CARSON, Calif. – The sense of anticipation for Saturday’s match between the LA Galaxy and Mexican powerhouse Club América at StubHub Center (8:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1) is at an understandably high level.
The appearance of one of the world’s most successful club teams has drawn a sold-out crowd of 27,000 and the Galaxy’s Steven Gerrard is expected to make his first competitive appearance.
The match is part of the International Champions Cup, which also includes Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, SL Benfica and ACF Fiorentina. The Galaxy will also take on Barcelona on July 21 at a sold-out Rose Bowl.
The Galaxy’s Alan Gordon called Saturday’s matchup “different.”
“You can take it one of two ways,” he said. “You can kind of be frustrated in that it’s another game on a busy schedule or you can look on the positive side and realize we’re playing a quality side, a great experience. It’s another chance for us to keep our momentum going and work on things we need to.
“You get only so many of these games in your career. It’s good to test yourself out against top teams in different divisions and it’s going to be a fun game.”
Club América, now coached by former Mexican international defender Ignacio Ambriz – he replaced Gustavo Matosas in May shortly after Matosas led Club América to its sixth CONCACAF Champions League title – could be missing up to eight players because of national-team call-ups and various tournaments. The Galaxy will be missing three players – Jaime Penedo, Gyasi Zardes and Omar Gonzalez, all of whom are playing for their respective national teams in the Gold Cup – and head coach Bruce Arena plans on fielding two teams for 45-minute stints on Saturday as the defending MLS Cup champions embark on one of their busier weeks of the season.
The Galaxy have a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against Real Salt Lake on Tuesday in Sandy, Utah and then a regular-season match against San Jose on Friday at StubHub Center.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Galaxy midfielder Baggio Husidic said about the schedule. “Maybe we’ll get a break in December when the season’s over.”
Galaxy defender Dan Gargan said he and his teammates are eagerly looking forward to Saturday’s match.
“América is arguably the best team in North America. I think it’s going to certainly be a contest,” he said. “We as the Galaxy are excited to compete against a good team. We missed a mid-week game for the first time in a while, so being able to train and get a little bit of rest feels really good.
“We’re excited to get out there on Saturday.”
They’re also excited to see Gerrard, the former Liverpool FC captain, on the field for the first time.
“He’s going to be a huge player for this football club,” the Galaxy’s Robbie Keane said. “I think everyone is excited to get him playing.”
Perhaps no one is as excited as Gerrard.
“Everything’s fallen into place really nice,” he said at a press conference earlier this week. “Now it’s over to me to do my talking on the pitch.
“It’s very easy for me to sit up here and talk the talk. Now I’ve got to walk.”
