The New York Red Bulls have announced the signing of Bundesliga veteran Frank Rost, who has made 426 combined appearances with Werder Bremen, Shalke 04 and Hamburger SV. Rost is also the German record holder for the most appearances in the UEFA Cup—now referred to as the UEFA Europa League—which serves as the second-most prestigious European club competition.

Having agreed to a designated player contract, Rost will become the first ever goalkeeper to be a designated player. This move ends speculation of a big New York deal, after Canadian international Dwayne DeRosario was sent to DC United largely for salary cap reasons.

Rost will replace the struggling tandem of Bouna Coundoul and Gregg Sutton, who have both made serious errors between the sticks for the Red Bulls this season. Coundoul, known for his athletic saves and questionable decision making, was the starting keeper for most of last season. But he was soon replaced by the more sure-handed Sutton. Still, even Sutton has struggled this season, particularly on the recent West Coast road trip.

Rost is sure to be a boost to the club, which seems to be struggling to find a good run of form despite their share of the Eastern Conference lead. In recent weeks, the Red Bulls have been disappointing, with a 1-2-2 record in their last 5 games despite being the highest scoring team in the MLS this season. 

The team announced that Rost should be available for their next game against Chivas USA as long as his ITC and P1 visas are processed in time.

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Oh boy. Bruce Arena, goodness gracious, you can't even tell a white lie right. I mean, here's the problem: you're telling everyone that you are going to take the U.S. Open Cup seriously by fielding your best team out there, and what do you do?

You deliver the worst performance since the debacle at Real Salt Lake earlier in league play (don't even get me started on that one, good sir). Fans witnessed a 3-1 blowout defeat to the Seattle Sounders in the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night at the place of nightmares known as the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.

What I saw was the type of football that Real Madrid is going to have fun capitalizing on. I mean, the Galaxy really, really didn't want to be in the match. It's like, we're fighting over a bloody flower vase, children! What's the point in playing over such tripe?

Oh, and did I mention that you only qualify for the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League when you win the darn thing? This makes the Galaxy's position in the Major League Soccer regular season standings that much more important, I suppose. Group stage play and all that.

Moving right along, already the warning signs were there when Josh Saunders was given the nod instead of Brian Perk. How come Perk kept a clean sheet in his first start against Seattle, and Saunders gives up three stinkers in the Open Cup?

Bruce, the second-guessing has already begun, and starting Perk on Wednesday would have helped the team's chances of even lifting a middle finger to Seattle a bit more. The backup to the still-injured Donovan Ricketts was clearly not ready for tonight, and Real Madrid is going to rough this keeper up. Mark it down; I'm warning you, pal.

Let me go off my soapbox on you, Mr. Arena, to direct my self-imposed fury on another suspect: A.J. DeLaGarza.

Well. You sure did not do yourselves any favors after signing that new contract extension, did you? Did you? No. What I saw in the 25th minute was you literally standing like a mummy, giving the easiest of goals to Fredy Montero via the G's Killer known as Nate Jaqua.

Even the LA Blues 23 (who are not pulling their weight in the Premier Development League) know better than to give away a Christmas present. It's only July, A.J.! Why don your Santa outfit this early? Good Lord!

Back to you, Mr. Arena. In the greatest act of cowardice imaginable, you decided to sit Captain America down after 70 minutes. I, personally, would have kept him in. And for the love of the football, do not give me this "But we need him for Real Madrid" nonsense. It's not about Real Madrid, it's about the money. Because that's what this Herbalife World Football Challenge is about anyway.

Does the Galaxy advance in the U.S. Open Cup to beat Real Madrid in a meaningless cash cow of a friendly? No. Does the Galaxy advance in the U.S. Open Cup for beating the Seattle Sounders? Yes, but they didn't get it done, did they?

Forget about this preposterous dog-and-pony show with FC Barcelona's slaves, so to speak. As it stands, Bruce Arena, accept the fact that this week is a wash, and you may

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There's a San Jose Earthquakes video making its way across the sports world today, after goalie David Bingham scored one of the wildest goals ever seen on a football pitch. 

