CARSON, Calif. – Ignacio Maganto knows that he’s not a finished product by any means but in his first season with the LA Galaxy, the rookie midfielder is showing that he has what it takes to make his mark with the first team.
During the first complete 90-minute shift of his young career, Maganto was a constant threat going forward as his industry and cleverness caused problems for Real Salt Lake during the Galaxy’s 1-0 victory on Wednesday. In addition to nearly finding the back of the net, Maganto was involved in the game’s seminal moment as he won a penalty that resulted in the game’s only goal.
Although Maganto has just five appearances under his belt, the Galaxy’s Spanish rookie midfielder is growing more confident with each passing minute.
“It’s important for me to get minutes every game. I think that every game, I’m improving a little bit. I still have some things to improve but I think that I am starting to find my way,” Maganto said. “I need to get the ball away more and be sharper in the second half… I’ve also gotten closer to scoring but I need to be closer.”
Maganto’s impressive showing in the first half was enough for Arena to scrap his plans to pull the youngster after the opening 45 minutes.
“The original plan was that he was going to come out at halftime, but I thought his first half he played very well. I decided to change it. We were going to play Robbie [Keane] at the start of the half regardless. He was going to come in. Our players knew that obviously someone was coming out at halftime. When we sized everything up, I think Jose [Villarreal] was the best choice because Maganto was playing very well. I wanted to keep him in.”
And according to the man who was slated to enter the game for Maganto, Arena’s decision was the right one.
“He did very well. The kid has got certain quality, he is skillful. When players are skillful that can go left or right, it’s very difficult for defenders to make sure where he is going to go,” Keane told reporters afterward. “So I thought he was very, very good and he is only going to get better the more games that he plays, and the more experience that he gets. He will understand how we play and what he has to do to stay in this team.”
With the final match of a three game in 10-day stretch looming, Maganto could very well earn his second consecutive start on Sunday when the Galaxy travel to face the New England Revolution in a rematch of the 2014 MLS Cup.
If entrusted with an appearance against the Revs, Maganto is confident that he can make an impact—and maybe, just maybe, get his first career goal.
“I feel like every game I have more confidence,” said Maganto. “Things are starting to go well and I feel like I’m getting close to being myself on the field.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
