MLS: Get Ready for the LA Galaxy-New York City FC Comparisons
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Thursday, 16 July 2015 10:11

The L.A. Galaxy signed Mexico international Giovani dos Santos on Wednesday, as announced on the team’s official website. This is the latest move in a crazy summer for both the Galaxy and New York City FC.

It's also going to lead to several comparisons between these two clubs.

Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will be monitored closely to see which ex-England international outdoes the other. The former will also be likened to David Beckham, which has already happened.

Of course, whichever team makes it further in the playoffs will have bragging rights. The club who bows out early will be subject to ridicule, given the money that was spent.

NYCFC is spending around $20 million on their three designated players’ annual wages. Andrea Pirlo is earning $8 million annually, according to Doug McIntyre of ESPN FC. Lampard is on $6 million a year, as is Spanish striker David Villa. Playoffs will be the minimum requirement given this investment.

The Galaxy will be paying Dos Santos around $6 million a year, as noted by Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times. It's also believed to be around the same amount Gerrard will make.

The Galaxy will be under immense pressure if they don’t win MLS Cup. Jack Randall of Odds Shark tipped L.A. as the favorite for the title this year. The club has the same goal.

There’s no reason why the Galaxy shouldn’t be favorites. Robbie Keane is healthy again and will be a threat up front, especially with these new signings.

Gerrard will start alongside Juninho in the center of midfield, but will be the attacking option judging by the friendly versus Club America on July 11 and the U.S. Open Cup match against Real Salt Lake on Tuesday.

Dos Santos will add pace, vision and goalscoring from the flank and maybe even through the middle, which has been lacking at times without Landon Donovan.

It will take time for these new additions to adjust to their new teammates, MLS' grueling travel schedule and the weather, but that's normal at this time of year.

It’s traditionally been difficult for summer signings to settle into MLS. Even Thierry Henry and David Beckham had rough starts to their careers in North America. However, others such as Keane and Jermaine Jones started strong.

Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena revealed that Gerrard will be eased into the lineup, via Adam Serrano on the team’s official website. "He is probably about a month away from being fit enough to play a full match," Arena said after the Galaxy's International Champions Cup match against Club America.

"It will take some games. It doesn't come from training; he will have to play some matches, and we will try to slowly build him into that, but from what I could see tonight it was a good 45 minutes from him."

Jason Kreis will likely be utilizing the same plan with Lampard and Pirlo, especially after the former picked up a minor injury.

What's unknown is where each NYCFC player will be positioned once they're fit. Pirlo usually occupies a deep-lying role, so Lampard may be deployed further up the field. Mix Diskerud would likely play on one edge of the diamond with either Andrew Jacobson and Ned Grabavoy on the opposite side.

With Los Angeles Football Club entering the league in 2018, the reigning MLS Cup winners needed to make an impact. NYCFC snapped up Pirlo so the club can compete with the other professional teams in the area.

It was fitting that the Galaxy and NYCFC unveiled superstars on the same day. These two clubs are the headliners in MLS and will be heavily critiqued over the coming months.

It's going to be intriguing to see which side finishes the season stronger.

 

Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.

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