CARSON, Calif. – David Bingham is ready for his fresh start in the City of Angels.
The Galaxy announced the signing of the 28-year-old goalkeeper on Wednesday after acquiring his rights from the San Jose Earthquakes last month.
Bingham spent the last seven seasons with the Earthquakes and served as the team’s No. 1 starter since the 2015 campaign. However, midway through the 2017 season, Bingham found himself on the outside as San Jose opted for a change in net.
The move left Bingham in limbo for months, but now a member of the Galaxy, the goalkeeper says that a “huge relief” to be starting the next chapter of his career.
“This is process is something that I’ve been dealing with since last November which a lot of people don’t know about. I’ve been working through this stuff for the last year and a few months,” Bingham told LA Galaxy Insider. “It’s going to be an adjustment, but I’m going down early so I can acclimate and settle in before the preseason starts. That’s one thing I’ll get done so then we can just worry about getting on the same page for preseason which I do not doubt that we’ll be able to do.
“It’s a huge relief. The moment that I was traded from San Jose, a huge pressure lifted off my shoulders. That’s all left in the past now, and I have no desire to go back or to talk about it anymore. The best part is getting going with the Galaxy and really just getting back on the field and doing what I love to do.”
Considered one of the league’s bright young goalkeeping prospects, the University of California, Berkeley product brings a strong pedigree to the Galaxy with 288 saves, 27 career shutouts, and a 1.24 goals-against average in 95 starts throughout his professional career. Bingham's success has also helped the Northern California native earn three appearances for the U.S. National Team.
HIGHLIGHTS: David Bingham joins LA Galaxy from San Jose Earthquakes
Bingham joins a Galaxy squad that struggled to keep the ball out of the back of the net in 2017, conceding 67 times, the second-worst total in MLS. The team's defensive difficulties ultimately led head coach Sigi Schmid to dismiss all three of the team's goalkeepers from a year ago.
Hungry to help Los Angeles return to winning ways, Bingham is determined not to let anything like that happen again.
“We’re going to be a really strong team and a really hard team to break down this year,” Bingham said. “It’s going to be a fun year. It’ll be an adjustment for everyone, but we have all preseason to work through that and really get going.”
Although there might be some initial awkwardness from the StubHub Center faithful about seeing a former Cali Clásico rival in net for the Galaxy, Bingham says all those worries will be out the window once they see him take the field.
“It’ll be the same feeling for the fans when they first see me and think ‘whoa he used to play for San Jose,’ but once they see me play, they’ll realize that I leave it all the field,” Bingham said. “I’m excited to play in front of them, and I’m hoping to win a lot of games at StubHub Center in front of them this year.”
