| Club: | Los Angeles Galaxy |
| Season: | 2011 |
| League: | Major League Soccer |
| League Result: | 1st |
| Chrtitle: | Owner |
| Chairman: | Philip Anschutz (AEG) |
| Mgrtitle: | Coach |
| Manager: | Bruce Arena |
| Average Attendance: | 23,051 |
| Cup1: | MLS Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Winners |
| Cup2: | CONCACAF Champions League |
| Cup2 Result: | Quarterfinals |
| Cup3: | U.S. Open Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarterfinals |
| Cup4: | Honda SuperClasico |
| Cup4 Result: | Won (2–0–0) |
| Cup5: | California Clasico |
| Cup5 Result: | Won (1–0–1) |
| League Topscorer: | Landon Donovan (12) |
| Season Topscorer: | Landon Donovan (13) |
| Highest Attendance: | 27,000 (three matches) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 14,458 v Houston Dynamo (May 25, 2011) |
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| Prevseason: | 2010 |
| Nextseason: | 2012 |
The 2011 Los Angeles Galaxy season was the club's 17th year of existence as well as their 16th season in Major League Soccer and their 16th consecutive year in the top-flight of American soccer. The Galaxy entered the season as the defending MLS Supporters' Shield titleholders.
Most notably, the Galaxy became the third straight team to win consecutive Supporters' Shields, after D.C. United (2006–07) and Columbus Crew (2008–09). The Galaxy clinched their fourth Shield on October 8, after Seattle Sounders FC lost 0–2 at home to Philadelphia Union. They also won their third MLS Cup, defeating Houston Dynamo 1–0 in the final.
Outside of league play, the Galaxy participated in the CONCACAF Champions League and the U.S. Open Cup, reaching the Quarterfinals in both competitions. Along with these competitive tournaments, the Galaxy played in the friendly-match World Football Challenge, losing to Real Madrid and drawing to Manchester City.
Their record in all competitions (yet excluding their Asia-Pacific tour) was 28–9–11, earning 95/144 points from 48 matches.
The Galaxy had a busy month in January, mostly with transfers. On January 10, club striker, and Golden Boot-finalist, Edson Buddle left the Galaxy to sign with second division German club, Ingolstadt 04 through the end of the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga season.
On January 9, 2010, rumors about David Beckham potentially ending his three-and-a-half-year MLS career by signing with Tottenham Hotspur or going on loan with the Premier League club ended. The Galaxy announced that Beckham would be training with Tottenham for two weeks,[1] before joining Los Angeles for the start of pre-season training. The news made it the first time since 2008 that Beckham did not go on an off-season loan to Europe.
The Galaxy opened the MLS regular season with a 0–1 victory over the Sounders at Qwest Field in rainy Seattle on March 15. Second-year midfielder Juninho had the lone goal of the match. Although they were back home at the Home Depot Center for the second match of the season on March 20, the Galaxy once again played in the rain. A rare Southern California rainstorm made for difficult conditions in the 1–1 draw with the New England Revolution. Juninho scored the equalizer for the Galaxy, his second goal of the season – which already matched his goal total from his debut 2010 season. The toughest test of the early season came on March 26 – and the Galaxy failed. Traveling to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah without captain Landon Donovan (who was away on international duty with the USA national team), the Galaxy lost 4–1 to Real Salt Lake. To be fair, Rio Tinto is a difficult venue for any visiting club, as Real hasn't lost at home in nearly two years. The only consolation was seeing Juan Pablo Ángel open his Galaxy goal account in his first start for his new club. Ángel had been suffering from a virus and didn't start the first two matches (though he did come on as a substitute in the second half against the Revolution).
The Galaxy rebounded from the loss to Real Salt Lake with a 1–0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at the Home Depot Center on April 2. Donovan Ricketts and Omar Gonzalez saw their first action of the season after recovering from minor injuries. Leonardo headed in a David Beckham free kick in the 33rd minute for the game's only goal. It was the defender's first goal in a Galaxy shirt. A 53rd minute red card for Chris Birchall meant that the Galaxy had to spend the majority of the second half protecting their narrow lead a man down.
