Ian Palmer


What: MLS Cup Final
Who: Los Angeles Galaxy (1st Western Division) versus Real Salt Lake (5th Western Division)
When: Monday 23rd November, 2009, at 1:30 GMT
Where: Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington, USA

Cup Record

This will be the Los Angeles Galaxy’s record-setting sixth MLS Cup final appearance. They lost in the inaugural cup 3-2 in 1996, lost 2-0 in 1999, lost 2-1 in 2001, won 1-0 in 2002, and won 1-0 in their last final in 2005. The Galaxy, led by David Beckham, booked their spot in the final after beating the Houston Dynamo 2-0 in the semi-final, and getting by arch rivals Chivas USA 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final. It was quite a turnaround season for Los Angeles as they finished with the worst record in the league last season.

The Galaxy have been playing well at both ends of the pitch lately with two clean sheets to show for it in the last two games. Beckham is in fine form and Landon Donovan, with 15 goals so far this season, is still an attacking threat whenever he touches the ball. Donovan will be seeking his fourth MLS Cup. Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts is easily one of the best in the league and 21-year-old defender Omar Gonzalez was named the league’s Rookie of the Year. Edson Buddle also proved a useful player with five goals this season.


Too hot to handle?

Real Salt Lake made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, winning the last game of the season 3-0 over Colorado and earning the final playoff spot. They have hit a run of hot form at the right time of the season and knocked out defending champion Columbus Crew by beating them twice in the quarter-final and squeaked by Chicago in the semi-final.

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando was the hero of the semi-final as he saved three Chicago penalties in the shoot-out after keeping a clean sheet for 120 minutes. Kyle Beckerman had a good season in midfield and forwards Pablo Campo, who chipped in with four goals and five assists, and Yura Movsisyan, who scored eight goals, performed well.

This will be the first MLS Cup appearance for the club after entering the league in 2005. They came close last year, but lost in the semi-final 1-0 against the New York Red Bulls. Real have also qualified for next season’s CONCACAF Champions League competition.

 

 

Recent form

Los Angeles:
Los Angeles 2-0 Houston Dynamo AET (MLS semi-final)
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 Chivas USA (MLS quarter-final second-leg)
Chivas USA 2-2 Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS quarter-final first-leg)

Real Salt Lake:
Chicago Fire 0-0 Real Salt Lake *Real won 5-4 on penalties (MLS semi-final)
Columbus Crew 2-3 Real Salt Lake (MLS quarter-final second-leg)
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Columbus Crew (MLS quarter-final first-leg)


Key absentees

Real Salt Lake:
Questionable : FW Fabian Espíndola (strain)
Probable: DF Jamison Olave (knee injury); DF Chris Wingert (adductor tightness)

Los Angeles Galaxy:
Out: DF Julian Valentin (foot fracture); FW Alecko Eskandarian (head injury)
Questionable: MF Stefani Miglioranzi (groin strain)


Players to watch

Los Angeles – David Beckham – While Galaxy captain Landon Donovan has been a crucial player this season, David Beckham is still the engine that drives the car, even though he only scored two goals and grabbed three assists in 11 games. Beckham is counted on to supply Donovan and the rest of his team-mates with quality balls and he’s been doing an excellent job of it lately. The England international has been motivating the squad and it seems the Galaxy are all on the same page at the moment and are pulling together as a cohesive unit, with Beckham as the player they look to for guidance.

Real Salt Lake – Robbie Findley – He may only be 5’9, but the 24-year-old striker has been a huge presence with Real Salt Lake this season, notching up 12 goals during the regular season and two more in the playoffs as club top scorer. Findley may have some added incentive in the cup final as he’s a former Galaxy player and would love nothing more than scoring against the club who let him go. The striker has been capped just once by the US national team, but look for that to change if he keeps this pace up again next season. He is in form right now and was recently was named the MLS Player of the Week after scoring the winner against last year’s champions, the Columbus Crew, in the first-leg of Real’s quarter-final.


Match prediction

Los Angeles led the Western Division with 48 points and while Real Salt Lake came fifth in the same division, they were only eight points behind with 40. The Galaxy had a tough time with Real this season, drawing 2-2 in Salt Lake and losing 2-0 at home. This makes for an intriguing match-up and is being billed as the best (Galaxy) vs. the hottest (Real) by most fans in North America.

If Beckham is motivated and can feed Donovan with some quality passes, look for the Galaxy to score at least once and if keeper Ricketts can keep Real’s Findley off the score sheet, a 1-0 win for Los Angeles could be the outcome. 

*If the score is level after 90 minutes there will be 30 minutes of extra time. If the score is still even, the match will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

 

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