by Andrew Rogers

During Alexi Lalas’ sixteen years in professional football he has had an uncanny knack of feeling at ease in the most pressurized of circumstances, dealing with the situation and attaining substantial degree of success. As a World Cup player no less, he helped lead a back line of a team that was essentially semi professional past one of the best international sides of the decade- Columbia, and held out against the eventual world champions for over an hour- Brazil.

As a professional he still remains the only American to have done the business in the Italy- it is worth noting the league was at the height of it powers, and the son of Birmingham, Michigan was going toe to toe with likes of Vialli, Baggio and Maldini. His successful venture in Europe, combined with experience as a player on both coasts and in the mid west, dictate that he is a key asset in the development of US Soccer, especially when you add his GM experience.

It was therefore unsurprising that he is somewhat vexed by his current predicament. As GM the of most prestigious franchise the club find themselves not in the play offs for the first time in their history, unfamiliar with defeat the former LA defender was characteristically bullish about returning the club to winning ways when he spoke exclusively to Soccer 365 this week:

Alexi what happened this year?
“That’s the question, its was a difficult season for Los Angeles on and off the field it was disappointing to say the least there are plenty of things we can point to on and off the field whether it be the loss of our coach or Doug Hamilton, or the World Cup factor affecting us, but the fact is we hold ourselves to a higher standard here at The Galaxy and unfortunately we didn’t live up to it so I like to think this was a complete aberration and we will get back to where we want to be.

Did the hype and implementation of the Chelsea partnership have an affect?
No, the partnership we have with Chelsea and any of the other people that the world views as leaders in the football, they are all positives, and all of our teams need to be able to do that, as I said before The Galaxy whether you’re a player or working for the organisation, sets very high standards, and is a team on and off the field that measures itself against the best in the world as well as the MLS, and its our lofty goals that’s the type of challenge that I enjoy, and the reason why The Galaxy are viewed as the premier club in the MLS.

What about the Donovan factor?
It was a disappointing World Cup for the team and US Soccer because it was a wasted opportunity, and Landon was part of the team. Individually he didn’t have a good World Cup and the team didn’t have a good World Cup, it happens to the best of them, you only have to see a team like France to understand the World Cup is a combination of timing and a little bit of luck, playing well and getting the right kind of group. It didn’t happen for Landon or the team this summer, and he took full responsibility as a leader of The Galaxy and the national team, and that is part of his job, he got his knock, and he took them like a man, and got on with the business of The Galaxy, I know he was disappointed, and was even more disappointed that he couldn’t help The Galaxy this year. But I have got a feeling that you are going to see a rejuvenated, Landon Donavan and Galaxy come 2007.

The club clearly didn’t functions as many of the fans have come to expect, how are you going to put things right?
I think any kind of changes have to be put in the context, of not just the past season but he past two seasons, we unfortunately wasted an opportunity after last season, and winning the double glossed over a lot of problems that existed a year ago. We didn’t do the proper thing and during this year we didn’t do enough to make these changes, so myself and Frank Yallop, have learned from our mistakes and we are going to use this season to the best of our abilities to make sure when this team steps on the field in April it will be competitive from the beginning of the season to the very end.

I’ve explained to the coach how I feel about the MLS Cup. I really don’t care about it, all I really care about right now is winning the Supporter Shield. If we do that the play off’s and the MLS cup, that will all come later, our focus as The Galaxy is to win the Supporter Shield, and being the best team and most consistent from start to finish. That produces and championship in my mind and it also gives us, the quality the fans deserve because they are paying from April through to hopefully November and they deserve a team that is successfully and entertains through the year.

As much as it pains me I will tip my hat off to DC United, they can bomb out of the play off for all I can, but what they have given their season ticket holder over this year, in overall performance should be applauded. Unfortunately we don’t celebrate it enough when the team wins the Supporters Shield and plays consistently good soccer throughout the year. That’s something we have to all strive to and their needs to be a lot more focus, and attention on the team that do it for 8 months as opposed to the team that turn in on for the final few games.

How have you found your transition at The Galaxy?
It’s been challenging, eye opening and fun. It’s an incredible opportunity, and the premier job if you’re a GM in the MLS, we’ve got great history and resources, and the best stadium in the league and you are looked at as the jewel of the MLS. I don’t take that lightly and I want to make sure on my watch, that this team does well and progresses on and off the field.

It tough work but its great work I love being involved in the game, and love being able to make positive changes to this organisation going forward, but like I said before, I don’t take it lightly, as a player I knew what it meant to play for LA, and now as a GM.

You must be disappointed at not making the play offs?

For the complete Alexi Lalas interview visit Soccer365 - Lalas Interview