Next up was a 3-games-in-8-days cross-country road trip. To complicate matters, the Galaxy would be without captain Landon Donovan, who did not travel with the club while he nursed a knee injury. The first match of the trip came at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., on April 9. Mike Magee nodded in a Beckham corner to give the Galaxy the early lead. But Charlie Davies drew a dubious penalty and converted from the spot himself in the 90th minute to save the draw for D.C. United. The squad traveled to Toronto to take on Toronto FC 4 days later. The fans at BMO Field saw a largely unentertaining affair resulting in a scoreless draw. Most notable from a Galaxy perspective was the sending off of Juninho in stoppage time of the 2nd half. Also, Beckham received his 5th yellow card of the season in the 44th minute. These two events meant that the Galaxy would be without 3/4ths of their preferred midfield (Donovan, Beckham, and Juninho) when they finished their trip on April 17 in Bridgeview, Illinois against the Chicago Fire. Yet it was no problem as the Galaxy won 1–2 behind goals from Chad Barrett and Gonzalez with Miguel López providing the assists on both goals. Although there was one concerning casualty on the Toyota Park field – Leonardo picked up a right knee injury late in the match. It was revealed a couple days later that he tore the ACL and LCL in the knee, and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.[2] Heading home to LA, the Galaxy had picked up a very respectable 5 points on their travels.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Birthday | At LAG since | Previous club | MLS appearances | MLS goals | |
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Donovan Ricketts | 7 June 1977 | 2009 | Village United | 59 | 0 | |
| 12 | Josh Saunders | 2 March 1981 | 2009 |  Miami FC | 12 | 0 | ||
| 24 | | Brian Perk | 21 July 1989 | 2010 | Philadelphia Union | 1 | 0 | |
| Defenders | ||||||||
| 2 | | Todd Dunivant | 26 December 1980 | 2009 |  Toronto FC | 59 | 2 | |
| 3 | | Gregg Berhalter | 1 August 1973 | 2009 | 1860 Munich | 41 | 0 | |
| 4 | | Omar Gonzalez | 11 October 1988 | 2009 | Maryland Terrapins | 62 | 4 | |
| 5 | | Sean Franklin | 21 March 1985 | 2008 | San Fernando Valley Quakes | 72 | 0 | |
| 6 | | Frankie Hejduk | 5 August 1974 | 2011 | Columbus Crew | 1 | 0 | |
| 20 | | A. J. DeLaGarza | 4 November 1987 | 2009 | Maryland Terrapins | 44 | 2 | |
| 22 |  | Leonardo | 8 February 1988 | 2010 | on loan from São Paulo | 17 | 1 | |
| 28 | | Ryan Thomas | 20 March 1989 | 2011 | Stanford Cardinal | 0 | 0 | |
| 55 | | Joshua Kelly | 31 August 1989 | 2011 | University of California, Riverside | 0 | 0 | |
| 33 | | Sean Alvarado | 20 September 1987 | 2011 | Los Angeles Legends | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | | Dasan Robinson | 6 June 1984 | 2011 | Toronto FC | 85 | 3 | |
| Midfielders | ||||||||
| 7 | | Jovan Kirovski | 18 March 1976 | 2008 | San Jose Earthquakes | 46 | 6 | |
| 8 | Chris Birchall | 5 May 1984 | 2009 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 0 | ||
| 15 |  | Dan Keat | 28 September 1987 | 2011 | Team Wellington | 0 | 0 | |
| 16 | | Héctor Jiménez | 3 November 1988 | 2011 | California Golden Bears | 0 | 0 | |
| 19 | | Juninho | 5 January 1989 | 2010 | on loan from São Paulo | 31 | 4 | |
| 21 | | Dustin McCarty | 12 October 1988 | 2011 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 0 | 0 | |
| 23 | David Beckham | 2 May 1975 | 2007 |  Real Madrid | 63 | 11 | ||
| 25 |  | Miguel López | 9 June 1988 | 2011 | on loan from Quilmes | 5 | 0 | |
| 26 | | Michael Stephens | 3 April 1989 | 2010 | Chicago Fire Premier | 25 | 1 | |
| 30 | Paolo Cardozo | 9 June 1989 | 2011 | Quilmes | 5 | 0 | ||
| Strikers | ||||||||
| 10 | | Landon Donovan | 4 March 1982 | 2005 | Bayer Leverkusen | 148 | 71 | |
| 11 | | Chad Barrett | 30 April 1985 | 2011 | Toronto FC | 7 | 1 | |
| 14 | Robbie Keane | 8 July 1980 | 2011 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 0 | ||
| 17 | | Adam Cristman | 8 January 1985 | 2011 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | | Mike Magee | 2 September 1984 | 2009 | New York Red Bulls | 44 | 4 | |
| 27 | | Bryan Jordan | 13 September 1985 | 2008 | Portland Timbers | 37 | 2 | |
| 32 | | Jack McBean | 15 December 1994 | 2011 | IMG Soccer Academy | 0 | 0 | |
See also: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2011.
| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 15, 2010 | FW | [3] | ||||
| December 15, 2010 | MF | Re-Entry Draft, subsequently traded | ||||
| December 15, 2010 | DF | [4] | ||||
| January 11, 2011 | FW | [5] | ||||
| January 13, 2011 | FW | Acquired in exchange for undisclosed future considerations | [6] | |||
| February 14, 2011 | MF | [7] | ||||
| February 14, 2011 | MF | |||||
| February 14, 2011 | MF | |||||
| February 14, 2011 | Ryan Thomas | DF | ||||
| February 14, 2011 | Dustin McCarty | MF | ||||
| March 16, 2011 | Sean Alvarado | DF | Unattached | Free | [8] | |
| May 11, 2011 | DF | Unattached | Free | [9] | ||
| August 15, 2011 | FW | Undisclosed, believed to be roughly $4M transfer fee | [10] | |||
| September 15, 2011 | DF | [11] |
| Date | Player | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 15, 2010 | MF | None | Retired | [12] | ||
| November 15, 2010 | MF | None | Retired | [13] | ||
| December 3, 2010 | MF | None | Option declined, retired | [14] | ||
| December 15, 2010 | FW | Traded for allocation money | [15] | |||
| December 15, 2010 | MF | |||||
| January 1, 2011 | MF | Loan expired, option declined | [16] | |||
| January 10, 2011 | FW | Undisclosed | [17] | |||
| January 26, 2011 | DF | Option declined, free transfer | ||||
| August 17, 2011 | FW | Traded for a 2012 Supplemental Draft, 3rd round pick | [18] | |||
| September 15, 2011 | DF |
| Date | Player | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 23, 2009 | DF | Loan | [19] | |||
| December 23, 2009 | MF | Loan | ||||
| January 28, 2011 | MF | One year loan, terms undisclosed | [20] |
See main article: 2011 Major League Soccer season.
See main article: 2011 MLS Cup Playoffs.
See main article: MLS Cup 2011.
See main article: 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League.
The Los Angeles Galaxy qualified directly into Group stage play by winning the Supporters' Shield.[21] The Galaxy played in Group A with Alajuelense of Costa Rica, Morelia of Mexico, and Motagua of Honduras.
See main article: 2011 U.S. Open Cup.
See main article: 2011 World Football Challenge.
All statistics are for competitive matches only.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Total | MLS | Champions League | Open Cup | ||||||||
| MIN | GA | GAA | MIN | GA | GAA | MIN | GA | GAA | MIN | GA | GAA | |||
| 1 | | Donovan Ricketts | 1014 | 6 | 0.53 | 1014 | 6 | 0.53 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 12 | Josh Saunders | 1459 | 17 | 1.05 | 1189 | 14 | 1.06 | 180 | 0 | 0.00 | 90 | 3 | 3.00 | |
| 18 | | Mike Magee | 47 | 0 | 0.00 | 47 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 24 | | Brian Perk | 180 | 1 | 0.50 | 90 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 90 | 1 | 1.00 |
| TOTALS | 2700 | 24 | 0.80 | 2340 | 20 | 0.77 | 180 | 0 | 0.00 | 180 | 4 | 2.00 | ||