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Draft Day EXCLUSIVE: Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena on draft, roster
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A quick Q&A with Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena:
Q. What does Omar Gonzalez (third overall pick) bring to the Galaxy?
Arena: He does fit the profile of a center back. He's big, strong and his height leads us to believe he'll be good in the air, which is something the Glaaxy hasn't had in its center backs in a while. He's a solid passer of the ball and positions himself well. We do realize that he and AJ (DeLaGarza) are young but we've got two players from what people could call the best collegiate soccer program. Whenever you get two quality players from a great program, over time they'll be pretty good in MLS.
Q. You gave up a lot - - two draft picks and a player to be named -- to move up and grab DeLaGarza. What is it about him that made it important to grab him?
Arena: He has a lot of instinctive defensive qualities. He reads the game very well and moves very well. ... But he's really a natural defender. For a small player, he's an excellent defender. He's got the ability to play anywhere in the back line.
Q. With these two and second-year defender Sean Franklin, that's a lot of youth in the back. How important does this make goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts in terms of leadership?
Arena: Well, I don't know that all of them will be playing at the same time. But Ricketts is expected to be a leader in the back no matter who is playing. When we brought in Donovan, we brought in an experienced goalkeeper. And he's going to help our backline. But it's not just him or the backline, it's the entire team.
Q. How close is the roster right now to where you want it to be?
Arena: We're getting there. But we're not happy with it yet. We've been very agressive in improving our roster. ... We're slowly building a team that can compete in MLS. And I want all the fans to know that we fully expect [David] Beckham and [Landon] Donovan to be back.
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