Off-Season Training Notes
From the U.S. camp in Carson:
*And then there were 29. Uncapped New England Revolution midfielder Jeff Larentowicz lasted all of two days before calling it quits Thursday; he had been rehabbing a right knee injury anyway. No replacement will be named.
*Charlie Davies made a surprise visit to the team hotel Thursday afternoon in the South Bay to say hi; he's "walking on his own," U.S. Soccer officials said, and returning to Delaware to continue rehabbing.
*Interesting to hear how good friends Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan (who both knew each other growing up in Huntington Beach) kept fit before the U.S. camp started. They used the Home Depot Center for pick-up games with an all-star cast of other players including Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzalez.
*Chivas USA forward Justin Braun sounds like he's making the most of his national team experience when he tweeted late Wednesday:
"National camp has been awesome so far! Just trying to go in every day and prove myself..next 3 weeks is going to be sick!!"
From Chivas USA:
*Defender Mariano Trujillo worked out today with his former team, Atlante, who are in Carson for InterLiga.
*Jorge Flores and Jesus Padilla (the latter on loan from CD Guadalajara) have been training in Mexico this week with the mothership; teammate César Zamora has joined them today, too.
*One player no longer training with CD Guadalajara though is long-time midfielder Ramon Morales, who has been with the team since 1999 and now appears surplus to requirements. He reportedly left the training ground in tears today and will sit for at least six months (which is what he has left on his contract) before deciding on his next move.
He won't be coming to Chivas USA though. The club tweeted (in Spanish) that quoted him as saying something along the lines of (very roughly translated)
"Chivas USA is a club that deserves all respect ... but I chose not to take the proposal to Chivas USA."
From the Galaxy
*Edson Buddle doesn't look like he's killing himself to stay fit in the off-season. He made a five minute video of his workout and the first two were of him um, walking. Pretty slowly. While a loooong musical intro played.
*Finally, Lawndale's Kei Kamara kicked back in an unusually foggy South Bay Thursday night and tweeted around 11 p.m.:
"Yo its so Foggy out not safe for driving happy I made it home safe...I passed out at the movies lol super tired."
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About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
Buddle was disappointing in 2009. won't judge him on that video tough. hope he works hard to become like 2008 again or else we should trade him.
Poor Chivas. Even Ramon Morales who faces a 6 month sit-out or a possible forced retirement wouldn't touch the team with a six foot pole. And their fans got really excited that Bautista would join them.
I wonder if Edson Buddle is acknowledging the writing on the wall (his status with LAG with its recent purchase from Brazil).
Will another MLS team pick up the "streaky" Buddle?
Charlie Davies is walking on his own? That's the biggest news of the post.
Any other news about Davies' recovery?
No, that was all U.S. Soccer officials said.