CARSON, Calif. – To say LA Galaxy central defender Leonardo has come a long way is by no means a stretch of the imagination.
The 27-year-old Brazilian has quietly, but steadily gone from someone who has had his share of inconsistency and injury problems to becoming one of the team’s most reliable defenders.
Even head coach Bruce Arena, who usually is not inclined to issue praise, has been impressed with him this season.
“He, probably out of all of our defenders, has had the best year,” Arena said.
Leonardo originally came through the youth ranks of Sao Paulo FC before joining the Galaxy – along with Juninho and Alex Cazumba – in 2009. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defender suffered a potentially career-threatening injury to his right knee on April 17, 2011 in Chicago that required reconstructive surgery and forced him to miss almost two seasons.
But lately, he’s been in top form and has drawn steady praise for his solid, if unspectacular, play.
Leonardo knows why he has performed so well.
“When you have things good at home, when your family is good, everything is good, you’re feeling healthy, then you feel good on the field,” he said. “I just thank God and the team for the opportunity.”
There are those who lament he has been mistake-prone – “Who isn’t mistake-prone?” Arena asked, quietly chiding a reporter – but his critics have been silenced this season.
Midfielder Juninho, one of Leonardo’s closest friends, said he hasn’t seen him play better.
“When he got healthy and he’s 100 percent, for sure he’s one of the best defenders in the league. He’s been proving himself for a long time. He’s had injuries over the years, but he’s come back and he’s ready to go.”
“I’m hoping he can continue to help us.”
Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who rejoined the Galaxy this season and was with the team when Leonardo arrived in 2009, has been impressed with the Brazilian. “He’s playing some pretty good football right now,” Donovan admitted.
“Leo is a good player,” Ricketts went on. “The more you play the better you play. I think he’s bearing the fruits of the trust Bruce has put in him.
“He’s very aggressive, and I think that puts a little bit of fear in strikers when they go toward him. I think he’s won the mental game with his aggressiveness.”
Juninho agreed.
“He likes contact, even in training,” he said of his teammate. “He’s a guy that’s not going to give any room.”
Adhering to his quiet nature, Leonardo continues to take such praise from his coaches and teammates in stride.
But is this his best year? That’s not a conversation he’ll be joining anytime soon.
“It’s easy for people to say that,” he said. “I work hard every day. You do that, it’s going to be easy on the field.”
“I just want to keep it going. Just seven more games and we’re done.”