Yes, you read that right; the Earthquakes' goalie scored a goal in a friendly match against English club West Bromwich Albion on Monday. 

The keeper snared a rogue through pass from West Brom early in the contest, and hunted for a potential outlet up the pitch from his box. But, try as he might, he simply couldn't find an open man to hit his clear to, so he simply dropped the ball on the turf and let fly a massive kick. 

It was a bit powerful, to be sure, but nothing out of the ordinary—at least at first. Plenty of keepers have that kind of power when they have time to deliver the ball, and Bingham's kick soared downfield, well ahead of even the West Brom defenders. 

Unfortunately for the Baggies, it caught their occasionally scatterbrained goalkeeper, Boaz Myhill, napping on the job, and the ball bounced well out of his reach and into the net, sending the stands into hysterics over the wild shot. 

The best part about the goal? Bingham had no idea he'd scored it. He'd overshot his intended target, forward Scott Sealy by a good 20 yards, and had turned around in disgust with himself when he heard the crowd roar. He turned just in time to be mobbed by his delirious teammates, as they celebrated what is without a doubt one of the craziest goals in recent memory.

On top of that, the goal proved incredibly valuable to the Quakes, who wound up beating West Brom 2-1, while Bingham made three solid saves to preserve the victory, along with scoring a goal likely to go down in history as one of the wildest ever scored in a match.

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The World Football Challenge returns to America and kicks off tonight on July 13.

This first game will see Manchester United, one of the six European clubs to partake, take on the New England Revolution.

The English contingent includes Manchester United and Manchester City, their inner city rivals.

"El Clasico" rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid represent Spain, while Juventus and Sporting club de Portugal come from Italy and Portugal, respectively.

Along with these European teams, there are two Mexican clubs, Guadalajara and Club America.

All these teams will compete against each other as well as five MLS teams.

The last World Football Challenge did not have any MLS participants, but MLS teams have previously played European opponents in the summer.

In past years, these games have been intriguing because of the differing levels of the participants.

The European teams are generally just beginning their preseason, thus making the games a little more even. These teams are also less likely to let star players participate for a variety of reasons.

Managers will be wary of playing their best players due to injury concerns and will rest them if they have played in a big summer tournament like the Gold Cup or Copa America. These games are more likely to be used to give an opportunity to the fringe players and youngsters.

That being said, the fans will show up to see the stars, and a number of them should be participating.

The Mexican teams are in a similar boat but are much more prepared as the beginning of their season is closer.

The MLS teams will come out with a purpose.

These games can help enhance their reputation, and regardless of the level of fitness of their opponent, they are still playing against quality players. A win would help team confidence, as well as the organization and the MLS as a whole.

For at least the next month, these teams will play each other in a variety of locations across the U.S.

Fans should look forward to a football treat for the next couple weeks.

All games are to be broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2. A schedule of the games can be found here.

Not included in this list of games is the MLS All-Star game against Manchester United on July 27th.

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For the second straight year, Manchester United are taking a preseason tour of North America. Their first match takes place tonight at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution.

In a press conference a day before, the friendly, legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson discussed the current condition of soccer here in the United States.

Fergie discussed how the league has grown in the past ten years since Man United took their first tour of the country as well as the ways the sport of soccer continues to evolve.

However, Ferguson also gave Major League Soccer and its fans a massive nugget to feed on regarding the future of the league when he said, "you could have four leagues because of the size of the country and the population base."

For those who don't understand exactly how MLS works: MLS is a soccer league that contains 18 clubs in the U.S. and in Canada and is a single table system. In the autumn, there is a playoff between the top eight clubs to determine the MLS Cup champion.

However, as the league continues to grow in popularity, many fans want a table system put into place. As of yet, the MLS uses no table system and shows no signs of instating one anytime soon.

