Galaxy look to continue strong play

CARSON, Calif. -- Chris Klein understood his role when Bruce Arena was signed last August to coach the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He knew revamping the team was in Arena's plans. That meant there was a chance new and younger faces would be part of the squad heading into a new season.

The 33-year-old entering his 12th Major League Soccer season seems to be soaking in a leadership role.

That's something Klein would have to embrace with or without David Beckham and Landon Donovan in the lineup and a handful of newcomers.

Klein got a taste of what could be in store for the future during the club's preseason opener Wednesday night -- a 2-0 win in the opener of the Pan-Pacific Championship against Japanese club Oita Trinita.

It was a win that helped the Galaxy clinch a slot in the four-team tournament final Saturday against K-League side Suwon Samsung Bluewings at The Home Depot Center.

Klein and company hope to see more of what the Galaxy produced on the pitch against Trinita, this time against Bluewings.

The Galaxy midfielder blended with newcomers Dema Kovalenko and Jovan Kirovski. Add Josh Tudela, in his second season with the Galaxy, and Klein could be looking at his supporting cast at midfield.

"It feels like a group now and a lot of that comes from the themes Bruce is trying to instill within our locker room," Klein said of the new personnel. "He's demanding the older guys not only are they inclusive of the younger guys, but take responsibility for the locker room and if something is not right it's up to us to fix it."

And there was plenty to fix this offseason, including strengthening a back line that allowed a league high 62 goals in its 2008 campaign. Arena made it a priority to toughen up the defense. He stocked up with a list of players with size and some muscle.

Arena brought in 6-foot-5, 210 pound Omar Gonzalez, Tony Sanneh (6-2, 195) and A.J. de la Garza, who stands 5-foot-9 at 145 pounds. They seemed to mesh in well with team captain Eddie Lewis in the shutout of Trinita -- something the Galaxy were able to achieve just twice in the 2008 regular season.

"I saw more of a team (Wednesday) than I saw in a number of games last year," Arena said. "We have a lot of new faces and there's always a lot of unknowns at this time of year. To have a start like this in February with a positive result is good."

For his part, Bluewings head coach Cha Bum-Kun would have liked to have seen the entirety of the Galaxy squad facing his team in the final. But like his team, it's still a work in progress.

"It would have been great to have all of the Galaxy's best players available ... another great opportunity to experience the world soccer," Cha said. "But I don't think there will be much of a difference whether they were here or not."

Klein likes what he's seen but he's not looking too far ahead.

"It's early in the season but it's something we can build on," he said.

And it's something he's beginning to embrace, much like he expected.