Yahoo Finance Meet the 2021 L.A. Galaxy team
We take a closer look at the 2021 Galaxy players. Check back here all season for video highlights of goals they score.
Jonathan Bond
Number: 1
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 27
Country: England
After seven seasons in England’s second-tier Championship, Bond will fill one of the Galaxy’s biggest needs by taking over for David Bingham in goal. During the past four seasons, the team conceded 236 goals; only the San Jose Earthquakes, with 237, gave up more.
Julian Araujo
Number: 2
Position: Defender
Age: 19
Country: U.S.
Though just a teen, Araujo is already a U.S. international and is drawing interest from several big European clubs. Discipline remains an issue, however, with Araujo leading the team with six yellow and two red cards last season.
Derrick Williams
Number: 3
Position: Defender
Age: 28
Country: Ireland
Williams, a versatile full back, made 249 appearances for Blackburn and Bristol City in the second and third tiers of English soccer before coming to the Galaxy in March on a two-year deal. But the Irish international has been slowed in the preseason by hamstring and quadriceps injuries and, when healthy, could face stiff competition for playing time on what is becoming a deep Galaxy back line.
Daniel Steres
Number: 5
Position: Defender
Age: 30
Country: U.S.
A solid center back, the unsung Steres has started more MLS games for the Galaxy (114) than anyone on the roster. Only Sebastian Lletget has appeared in more regular-season games in a Galaxy uniform than Steres (122).
Victor Vázquez
Number: 7
Position: Midfielder
Age: 34
Country: Spain
A favorite of new coach Greg Vanney, the former Barcelona player appeared in a team-high 31 games for Vanney’s treble-winning Toronto team in 2017. He’ll provide midfield depth and experience as well as locker room leadership for a young Galaxy roster.
Jonathan dos Santos
Number: 8
Position: Midfielder
Age: 30
Country: Mexico
Dos Santos will begin his fifth MLS season nine days before his 31st birthday. Although an injury limited him to seven starts, less than 700 minutes and no goals or assists last season, Dos Santos is expected to play a demanding box-to-box role for Vanney in 2021.
Kévin Cabral
Number: 9
Position: Forward
Age: 21
Country: France
Cabral, who isn’t expected to arrive in the U.S. until next week, signed a five-year contract with a club option with the Galaxy, believed to be the longest deal in franchise history. The former Paris Saint-Germain academy player comes to MLS from Valenciennes of France’s second-tier Ligue 2, where he scored seven times in 29 games this season.
Samuel Grandsir
Number: 11
Position: Midfielder
Age: 24
Country: France
One of five players the Galaxy imported from Europe this winter, Grandsir last played for Brest in Ligue 1 but hasn’t appeared in a game since the pandemic ended the 2019-2020 French season more than 13 months ago. In four first-division seasons with Brest, Monaco, Strasbourg and Troyes, the winger played in 81 games and had six goals and six assists.
Eric Lopez
Number: 12
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 22
Country: El Salvador/U.S.
A Galaxy academy product, he was the youngest player to sign a USL contract when he joined Galaxy II as a 15-year-old in 2014. He has yet play in an MLS game.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernández
Number: 14
Position: Forward
Age: 32
Country: Mexico
A calf injury limited Chicharito to seven starts and two goals last year, his worst season since he was a teenager playing for Chivas of Guadalajara. A three-time World Cup player, he is Mexico’s all-time scoring leader.
2021 Goals:
April 18 vs. Inter Miami
The first @CH14_ Goal of 2021 ✨ pic.twitter.com/mJTXMEALUc
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) April 18, 2021
April 18 vs. Inter Miami
Chichabrace 💚🖤
2 for @CH14_ ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/pDFZ8bL3cG— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) April 18, 2021
Sacha Kljestan
Number: 16
Position: Midfielder
Age: 35
Country: U.S.
Kljestan, beginning his 16th professional season, is the oldest and most experienced player on the roster — and among the most decorated, having won eight trophies in Belgium, a Supporters’ Shield in MLS and played 52 games with the national team. His 279 MLS appearances and 252 starts are most on the team. He’ll provide midfield depth this season.
2021 goals:
April 18 vs. Inter Miami
𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 @SachaKljestan pic.twitter.com/PB9yGv1VBs
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) April 18, 2021
Sebastian Lletget
Number: 17
Position: Midfielder
Age: 28
Country: U.S.
Lletget made his Galaxy debut in 2015, making him the longest-serving Galaxy player in terms of continuous service with the club. And his 132 games for the franchise are the most among active players. He was second on the team in goals (6) and assists (3) last year, and has become a mainstay with the national team.
Justin Vom Steeg
Number: 18
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 24
Country: U.S.