One major argument against a table system is that the MLS doesn't want to foster competitive advantages like that of the NASL in the 1970's and 80's. This is also the reason a draft, a salary cap, and designated player rules are all in effect.

If a table system were put into effect, it would be harder to maintain financial equality between all teams, and it would hurt the league because lower table clubs would have worse finances.

But Ferguson's plan for the league could turn out to be the best overall plan for the future of Major League Soccer.

For starters, having the four separate MLS divisions would allow for the league to split up by geographic region.

Ideally, those regions would create Northeast, Southern, Midwest, and Western divisions, each of which would contain between 15 and 20 clubs who would face each other at least twice during the regular season.

And each year, the divisions would be paired such that each team in a particular division would face each team in the other division once during the season, whether in a home or away setting.

This format would also strengthen the US Open Cup, as teams such as the Red Bulls and Sounders would get a chance to face each other every season rather than have to wait three years to face each other in a MLS match. 

At the end of the season, the top two to four clubs would enter a playoff to determine the MLS champion (similar to the UEFA Champions League). Each playoff matchup would be a two-legged affair with the winner advancing on aggregate.

The final would be played at a location chosen by MLS in advance of the final.

Meanwhile, the clubs that do not reach the playoffs will get extra money from the league to help out with their youth academies and build them a stronger fan base.

Such a system would allow the salary cap, the draft, and designated player rules to remain in place just as they are today.

Now, my plan for MLS is extremely ambitious and it would not be able to work for decades, but based on how MLS has handled the situation for a multiple table system, this might just be the best plan for the league's future.

Every team will have a chance to win the MLS Cup every season, and with as many as 80 teams play in MLS, rivalries would be able to take place between each club in a division.

Also, this may be the strongest plan for fully tapping soccer's potential in this nation.

Right now, there is not one MLS club in the southern U.S., and MLS could easily strike gold if they were to expose that market to soccer.

This plan would also allow for the U.S. Mens national team to grow to incredible strengths by expanding the talent pool they could choose from.

Canada would probably get around 10 clubs (counting the three that will exist in the league by the beginning of next season), and the Canadian national team will also grow stronger by expanding the talent pool it could choose from.

I understand that this plan does have many flaws, so I want to hear from you, the reader, what your plans are for the growth of MLS. Please do not hesitate to comment to tell me what your plan would be to have the league grow.

Follow me on Twitter and tweet me your ideas for the future of MLS @Andrew_Jordan

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The Seattle Sounders first visit to Portland stadium in the Timbers inaugural MLS season was one for the memory banks.

Kicking off at 1 p.m. PST in front on a nationwide audience on ESPN, the stadium was filled to the brim. The North End, which houses the Timber's Army, was in its best form all season. As fireworks were being shot off during the national anthem, three massive banners filled up the entire north end stands.

One, a giant picture of the King of Clubs card, was a brilliant piece of symbolism by the Timber's Army. Another unfurled to state, "Quality, not Quantity," a sly dig at Seattle fans who continually proclaim that their stadium fills up at around 36,000 while the Portland stadium tops out at just over 18,000.

That said, the feeling in section was one of trepidation. To be honest, not too many people expected the Timbers to come away with a win. Yes, they were there to support their club, but the team has been so out of form, and the Sounders have been playing extremely strong, that not too many supporters expected a positive outcome.

The first surprise came when the line-up was announced, and coach John Spencer went with a 4-5-1, with Kenny Cooper sitting out. The official lineup stated Kalif Alhassan was playing up alongside Jorge Perlaza, but that's not what I saw. What I witnessed was a traditional 4-5-1, with James Marcelin playing in the middle. No doubt this alignment was to clog the middle and prevent a lot of those sneaky Seattle runs.

The first half played to a 0-0 draw with both clubs having some nice chances. Kalif Alhassan got behind the Seattle defense and had a one-on-one with Kasey Keller, the Seattle goalkeeper, only to lose the ball. Seattle had a great breakaway, but were undone by a wonderful save by Troy Perkins, the Portland keeper.

The second half started with fireworks and didn't stop.

