Bruce Arena has been plenty busy this past week.
By Ivan Yeo
The Los Angeles Galaxy have spent these past few days shoring up its defense, with more surely expected to come.
Looking to fill the void created by the departures of Omar Gonzalez and Juninho, the Galaxy have went across the pond to seek out their replacements. The Galaxy on Tuesday signed Belgian center back Jelle Van Damme, then on Wednesday signed English left back Ashley Cole.
Cole comes to Los Angeles after a standout club career in Europe. Most of those years were in England, first with Arsenal, where he made 228 appearences and won two league titles, including the 2003-2004 team that went undefeated in league play, then with Chelsea, where he made 229 appearences, won two league titles, four FA Cups and a UEFA Champions League title in 2012. Cole recently spent the last two seasons with AS Roma, where he was used sparingly.
Cole has also featured extensively for the England national team, where he appeared in three World Cups and two European Championships. Now he comes to MLS, where he expected to be the starting left back, which would then switch Robbie Rogers to the right back spot.
Van Damme is a 6-3 center back who had spent the last four seasons with Belgian club Standard Liege, where he made 205 appearences for the club. Van Damme’s career has also taken him to England, Germany and the Netherlands. Van Damme has featured 30 times for the Belguim national team. Van Damme is expected to replace Omar Gonzalez, who left for Pachuca in December.
And the Galaxy may not be necessarily done yet. The Galaxy are also rumored to be interested in Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong. The midfielder, well known for his rugged style of play, has featured for the likes of Ajax, Hamburger SV, Manchester City, and currently AC Milan as well as the Dutch National team. If signed, de Jong is expected to replace Juninho, now at Club Tijuana, in the Central Midfield, though the more defensive-oriented de Jong might be a better fit alongside the offense-minded Steven Gerrard.
