CARSON, Calif. (Sunday, January 6, 2013) – LA Galaxy defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and Omar Gonzalez were each named today to the U.S. National Team roster for their annual January training camp at The Home Depot Center. DeLaGarza and Gonzalez, who each have two caps for the U.S., are two of 25 players who were named to the squad by U.S. National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. The camp will begin tomorrow at The Home Depot Center and run until January 27, when the squad will travel to Houston for a friendly against Canada on January 29.
DeLaGarza made his first two appearances for the U.S. in January 2012, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a pair of 1-0 wins over Venezuela and Panama. Now entering his fifth season with the Galaxy, DeLaGarza has appeared in 99 regular season games since joining the club ahead of the start of the 2009 season. He tied a career-high with 30 games started and played last season despite missing the final month of the regular season and all of the MLS Cup Playoffs while recovering from a left knee sprain. This is the third straight year in which DeLaGarza, who has two goals and an assist in his MLS career, has been included in the National Team’s January training camp.
This is also the third straight year in which Gonzalez, who was selected as the MVP of LA’s 3-1 win over Houston in MLS Cup 2012, has been selected for the annual January training camp. The 24-year-old central defender made his international debut in a friendly against Brazil in August 2010 before collecting his second cap at The Home Depot Center in January 2011 against Chile. A two-time MLS All-Star and the 2011 MLS Defender of the Year, Gonzalez withdrew from last year’s camp in order to begin a short term loan with FC Nürnberg of the German Bundesliga. After injuring his left knee early in his loan spell, Gonzalez missed the first half of the 2012 season before returning on July 4 against Philadelphia, less than six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL. He played in each of the Galaxy’s final 13 regular season games, as well as all six of their postseason games, scoring in MLS Cup to tie the score at 1-1 in the 60th minute. Since joining the Galaxy ahead of the start of the 2009 season, Gonzalez has appeared in 101 regular season games, scoring six times.