Alhassan again got behind the Seattle defense and centered a ball for Diego Chara. The ball was near post and either bounced off a Seattle defender's legs or off of Chara. Either way, it went to the back of the net.

Just a few moments later the Timbers should have made it two to nil, when Perlaza absolutely blew a wide open shot right in front of the Seattle goal. It was a brilliant cross from Alhassan or Darlington Nagbe, can't remember which, and there was no reason for Perlazza to miss an opportunity like that.

It would cost Portland.

At the 56-minute mark, Fredy Montero was clumsily fouled by James Marcelin. Montero lined up for a free kick about 25 yards out right in front of the Portland goal. A wall was set up near post, and Perkins positioned himself to the far post.

Montero buried it in the near post corner, just past the outstretched hands of a diving Perkins.

Absolutely no excused for giving up that goal, as it wasn't struck with much pace. 

Simply put, Perkins was out of position and playing way, way too much to the far post, relying on his wall to protect the near post.

Portland would answer just 14 minutes later when Perlaza found himself on yet another breakaway and behind the Seattle defense. Rather than blowing it, as he has in the last few games, he blasted a shot that ricocheted off the Seattle defender and into the net.

Portland was up 2-1 with just 20 minutes to play.

I didn't get my hopes up.

My feeling, and the feeling of many Portland supporters, was that this team would figure out a way to lose it.

And I wasn't disappointed.

At the 74-minute mark, Montero was left completely unmarked just six yards in front of the Portland goal for an easy put-in.

Hmmm...you think maybe you want to keep a tab on Seattle's best player and star forward?

Naw.

Then, just six minutes later, the Portland defense didn't let anyone down.

This time is was Eric Brunner who committed to the boneheaded play to supply the loss.

He allowed Roger Levesque, the Seattle forward, to get behind him on a break-away. Then, he brought his cleats up and kicked him in the face in the penalty area. On replay, it's debatable if Brunner caught Levesque or had the ball first.

Either way, I just don't think you want to be bringing your cleats up that high in your own penalty area with just 10 minutes to go.

A penalty kick was called, and Brunner was handed a red card and sent off.

Seattle buried the penalty kick and won the game 3-2.

I'm calling a few things right here and now.

First, I'm not sure any of the Portland defenders are MLS quality. Certainly Steve Purdy and Rodney Wallace are not. They were continually burned by Seattle runs. Purdy, in particular, was just awful and responsible for the second Seattle goal.

I used to be admirers of Mamadou Danso and Brunner, but not any more. Danso was very lazy on a couple of crossings that could have been goals for Seattle. Brunner, for the second time (the first was against D.C. United), allowed a defender to get behind him in the waning moments. His foul at the end was just stupid.

This defense is awful, there's just no other way to say it.

Continually, they make little errors and mental mistakes. How many times have they given up a goal in the waning moments to lose or tie a game.

Against Colorado it was a set piece at the end of the game to lose.

Against New York it was Wallace's hand ball to give up the tying goal in the last 10 seconds.

Last week, against Kansas City, they gave up two goals in the first 20 minutes to bury the Timbers at home.

Rumor has it that these defensive lapses are causing discord within the locker room. That doesn't surprise me.

When an offense scores two goals at home and takes a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes in the game, that should be good enough to win or at least to tie.

It wasn't.

So, let's discuss the positives and other issues. 

I really liked the changes Spencer implemented. Finally, some Portland midfielders and forwards were running at the defense. Alhassan and Perlaza especially made outstanding runs and continually harassed the Seattle defense all day.

Marcelin was a nice addition. He's tall but has a steady head under pressure. His foul on Montero non withstanding, he played a nice game.

Chara finally played a good game. He hustled, made nice runs into space and won balls.

There are a lot of quick, technical players on this team (Alhassan, Chara, Nagbe, Perlaza) who can annoy the heck out of a defense.

