Foreign Exchange: Three questions with The Galactic Tribune's Alex Ruiz
The Galaxy are straight up not having a good time this season. Let's hear from one of their most dedicated reporters.
I love Striker reunions! The twice-annual match with the LA Galaxy is a welcome chance for me to check in with The Striker alum Alex Ruiz, a must-follow over on his site, The Galactic Tribune, if you want to follow the doings of the 2024 MLS Cup champions.
We had three (actually, four) questions for him and we got to return the favor; keep up with his site if you want to see how I'm presenting the state of Verde to the second-closest team to where I was born. (Yes, that's a Carson isn't so close to L.A. dig.)
This is why people in L.A. (and surrounding cities) own cars
To the questions!
With Maya Yoshida out with injury and Zanka out with a red card, who might the Galaxy start in the back line this weekend, and how easy a time will Austin have scoring on them? (Or perhaps I should say, "How easy a time will a typical, reasonably offensively competent team have scoring on them?)
Whatever the Over/Under line is for goals the LA Galaxy will concede, I would take the over. The Galaxy defense has seen no consistency this season, with many players rotated out due to injury or the self-inflicted goalkeeping crisis between John McCarthy and Novak Micovic that saw both ‘keepers play with pressure to start the season.
The Galaxy will likely start Eriq Zavaleta on Saturday; the former El Salvador international has played 45 minutes this season. Emiro Garces will be the other center back on the team; he can be reckless at times and struggles to defend crosses in the box.
Austin has the players to make it hard for the LA Galaxy to keep a clean sheet. The Galaxy will give up chances, and the club has shot itself in the foot many times this season. Head Coach Greg Vanney and many of the players on the roster have talked about limiting these mistakes and not having to fight an uphill battle every match week. If the Galaxy can maintain control of the game and limit transition moments, the Galaxy could make this a hard game for the Austin attack. But again, that is “if” LA is capable of that - the club has yet to show any glimpses of that in 2025.
From my perspective, "hollowed-out midfield, and really missing Riqui Puig" is why the Galaxy are off to a bad start. Is that your assessment, or do you see additional issues with the team that's hampering it.
That assessment is correct, the Galaxy midfield was very reliable and consistent last season, but this year has been a different story.
The departures of Gaston Brugman and Mark Delgado to other MLS clubs have left LA with little to no veteran presence in the middle of the park. Edwin Cerrillo has been the only consistent starter in the trenches, and he’s played in every game this season. Aside from the Waco, Texas, native, players such as Isaiah Parente, Tucker Lepley, Lucas Sanabria, Elijah Wynder, and Marco Reus have been in and out of the midfield lineup due to injury. There is no consistency in the most important area of the pitch.
Without Puig, the Galaxy don't have a reliable playmaker who can create chances for others. The chance creation load has fallen on Gabriel Pec this season, but it means he’s getting the ball further from goal and cannot be in a position to score goals like he did last year. Joseph Paintsil has recently returned from a thigh injury that kept him out of preseason and for the first six games of the season, he’s added that direct threat that LA didn’t have to start the season. The midfield now has to support LA’s dynamic wingers and the results should follow soon.
The Galaxy needs more chance creation and stability from the middle of the park. That hasn’t been there this season, but a familiar face to Austin FC fans could be a catalyst for change that LA desperately needs.
You recently wrote about our old friend Diego Fagundez and the role he might be able to have on the team going forward. Please share those observations and how those might have evolved from the time you wrote the article.
Despite the 1-1 result, you could feel a real momentum switch for the Galaxy after the game, especially with Diego Fagundez.
After reaching 400 career MLS appearances and recording 150 goal contributions in regular-season play against the Houston Dynamo, Fagundez’s press conference felt like a breath of fresh air and life in a disappointing season for the Galaxy. His way of being direct about the poor start to the season, combined with his confidence that LA can turn this around, made you believe that was possible. He’s worn the captain’s armband in the last three games with Yoshida out, and he’s been the right player to be the leader for this squad. He’s well respected in the locker room as a leader and as “one of the guys” on the team. Fagundez has stepped up as a key leader for this group, and his voice holds much more weight than it did in the last two seasons.
