LOS ANGELES—It’s going to be a special July 4th party on Saturday night at the StubHub Center, with the locals celebrating for several reasons.
Most noteworthy is the fact the La Galaxy will unveil their latest superstar, one Steven Gerrard, during halftime of their Major League Soccer contest against Toronto FC—even though the former Liverpool captain won’t suit up for a few days just yet.
The Galaxy are also celebrating a recent win over the San Jose Earthquakes in the U.S. Open Cup. Heck, even Robbie Keane is celebrating. The date holds a special place in his heart—he moved from Ireland to England on July 4 and he has a nephew who was born on July 4.
Saturday programming alert: Watch LA Galaxy vs. Toronto FC live on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet World at 10:30 pm ET. || Sportsnet World NOW|| Broadcast schedule
For Toronto FC, who practised under a glorious California sunshine on Friday afternoon, the mood is somewhat more businesslike. And while they showed no sign of anxiety on the training pitch, one wonders if there might be some trepidation heading into this one.
The dreaded Gold Cup call-ups are wrecking havoc on TFC. The absences of Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Ashtone Morgan and Jonathan Osorio leave gaping holes in the starting line-up for the Reds. Add to that the departure of Luke Moore—he’s back in England to attend to a death in the family—and you’ve got a full scale roster crisis on your hands.
But we’ve seen this before haven’t we? Earlier this season TFC went into RFK stadium without Altidore and Bradley, and proceeded to exit with the full three points against a D.C. United side that up to now has been far and away the best team in the Eastern Conference. Sebastian Giovinco as always is the wild card. We all know he’s capable of pulling a rabbit out of a hat when it’s most needed.
While the high scoring Galaxy are prepared to celebrate with fireworks on the pitch and again after the game on Independence Day, there are signs the visitors could get a result here. The Galaxy have been run ragged in MLS and U.S. Open play. Between June 13 and July 25 they will play a dozen matches.
This game will be a sellout. Gerrard will be there. It’s party time. But it could also be time for an unlikely Toronto win.
As Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said Friday morning, “I haven’t spent two minutes on Toronto. I have enough problems of my own.”