Green Card for Ricketts

Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts earned his US Green Card this past week.  As a result, Ricketts will no longer occupy one of the international slots on the club's roster.

The 2010 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year and a two-time MLS All-Star, Ricketts has a 28-12-14 record in his two seasons with the Galaxy, keeping 20 clean sheets in 55 regular season appearances.  His 0.96 goals against average is the best in MLS history amongst goalkeepers that have played in more than one game, while his 0.90 GAA in 2010 was the best single season mark in Galaxy history.

In two seasons with Ricketts on the roster, the Galaxy have allowed 57 goals in 60 regular season games after surrendering 62 goals in 30 games in 2008.  A Jamaican international, Ricketts has collected 76 caps for his country and was a member of Jamaica’s team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. 

Makes you wonder if Mr. Beckham is also considering getting his green card, if he hasn't already...

Miguel Lopez Signs With the G's

Also announced this past week was the signing of midfielder Miguel Lopez of Quilmes AC. Lopez played for Quilmes in Argentina’s Primera B Nacional (Second Division) last year, helping them earn promotion to the Primera Division in August 2010 ahead of the start of that year’s Apertura.

Lopez is capable of playing wide on the left or in central midfield.  A teammate of Paolo Cardozo, the Galaxy’s first round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, at Quilmes, Lopez appeared in 21 games for the club last season.  He began his career in the youth system of Gimnasia La Plata, joining the club at the age of 10 and staying there for seven years.

In 2005, Lopez joined the first team at Deportivo Coreano in the Torneo Argentina B, spending three years there before signing with fellow Buenos Aires-based club Defensores Cambaceres in the Primera C before joining Quilmes a year later.

A special on Lopez as part of the "This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy" series will be published later this season.

San Diego Clasico vs. Los Xolos On the House

The Los Angeles Galaxy will be facing Club Tijuana of the Mexican Liga de Ascenso on March 2 in the San Diego Clasico at Torero Stadium, on the campus of the University of San Diego.

“We are very excited to announce this match against Club Tijuana in San Diego, a market that is important to our organization and one where we have wanted to play for quite some time,” LA Galaxy President of Business Operations Tom Payne said.  “In addition, it is a good game for us against a quality opponent as we complete our preseason preparations for the 2011 MLS season.”

Club Tijuana is coached by former Club America and Mexican National Team midfielder Joaquín Del Olmo, who in his first season with the club guided Los Xoloitzcuintles to their first title last December, winning the Apertura.

Led by their captain Javier Gandolfi, goalkeeper Adrian Zermeno and forward Raúl Enríquez, Club Tijuana posted an impressive 11-1-5 record last season.  Gandolfi, a defender from Argentina, and Zermeno, who spent eight seasons at Toluca, spearhead their defense, which conceded only seven goals in 21 games last season.

This marks the first time the Galaxy will play at the 6,000-seat Torero Stadium, the home of the University of South Dakota football and soccer teams.

Donovan to Skip the Match With the Pharaohs? 

Landon Donovan's offseason could include skipping a Feb. 9 match against Egypt in Cairo as part of rest after 2010 and ahead of the 2011 Major League Soccer campaign.

“It’s hard to know now,” Donovan said. “If you ask me today I’d say, ‘No chance,’ because I’m pretty tired and sore. We’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks."

The Galaxy team captain looked forward to the new season.

“I’m very excited,” Donovan said.  “This is the first time I can remember where I had enough time to really get antsy to play again.  I’m excited to be back, to see new faces, to start up again and that hasn’t happened in a while."

“For me, this is the first time in a long time I’ll be with the team during preseason,” he said.  “It does make a difference.  It helps to know guys from day one so you don’t have any hiccups in the beginning of the season."

Unwinding, however, proved to be a pain in the behind for Donovan.  After a while, the need to return proved too much.

“I’m so used to going all the time that it was almost difficult to just relax,” Donovan said. “You want to find something to do.  You almost have to force yourself to just relax, and my body actually up until the last week before preseason started this week, there were still some spots that hurt."

“I knew it was the right decision, but I also knew it was the right time to come back when I watched the US game the other night and it was just killing me to just sit on the couch watching.”

New Rules and New Regulations

On Saturday, Major League Soccer unveiled its new roster and player rules.

“One fundamental change from 2010 was the Re-Entry process,” said MLS executive vice president of player relations and competition, Todd Durbin, in an interview with MLSsoccer.com.  “It gave players increased rights, it gave teams new ways to build their rosters and it helped make the offseason significantly more interesting.”

In addition, teams can compose their roster entirely of homegrown players if they so wish.

“It’s gone incredibly well and we are ahead of schedule in terms of the numbers of players that we are signing,” Durbin said.  “Our teams continue to demonstrate a significant commitment to this initiative and I believe 10 to 15 years from now that the face of the league in terms of quality will forever be impacted by this initiative."

“You can build an entire roster of home grown players.  Teams can sign an unlimited number of these players to their senior roster or the off-budget roster. That is up to the team.”

Other highlights of the rules include—a total of 144 international slots available to clubs league wide, a roster freeze date of Sept. 15 and the two international transfer windows (Jan. 21 through April 15 and July 15 through August 14).

More information on the rules can be seen here .

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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