from tonight. A lot of our young players will now see you can dominate a team, dominate possession and have the majority of the ball and still lose."

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Photo: U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan sends the ball into the box on a set play against Costa Rica on Friday night at Home Depot Center. Credit: Jake Roth / US Presswire

Video: Galaxy players discuss upcoming CONCACAF match against Alajuelense

L.A. Galaxy players David Beckham and Landon Donovan, as well as Coach Bruce Arena, discuss their CONCACAF Champions League game against LD Alajuelense. For more soccer news, go to The Times' soccer page.

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Disgruntled soccer fan rams ref with scooter [video]

 

A soccer referee escaped unscathed after an angry fan rushed the field and struck him -- with a mobility scooter.

The incident occurred after Oss' loss to Almere City in the Dutch league match Friday night, reports FanHouse UK.

Referee Edwin van der Graaf was walking into the tunnel after the match when the fan, riding the scooter, clipped the ref a couple of times before van der Graaf stepped out of reach.

No word on whether the unidentified fan will face any charges. On the video he appears to just scoot away after the run-in.

-- Kelly Burgess

Video credit: FanHouse UK via YouTube

Samuel Eto’o takes the money and runs to Russia

The world’s highest-paid soccer player now plays for a club that is only 20 years old, has never won anything and that no one outside the beleaguered and violence-ridden Dagestan region in Russia has ever heard of, let alone seen play.

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, formerly of Barcelona and Inter Milan, has taken the money and run off to join FC Anzhi Makhachkala of the Russian Premier League.

Who could blame him? Eto’o is 30 and on the downward slope of a superlative career that has seen him win European Champions League titles with Barcelona in 2006 and 2009, among many other honors.

If a Russian oil mogul named Suleiman Kerimov is willing to pay him a reported $29 million a year after taxes on a three-year contract, as London’s Financial Times indicated, why not grab the gold and hope for the best?

Inter Milan was thinking much the same thing when it agreed to terms with Anzhi Makhachkala that will net the debt-laden Italian Serie A team $36 million.

“There are other valuable players in the team and we’ll start building again,” Inter Milan Coach Gian Piero Gasperini said of losing the prolific Eto’o, who scored 37 goals last season.

Robbie Keane to start for Galaxy against San Jose

Coach Bruce Arena has made good on his word. Irish striker Robbie Keane will start for the Galaxy on Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Friday, Arena said the Galaxy's newest player would play "significant minutes" and joked that Keane would prefer to play 100 minutes in a 90-minute game. Keane is two days removed from landing at LAX and has one practice with the team under his belt. But Landon Donovan said Friday that Ireland's all-time leading scorer looked ready to go in training.

The Galaxy tied the Earthquakes, 0-0, in June, but San Jose is in a record slump -- winless in its last six games. The Earthquakes, however, tend to elevate their level of play for each installment of the "California Clasico," and the fanfare surrounding Keane's debut could provide extra incentive for San Jose to knock off the first-place Galaxy.

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Photo: Robbie Keane.  Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

Irish striker Robbie Keane joins Galaxy

One day after being greeted at the airport by enthusiastic L.A. Galaxy fans, Irish striker Robbie Keane trained with the team for the first time Friday afternoon in front of equal fanfare.

In the biggest splash since the signing of David Beckham, Keane, 31, was introduced at a news conference filled with green, orange and white balloons and a buffet of corned beef and cabbage. With a mix of international media filling the east terrace of the Home Depot Center, the English Premier League’s 10th all-time leading scorer sat alongside Landon Donovan and Beckham -- the team’s other designated players -- and discussed his new home. Keane is expected to add punch to a Galaxy squad that is in first place and is seeking its first Major League Soccer Cup since 2005.

“I certainly had a good feeling about this move,” Keane said. “I had played in the Premiership for quite a long time and I had scored a lot of goals there. … It was an easy decision.”     

Coach Bruce Arena said that the Irish national team captain would play “some extended minutes” in Saturday’s match against rival San Jose. Donovan and Beckham said they are happy to have Keane here, and neither seemed fazed by the mounting pressure to win.

“In my opinion, pressure is perceived,” Donovan said. “Our jobs just got easier since Robbie got here. We want to win championships. I have no reservations about saying that.”  

Added Beckham: “Everyone loves the Irish, so we’re glad to have him here.”

-- Matt Stevens

Chivas USA defender Jimmy Conrad to retire

Chivas USA defender and former U.S. national team player Jimmy Conrad will announce his retirement Thursday at a press conference in Carson, Chivas said.

The 34-year-old started 275 games in the MLS over 13 seasons with three teams. He was named MLS Defender of the Year in 2005 and was an all star five times. He also earned 28 caps on the USA national team and played in the 2006 World Cup.

Chivas USA acquired Conrad in Dec. 2010 through the MLS re-entry draft, but the Temple City native has started just two games this season and played only 180 minutes. He suffered a mild concussion in a game in March. 