The son of UC Santa Barbara soccer coach Tim Vom Steeg, Justin spent a season in Germany with 2 Bundesliga team Fortuna Dusseldorf before returning to the U.S. and signing with Galaxy II. He was promoted to the first-team roster in 2018, but has yet to appear in an MLS game.
Jorge Villafaña
Number: 19
Position: Defender
Age: 31
Country: U.S.
An offensive-minded left back, Villafaña got his pro start with Chivas USA after winning a tryout on a televised game show. He went on to capture league titles with the Portland Timbers and Mexico’s Santos Laguna, and has played 21 times with the national team. He came to the Galaxy from Portland in January in a swap of draft picks, and his 242 MLS games and 212 starts are second only to Sacha Kljestan on the roster.
Nick DePuy
Number: 20
Position: Defender
Age: 26
Country: U.S.
A teammate of Vom Steeg’s at UC Santa Barbara, DePuy made his MLS debut with Montreal in 2017 and played briefly in Denmark before joining the Galaxy in 2019. He played well in 16 MLS appearances last year, and will provide depth at center back this season.
Giancarlo González
Number: 21
Position: Defender
Age: 33
Country: Costa Rica
A two-time World Cup player for Costa Rica, González has struggled with injuries in the preseason and probably won’t have a starting spot when the team is at full strength. He could be dealt back to Costa Rica’s Alajuelense this summer.
Danilo Acosta
Number: 24
Position: Defender
Age: 23
Country: U.S.
The Honduran-born left back missed all of 2020 after tearing the ACL in his left knee in the preseason. He played 37 MLS games for Real Salt Lake and Orlando before joining the Galaxy and will likely be a backup to Villafaña this season.
Cameron Dunbar
Number: 25
Position: Forward
Age: 18
Country: U.S.
The 18-year-old is one of seven teenagers on the roster and is the only player in franchise born in the Galaxy’s hometown of Carson. The speedy attacker played just 84 minutes for former coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto last year but, based on his performance in the preseason, could see much more playing time this season.
Efraín Álvarez
Number: 26
Position: Midfielder
Age: 18
Country: U.S./Mexico
A Mexican international, Alvarez is deadly in the delivery on set pieces but has yet to fully live up to expectations. He set career highs for games (16) and starts (6) in 2020, when he also scored his only MLS goal.
Carlos Harvey
Number: 27
Position: Midfielder
Age: 21
Country: Panama
Harvey signed with the Galaxy in the winter after playing in six games last season while on loan from Panama’s Tauro FC. Harvey has one cap with the Panama’s national team, playing 45 minutes in a 2019 friendly with the U.S..
Kai Koreniuk
Number: 28
Position: Midfielder
Age: 23
Country: U.S./the Netherlands
Koreniuk played as a youth international for both the U.S. and the Netherlands, where he also played for two pro clubs. He scored nine times in 29 games for Galaxy II in 2019 before making his first-team debut last season, playing just 16 minutes but scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Vancouver.
Ethan Zubak
Number: 29
Position: Forward
Age: 23
Country: U.S.
After five years with Galaxy II, Zubak got some extended MLS playing time last season in place of the injured Chicharito, starting 11 times and scoring twice in 15 appearances. A healthy Hernández, plus the additions of Cabral and Grandsir, figure to push him back to the bench.
Jonathan Klinsmann
Number: 33
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 24
Country: U.S.
The son of former national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Jonathan joined the Galaxy in August 2020 and made four starts, posting a shutout but losing the other three games while allowing 11 goals. A U.S. youth international, he will start the season as the only Galaxy keeper who has played in an MLS game.
Adam Saldaña
Number: 43
Position: Midfielder
Age: 19
Country: U.S.
Saldaña, another Galaxy II alum, has been a pleasant surprise during the preseason but could be forced back to the bench when the Galaxy’s crowded midfield is at full strength.
Jalen Neal
Number: 44
Position: Defender
Age: 17
Country: U.S.
The teenager was impressive at center back in the preseason ,but the Galaxy is so deep on the back line, Neal will also certainly spend the majority of the summer with Galaxy II.
Jonathan Perez
Number: 56
Position: Midfielder
Age: 18
Country: U.S./Mexico
Another member of the Galaxy’s talented teenage Kiddie Korps, Perez has played as a youth international for both the U.S. and Mexico. Although he scored a couple of preseason goals for the Galaxy, he will find playing time tough to come by when the regular season starts.
Marcus Ferkranus
Number: 70
Position: Defender
Age: 17
Country: U.S.
A product of the Galaxy academy, Ferkranus has just five games of USL Championship experience. When the team is at full strength, expect him to return to Galaxy II.
Oniel Fisher
Number: 91
Position: Defender
Age: 29
Country: Jamaica
An experienced Jamaican international, Fisher was a steal for the Galaxy, who signed him as a free agent in February. A versatile player who can start on the back line or in the midfield, Fisher has made 66 career MLS appearances for Seattle and D.C. United.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