Kenny Cooper might be on his way out of Portland. He's just not the player he was at the beginning of the season, and I'm not sure he fits in with this offense. He is clumsy with his feet and doesn't have great dribbling skills. When he scores, it's because of his work rate and finding open space.

He just looks lost and has absolutely no confidence.

Last week, against Kansas City, he came in around the 60th minute and immediately had an open header right in front of the Kansas City goal. Rather than burying it in a corner, he meekly headed the ball to the Kansas City keeper.

I've been an advocate of Cooper all season, but I've become a doubter.

What can I say about Perkins? He's a very good keeper who comes up with two or three world-class saves every game. I do wish he would get rid of the ball much quicker rather than holding onto it, allowing the defense to get set.

The real question is, what to do from here? With 13 games left, the season is far from over. But this team hasn't won a game in seven games and has lost six of their last seven.

How to get them motivated and involved?

Don't be surprised if they bring in some new defenders and, possibly, a new forward during the transfer window. Bright Dike might be a jolt of energy on offense, undoubtedly he'll get some time.

They need a vocal leader on defense to keep them focused and organized.

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On a sun-splashed summer afternoon with raucous fans rumbling the rafters during a tied 2-2 Sounders vs. Timbers game in Portland, passion in the Pacific Northwest picked up where it left off the last time these two major league soccer fan bases put on the gloves several decades ago.

Actually junior level matches have been going on for years, but this one reminded fans of dozens of matches back in the '70s at tiny Memorial Stadium in Seattle during the old NASL days with the goofy balls featuring the American red white & blue stars.  

Fifteen thousand fans packed the stands back then, making the tight confines in the shadow of the Space Needle rock like any football venue in the Old County, which was rare for a sport that the rest of the nation did not understand.  

But as special as it was all those years ago, it was no match for the wild new atmosphere of Portland's urban stadium setting of a former minor league baseball park transformed in a modern MLS pitch. 

Painted and costumed fans spent the afternoon swaying and jumping to song chants and general debauchery as Portland tried to put on a better spectator show than Seattle's well known feats at Qwest Field.

Still the fluttering “King of Clubs” banner claim at the start of the match was an eye-roller for Seattle fans, accustomed to marching and chanting through the streets of Seattle before every game with 35,000-65,000 butts in the seats regardless of how pathetic the spring or late fall weather is. 

So to see billboards in Seattle proclaiming their kid brother Portland as the true "soccer city" makes most Sounder faithful cranky, if not a bit bemused and irritable.

In Portland, the home crowd was treated to goofy mascot loggerman chainsawing off a two inch slice off an 18” hunk of pine log, every time the locals managed to score, which they did twice in this match, but only after a defensive cage fight in the first half wasted 45 minutes of rowdiness in the stands. 

During the opening seconds of the second half, the Timbers got fortunate when Kalif Alhassan managed to ricochet a pass off the heel off the Sounder’s Jeff Parke at the near post for a surprising goal that shot past a puzzled Kasey Keller.

And after Seattle tied the game, luck struck again in the 69th minute when Portland’s Jorge Perlaza zinged one that glanced off the back of Seattle’s Tyson Wahl and into the net. 

Seattle, who at that time was dominating, suddenly were losing two-goals-to-one off a couple of hair-pullers, before Sounder Freddy Montero belted a crisp cross from Mauro Rosales and sent it past a frozen Portland goalkeeper Perkins.

And as the afternoon wore on and the atmosphere grew more intense, suddenly the Portland faithful demonstrated one the cultural deficiencies that fans in Seattle have long since tolerated in other sports played in the state of Oregon. 

Seattle’s Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made a cutting play that didn’t look like much, but he was nevertheless left wriggling in pain from an apparent knee injury and immediately raised his hand towards his bench for medical help.  

Hurtado is no stranger to knee injuries.  Last year he ripped his ACL which cost him the better part of the season, so seeing him writhing in pain on the pitch with a game that had forgotten him, made most Seattle fans just a tad wary.

For some reason referee Jorge Gonzalez didn’t stop the action, and thus for the next several minutes the Sounders played a man down as both teams played around the fallen player.