On Wednesday morning Chivas USA also confirmed a trade for Juan Pablo Angel from the Galaxy. He will be available for Chivas' game against Colorado on Saturday.

--Matt Stevens

Photo: Jimmy Conrad, third from left, playing for Team USA in a match against Italy during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Credit: EPA / Uli Deck.

 

Galaxy acquires Irish international striker Robbie Keane

The Galaxy on Monday officially announced that it has acquired Irish international forward Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.

To make room for the 31-year-old Keane, who will join the Galaxy as a designated player after his U.S. work visa is approved, the club will have to shed one of its current three designated players.

The belief is that with David Beckham and Landon Donovan virtually untouchable, it will be Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel who is traded or released.

Angel, 35, has scored only three goals and assisted on one in 22 games for the Galaxy this season.

Keane, a 14-year professional who has played 108 games for Ireland and scored a record 51 goals for his country, is the 10th-highest goal scorer in Premier League history.

His playing resume includes stints with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic and West Ham United.

Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena said he needed a proven striker as the club moves toward the MLS playoffs and pursues the CONCACAF Champions League title.

“I have followed his career and have always respected his ability as a competitor and a goal scorer,” Arena said of Keane in a statement released by the Galaxy.

“I believe that he brings qualities in and around the penalty area that we have been lacking.”

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Photo: Robbie Keane. Credit: Georgi Licovski / EPA

Fired U.S. soccer coach Bob Bradley finalist to be Egypt’s coach

Bob Bradley, fired as coach of the U.S. national soccer team July 28 and replaced the next day by Juergen Klinsmann, is one of three finalists for the vacant position as Egypt’s national team coach.

Also under consideration by the Egyptian Football Assn. (EFA) are Colombia’s Francisco “Paco” Maturana and Serbia’s Zoran Filipovic.

“The EFA board will meet with the three coaches this week to pick one of them,” the EFA announced on its website on Sunday.

Egypt has won the last three African championships — in 2006, 2008 and 2010 — but its failure to qualify for the 2012 tournament led to the June 6 dismissal of Hassan Shehata as coach.

Under Shehata, the Pharaohs climbed to their highest-ever position in the FIFA world rankings when they rose to ninth in 2010. Egypt currently is ranked 36th.

The EFA has been casting about for a successor, but has reportedly been rebuffed by Portuguese coach Nelo Vingada and talks have broken down with French coach Herve Renard.

If he is named to the post, Bradley, 53, would become the first American-born coach to take charge of a foreign national team since Steve Sampson coached Costa Rica.

Bradley was coach of the U.S. when it defeated Egypt, 3-0, in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

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Photo: Bob Bradley. Credit: Brian Snyder / Reuters

Jurgen Klinsmann is new coach of U.S. soccer team [Updated]

Jurgen Klinsmann was hired as the coach of the U.S. soccer team on Friday.

Klinsmann is a former German World Cup winner and manager. As a player, he helped Germany win the World Cup in 1990 and, as a coach, he led the team to the semifinals in 2006 and finished his three-year term with a record of 20-8-6. He will be the first foreign-born coach of the U.S. team since Bora Milutinovic was in charge from 1991 to 1995.

Klinsmann will replace Bob Bradley, who was fired on Thursday.

[Updated, 10:12 a.m., July 29: Klinsmann, who lives in Huntington Beach, was courted by the team in 2006 and 2010 but couldn't agree to terms with U.S. Soccer at that time.

U.S. Soccer will hold a news conference in New York on Monday to formally introduce the new hire. His first match with the United States will be against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia.]

"We are excited to have Jurgen as the head coach," U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a statement.

"He is a highly accomplished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program.

"Jurgen has had success in many different areas of the game and we look forward to the leadership he will provide on and off the field."

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-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Jurgen Klinsmann. Credit: Ronald Witteck

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Juergan Klinsmann is new coach of U.S. soccer team

Juergen Klinsmann was hired as the coach of the U.S. soccer team on Friday.

Klinsmann is a former German World Cup winner and manager. As a player, he helped Germany win the World Cup in 1990 and, as a coach, he led the team to the semifinals in 2006 and finished his three-year term with a record of 20-8-6. He will be the first foreign-born coach of the U.S. team since Bora Milutinovic was in charge from 1991 to 1995.

Klinsmann will replace Bob Bradley, who was fired on Thursday.

[Updated at 10:12 a.m.: Klinsmann, who lives in Huntington Beach, was courted by the team in 2006 and 2010 but could never agree to terms with U.S. soccer.

U.S. Soccer will hold a press conference in New York on Monday to formally introduce the new hire. Klinsmann’s first match with the United States will be against Mexico on Aug. 10 in Philadelphia.]

"We are excited to have Juergen as the head coach," U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said in a statement.

"He is a highly accomplished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program.

"Juergen has had success in many different areas of the game and we look forward to the leadership he will provide on and off the field."

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-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Juergen Klinsmann. Credit: Ronald Witteck.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.