CARSON, Calif – The LA Galaxy’s Alan Gordon didn’t take long to check the MLS schedule when he was traded from San Jose to Los Angeles for allocation money on Aug. 11.
“Immediately,” he said with a grin.
Gordon understandably was interested in seeing when the bitter Western Conference rivals played each other again. It was Sunday, as it turned out, at noon at Buck Shaw Stadium (Time Warner Cable SportsNet, UniMas) in Santa Clara.
“No matter which side you’re on you know when these games are,” the 32-year-old said. “I had the game in my mind regardless. But as soon as I got traded I was looking forward to it.”
The game will mark this season’s third edition of the California Clasico, with the Galaxy (14-5-8, 50 points) winning the first game 1-0 at Stanford Stadium on June 28 and the Earthquakes (6-11-9, 27 points) earning a 2-2 tie in the rematch on Aug. 8 at StubHub Center.
Gordon, who has three goals and an assist in six appearances with the Galaxy since coming back, was a member of the Earthquakes from 2011 until this season and originally was selected fourth overall by the Galaxy in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. He said he holds no ill will toward San Jose officials for the trade that returned him to Southern California.
“It’s a business,” he said. “I have a good relationship with (head coach) Mark (Watson) and the whole coaching staff over there. There’s no hard feelings whatsoever. We ended up on good terms; we had a good discussion. This is professional sports. It always ends, so why not end it in a good way?
“Those are my brothers. They’ll always be my brothers, no matter what jersey I have on. We’re used to competing with each other in practice and I’m looking forward to doing it in a real match.”
The Galaxy lead the all-time series 27-18-11, although San Jose is 13-10-6 when it is the home team.
Los Angeles is unbeaten in six games after rallying for a 2-2 tie in Montreal on Wednesday but will be short-handed Sunday. Landon Donovan and Dan Gargan will miss the game because of yellow-card accumulation and left back Todd Dunivant is lost for at least six weeks because of a torn groin muscle. But right back James Riley, who hasn’t played since March 22 because of a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, appears ready to rejoin the lineup and his return couldn’t come a moment too soon.
“It’s an opportunity, definitely,” he said. “I think we’re at a point where the work’s been done, and now it’s an opportunity to present that work on Sunday if need be. We’ve had guys step up tremendously in that position.
“I definitely want to be able to contribute something to the group.”
Brian Rowe, expected to get another start in goal with Jaime Penedo returning after duty with Panama’s national team at the Copa Centroamericana, said he’s been impressed with how the Galaxy have responded during an eight-game, 30-day part of the schedule in which they’ve gone 5-1-1.
“It’s been a long stretch here,” he said. “But I think if we would have looked at all these games and asked how many points we would have wanted out of it, we would have been happy with what we’ve taken.
“The guys have done a great job. There’s been some unfortunate injuries and we’ve had to make some tough decisions along the way, but the guys have done a great job stepping in and getting the job done.”