On the pitch, Fagundez can cement himself as a genuine key player for Vanney’s side. The 30-year-old hasn’t been one of the focal points of the squad since he arrived via trade in the summer of 2023, nor was he a huge factor in the Galaxy’s run to winning MLS Cup last season. But now he has that chance to be a game changer for the LA Galaxy and get the best out of the players around him.
Fagundez started the season playing as a left winger because of Paintsil’s injury, and that was not the right fit for the MLS veteran. He doesn’t have that blazing quick pace that Paintsil provides, nor does he fancy taking on his opponents on the dribble like Pec. He’s now playing as the central playmaker in the middle of the pitch with Paintsil and Pec on either side. As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy doesn’t have a consistent playmaker, but Fagundez playing at the 10 could help boost the underwhelming attack.
In my article earlier this week where I mentioned that Fagundez could be the player to “quarterback” the Galaxy, I included quotes where Vanney praised his ability to read the game and understand his system. Vanney believes that Fagundez can be the player who adds some consistency to the chance-creation struggles the team is going through. The stats show he’s been the LA Galaxy’s best chance creator despite playing on the left wing. He needs to bring that level of creativity to pull the strings in the midfield and allow Pec, Paintsil, and striker Christian Ramirez to worry about being in the right position instead of looking to force touches on the ball.
Fagundez’s free-kick goal on Saturday night showed that he can still provide game-changing moments in an instant. He’s headed into Austin motivated to score and jumpstart the Galaxy.
Also, as a bonus question, when is Marco Reus coming back? Asking for my Verde Best Ball league fantasy team.
Reus has trained all week with the LA Galaxy, but Greg Vanney wouldn’t say if he would play this weekend. Vanney is very conservative when it comes to returning players from injury. It will be a game-time decision on whether he will be on the gameday roster; seeing him get a start in Texas would be quite surprising.
I’m sure you’re like the rest of the LA Galaxy fanbase: Disappointed that Reus hasn’t been impactful when he’s on the pitch and that his injury problems continue to come up.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
Brendan Hines-Ike said this loss would test Austin FC players "as men." Nico Estévez took the loss harder than a previous head coach did when losing by the exact same scoreline.
I love Striker reunions! The twice-annual match with the LA Galaxy is a welcome chance for me to check in with The Striker alum Alex Ruiz, a must-follow over on his site, The Galactic Tribune, if you want to follow the doings of the 2024 MLS Cup champions.
We had three (actually, four) questions for him and we got to return the favor; keep up with his site if you want to see how I'm presenting the state of Verde to the second-closest team to where I was born. (Yes, that's a Carson isn't so close to L.A. dig.)
To the questions!
With Maya Yoshida out with injury and Zanka out with a red card, who might the Galaxy start in the back line this weekend, and how easy a time will Austin have scoring on them? (Or perhaps I should say, "How easy a time will a typical, reasonably offensively competent team have scoring on them?)
Whatever the Over/Under line is for goals the LA Galaxy will concede, I would take the over. The Galaxy defense has seen no consistency this season, with many players rotated out due to injury or the self-inflicted goalkeeping crisis between John McCarthy and Novak Micovic that saw both ‘keepers play with pressure to start the season.
The Galaxy will likely start Eriq Zavaleta on Saturday; the former El Salvador international has played 45 minutes this season. Emiro Garces will be the other center back on the team; he can be reckless at times and struggles to defend crosses in the box.
Austin has the players to make it hard for the LA Galaxy to keep a clean sheet. The Galaxy will give up chances, and the club has shot itself in the foot many times this season. Head Coach Greg Vanney and many of the players on the roster have talked about limiting these mistakes and not having to fight an uphill battle every match week. If the Galaxy can maintain control of the game and limit transition moments, the Galaxy could make this a hard game for the Austin attack. But again, that is “if” LA is capable of that - the club has yet to show any glimpses of that in 2025.
From my perspective, "hollowed-out midfield, and really missing Riqui Puig" is why the Galaxy are off to a bad start. Is that your assessment, or do you see additional issues with the team that's hampering it.