When the game finally was stopped, the Sounder aid staff rushed out to administer their magic, and eventually Hurtado managed to get to his feet and limp off the field.  But out of the shadows came a murmur of boos from the home faithful, with eventually most of the sold out 18,627 at Jeld-Wen Field yelling things most mothers would reward with bars of soap.

Puzzling indeed for the Seattle players, since the atmosphere the Timbers have created in their first season was nowhere near the typical Autzen Stadium presentation where classless Duck fans routinely boo and harass injured opponents.  Prior to this is gutter scene, Timber fans had been hollering and singing the entire match, as if this routine MLS match was for the cup in Manchester or Barcelona. 

Had Portland’s Eric Brunner not committed his knucklehead foul in the penalty box in the 81st minute, the scrappy upstart Portland side may have come out of this one with at least a tie.  The Sounders returned home with a sigh of relief, as fans on television were treated to a good old fashioned barn-burner that looked like both cities were in no mood to share Sunday dinners.

But the Hurtado scene made it impossible to feel sorry for Portland, their sixth disappointing match in a row in spite of an atmosphere that rivaled Seattle's.  And hence the game is "on," with a resumed rivalry certain to grow in bitterness and outrage now that Portland’s polite-challenged fans ratcheted up the boorish behavior up a few notches during their first meeting as division one sides.   

For more on a similar topic, see The College World Despises Oregon Duck Fans, But Why?

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With a number of big names coming in for a series of club international friendlies this month, Major League Soccer continued its 2011 season with a wave of matches over the weekend.

A little move here, a little shake there, and what do you get? This week's MLS Power Rankings which see the Los Angeles Galaxy rise to the top once again.

Let's have a look.

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In what is growing to be one of the biggest rivalries in Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas met in Utah and the result was a 2-0 victory for the home team. 

The two teams wasted no time in showing that neither team likes each other very much. After a first half that featured some hard fouls and chippy play, they went into halftime scoreless.

In the end, this match came down to three big moments, and the biggest was a miscue by FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

In the 47th minute, Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams lined up for a free kick from about 30 yards out. The kick cleared the wall and Hartman seemed to be in front of the ball for the routine save. As the ball spun in, Hartman misjudged it and it glanced off his hands and rolled into the goal.

It was Williams' second goal of the season.

The second big moment was almost the equalizer by FC Dallas. In the 81st minute, Brek Shea took the ball into the box and was close enough for keeper Nick Rimando to dive at his feet off his line. Shea calmly passed the ball to his open teammate, Jackson Goncalves, who seemed surprised at the pass. He was in position for a simple tap in, but he was off balance and could not get a strong foot on the ball.

As the ball slowly rolled towards the open goal, Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert came from all the way across the goal to kick it away and preserve the lead. It appeared Goncalves may have been in an offside position, but Wingert's brilliant save made it so it did not matter.

The third moment of this match came just before the final whistle.

After watching FC Dallas build an attack for the last several minutes in an attempt to tie the game, it seemed it had one last good scoring opportunity.

In the 94th minute, Real Salt Lake forward Fabian Espindola had other ideas. As Dallas was trying to clear the ball out of its own end, Espindola received a ball that was intercepted by his teammate and he took it to goal. As he moved toward the near post, he stopped and started, causing two defenders to fly past him. He easily beat Hartman at the near post to go up 2-0 and end the match.

These two teams meet again Tuesday in Texas as they match up in U.S. Open Cup play.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

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Last year, after both sides swapped teams at halftime, the first side of Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid Club de Futbol outperformed the first string of Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy en route to a 3-2 victory at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, Calif.

This year, both teams meet again as part of a series of club international friendlies called the "2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge" on Saturday, July 16 at the home of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics as well as USC Trojans football, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

You can be sure that Landon Donovan and David Beckham will be on hand in the hopes of scoring a goal or two.

"We need the leadership from Landon and David to be successful," Arena told MLSSoccer.com's Andrea Canales on Saturday after their 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer play.

