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Welcome back, Todd Dunivant
Colorado Rush Hall of Fame inductee Todd Dunivant returns to his old stomping grounds as Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy take on the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City Colorado.
“It was a special night for me,” Dunivant said of his induction to MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. “You go back and you don’t know exactly how those kinds of things go but they did a real good job.
“It was a really neat. It was tough to hold back the emotions and then showing the video and having my family there, it was a special night.”
Coping with the altitude will be important for Dunivant.
“I used to be tougher but now when I go back, I feel it like everyone else,” Dunivant said. “Growing up I thought it was a myth but I was always used to it but going out of it and then going back to Colorado, man, it hits you like a ton of bricks. You do notice it.”
Omar Gonzalez starts to wonder
As for defender Omar Gonzalez, he wondered if the USA could have used his services after all, seeing that they would be limping to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“I understand. He wanted to bring some veteran players and he brought some young guys as well,” Gonzalez told Bueno. “For me, I didn’t make it. Fine. I’ve got to play well with my club team, the Galaxy, and keep on performing here.”
“Life goes on. He has to keep proving himself,” teammate and former USA men's national team defender Gregg Berhalter said. “It’s a situation where he knows he’s making progress but it wasn’t enough right now. He’s confident in his ability that he knows he’s going to get there. We’re all confident in him as well.
“Things go quickly, especially with the national team. You go in there, play a good game and then all of the sudden you are a national team player. Anything can happen.”
The loss is the Galaxy's gain, as LA still maintain the league's best overall record.
“I’ve been going into each game with a certain confidence and I think I’ve done better with leading the team and just being really confident back there and composed,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve done better with the ball passing out of the back and I think everything is going great right now.”
The young defender from the University of Maryland is hopeful that he will be chosen during the 2014 World Cup qualification cycle.
“There are still three years left,” Gonzalez said. “It didn’t happen this time around but it doesn’t really matter. You just have to worry about improving every single day, and next time I can’t give him a reason to say no to me.”
Frustration with form
Make no mistake about it; the Los Angeles Galaxy are sick and tired with their recent form as they take on the Rapids on the road.
“We are upset because of the result [on Saturday], because the team did not play as we should have.” forward Juan Pablo Ángel told Bueno. “But we have to fix it. We have some tough games coming up and we have to start winning again.”
On paper, D.C. United and Toronto FC were winnable matches. But a lack of production followed by a lack of defending consigned them to two out of a possible six points.
“These were two home games – DC and Toronto – that on paper we should win, but those are always the toughest games,” Dunivant said. “They’re coming in with nothing to lose. They’re going to defend and fight and play for 90 minutes, which ... both teams did.”
“That’s what teams do when they come here and when they play us. Their energy picks up a level from they have the rest of the season,” midfielder David Beckham noted. “We’ve got to expect that and we’ve got to be more mature in the way we play and the way we finish our games.”
“We’ve just got to sharpen some things up,” LA Galaxy defender Sean Franklin said. “We’ve talked about the whole year that that’s probably one of the last things we need, that final third of good touches, smart passes. If we clean it up, we’ll be fine the rest of the season.”
Galaxy midfielder Chris Birchall was quick to note of their unbeaten streak still being intact.
“Overall, we’re still unbeaten in eight,” Birchall said. “We’ll try and take it on and get our confidence back next week.”
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