That assessment is correct, the Galaxy midfield was very reliable and consistent last season, but this year has been a different story.
The departures of Gaston Brugman and Mark Delgado to other MLS clubs have left LA with little to no veteran presence in the middle of the park. Edwin Cerrillo has been the only consistent starter in the trenches, and he’s played in every game this season. Aside from the Waco, Texas, native, players such as Isaiah Parente, Tucker Lepley, Lucas Sanabria, Elijah Wynder, and Marco Reus have been in and out of the midfield lineup due to injury. There is no consistency in the most important area of the pitch.
Without Puig, the Galaxy don't have a reliable playmaker who can create chances for others. The chance creation load has fallen on Gabriel Pec this season, but it means he’s getting the ball further from goal and cannot be in a position to score goals like he did last year. Joseph Paintsil has recently returned from a thigh injury that kept him out of preseason and for the first six games of the season, he’s added that direct threat that LA didn’t have to start the season. The midfield now has to support LA’s dynamic wingers and the results should follow soon.
The Galaxy needs more chance creation and stability from the middle of the park. That hasn’t been there this season, but a familiar face to Austin FC fans could be a catalyst for change that LA desperately needs.
You recently wrote about our old friend Diego Fagundez and the role he might be able to have on the team going forward. Please share those observations and how those might have evolved from the time you wrote the article.
Despite the 1-1 result, you could feel a real momentum switch for the Galaxy after the game, especially with Diego Fagundez.
After reaching 400 career MLS appearances and recording 150 goal contributions in regular-season play against the Houston Dynamo, Fagundez’s press conference felt like a breath of fresh air and life in a disappointing season for the Galaxy. His way of being direct about the poor start to the season, combined with his confidence that LA can turn this around, made you believe that was possible. He’s worn the captain’s armband in the last three games with Yoshida out, and he’s been the right player to be the leader for this squad. He’s well respected in the locker room as a leader and as “one of the guys” on the team. Fagundez has stepped up as a key leader for this group, and his voice holds much more weight than it did in the last two seasons.
On the pitch, Fagundez can cement himself as a genuine key player for Vanney’s side. The 30-year-old hasn’t been one of the focal points of the squad since he arrived via trade in the summer of 2023, nor was he a huge factor in the Galaxy’s run to winning MLS Cup last season. But now he has that chance to be a game changer for the LA Galaxy and get the best out of the players around him.
Fagundez started the season playing as a left winger because of Paintsil’s injury, and that was not the right fit for the MLS veteran. He doesn’t have that blazing quick pace that Paintsil provides, nor does he fancy taking on his opponents on the dribble like Pec. He’s now playing as the central playmaker in the middle of the pitch with Paintsil and Pec on either side. As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy doesn’t have a consistent playmaker, but Fagundez playing at the 10 could help boost the underwhelming attack.
In my article earlier this week where I mentioned that Fagundez could be the player to “quarterback” the Galaxy, I included quotes where Vanney praised his ability to read the game and understand his system. Vanney believes that Fagundez can be the player who adds some consistency to the chance-creation struggles the team is going through. The stats show he’s been the LA Galaxy’s best chance creator despite playing on the left wing. He needs to bring that level of creativity to pull the strings in the midfield and allow Pec, Paintsil, and striker Christian Ramirez to worry about being in the right position instead of looking to force touches on the ball.
Fagundez’s free-kick goal on Saturday night showed that he can still provide game-changing moments in an instant. He’s headed into Austin motivated to score and jumpstart the Galaxy.
Also, as a bonus question, when is Marco Reus coming back? Asking for my Verde Best Ball league fantasy team.
Reus has trained all week with the LA Galaxy, but Greg Vanney wouldn’t say if he would play this weekend. Vanney is very conservative when it comes to returning players from injury. It will be a game-time decision on whether he will be on the gameday roster; seeing him get a start in Texas would be quite surprising.
I’m sure you’re like the rest of the LA Galaxy fanbase: Disappointed that Reus hasn’t been impactful when he’s on the pitch and that his injury problems continue to come up.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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