The Galaxy manager was impressed by Beckham's grit and determination.

"He's really determined," said Arena of Beckham. "He's a tough athlete. There was a point at about 65 minutes that I thought we might have to take him out, because he looked fatigued, but he hung in there. He really wanted to play. He was a tremendous presence tonight."

"When I was on loan at Preston [North End], I scored on a corner," Beckham recalled. "I saw the goalkeeper cheating forward and I saw a little bit of a gap, and I knew if I put it in a good area, it might hit in off somebody or it was going to go straight in."

"That's what guys like that are around for," said defender Gregg Berhalter. "It's great that they're able to contribute in that way. Just the effort that David gave and him playing through pain, and wanting the ball all the time was great for us, and it really boosted our team."

It's going to take more than heroics from the Galaxy's usual suspects to down Real Madrid. Actually, it's going to take a total about-face from the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos, among others. Complete capitulation in terms of execution, although the Galaxy should get one or two through.

You see, last season, Real Madrid, the defending Copa del Rey winners, finished second in La Liga to Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona with a record of 29-5-4 (92 points). Of course, it was miles better than third-place Valencia (21-8-9, 71 points), but that's a different story.

“I got to play against my hero—Zinedine Zidane—which was awesome,” defender Todd Dunivant told LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan, recalling his first match against Los Blancos. “I remember after the game people were marveling how good he was. He took the game to that much of a higher level."

This is the first of a eight-city preseason tour for Real, which includes stops in San Diego (against Chivas de Guadalajara), Philadelphia (against the Philadelphia Union), Berlin (against Hertha BSC), Leicester (against Leicester City), Guangzhou (against Guangzhou Evergrande) and Tianjin (against Tianjin Teda), culminating with the Trofeo Bernabeu at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in late August.

“We have so many competitions [to prioritize], but you don’t want to go out against Real Madrid and put a half effort in," Dunivant added. “At the end of the day we still get to play against Real Madrid, and there’s not really a day off there. We still have to get it done.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain and Mesut Ozil are Real's top goalscorers from last season. Ronaldo leads with way with 53 goals in all competitions, Benzema has recorded 26, Higuain 13 and Ozil 10. Ozil leads the team in assists with 25. Ronaldo is also a top provider, with 15 assists recorded during the 2010-11 season.

A notable omission to the traveling roster for Real Madrid is Angel Di Maria. Last season, the Argentine international scored nine goals and recorded 20 assists, good for second on the team.

Donovan recalled the last time both teams met on the pitch.

“It’s fun to play in front of a crowd like that,” Donovan said. “I’ve played a lot of games, and you don’t often play in front of 90-plus thousand people. I think we all enjoyed it.

“They’re probably a little different for me than they are for some of the younger guys. They’re still exciting, they’re still fun. You have to manage it well because the important next three games are Saturday, then in Seattle and Columbus back here. They’re fun games, but you have to use them as just that. They’re a good exercise to get better, but you can’t put too much into it.”

Of course, Captain America. It's only a friendly. Still though, this is Real Madrid we're talking about. But could you imagine if it was Barça the G's were playing instead of Real?

Hmmm. Think that one over, will you?

“You always want to play in those games,” Beckham said. “They’re exciting games, playing in front of a capacity crowd hopefully. You hate missing them, and hopefully I’ll be good for this one.”

Don't worry, Mr. Beckham. It will be a full house. I promise you. Another word to kick around: adrenaline.

“It will be fabulous for our fans,” Arena concluded. “Anybody who loves soccer, to be able to see a Real Madrid team with some of the great players in the world is fabulous.”

Prediction

Yes, the Galaxy will score goals in this match, but it happens that Real Madrid is going to score more of them. But remember, Jose, this is not Barcelona you're facing. You can deal with The Champions later.

Let's go for this:

Real Madrid 4, Los Angeles Galaxy 2

Kickoff at the Coliseum is scheduled for 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN and ESPN3D.

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