MLS Season Preview: LA Galaxy

With the MLS season set to begin on Friday, theScore runs down everything you need to know about each team heading into the league's 20th campaign. Here, we take a look at the reigning champions from Los Angeles. 

So, did anything interesting happen after the Galaxy cemented their status as Major League Soccer's most impressive dynasty last season?

Mark Edward Hornish of SBI explains:

The LA Galaxy, fresh off of their third MLS Cup Championship in four years, enjoyed the sort of off-season pageantry most clubs can only dream of. They went to the White House and met the President – again. They toured Europe, and were feted by foreign heads of state. Their captain was named MLS MVP. Their retiring legend had the league’s trophy named after him. Their coach received the Werner Fricker Award for career excellence.

Yup. Not bad.

Oh, and then they replaced said legend with one of the most iconic names in Premier League history, who just happened to be a legend in his own right at one of the most storied clubs in Europe.

Ho hum. Another offseason in Los Angeles.

2014 season: 2nd in Western Conference

Playoffs: MLS Cup champions 

Head coach: Bruce Arena

Stadium: StubHub Center

Season Opener: Friday, March 6: LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire (Stubhub Centre) - 10 PM EST

Key Arrivals

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool - will join club in July)

Key Departures

Landon Donovan (retirement), Marcelo Sarvas (Colorado)

Player to Watch: Gyasi Zardes

Robbie Keane is the reigning MVP for a reason, coming off a brilliant season in which he scored 19 goals and added 14 assists, and will once again garner much of the focus from opposing defenders.

But you know that. You expect it.

What may come as somewhat of a surprise, though perhaps it shouldn't, is the season that 23-year-old Gyasi Zardes looks destined to have with that guy they called Landon now basking in the relaxation of retirement. Zardes, now an American international, needs to build on an impressive, if inconsistent, 2014 that saw him find the net 17 times.

His raw talent alone saw him slapped with the label as MLS' next big star, and he showed last season that he can elevate himself into the upper echelon of the league and breathe the rarified air of the elite. The time for being a promising youngster is over. This is the year Zardes needs to cement himself as a truly dominant force. Because, simply, he can.

Maybe then we won't talk so much about that Landon fella.

Keep an eye on: Bradford Jamieson IV

Projected Starting XI

(4-4-2) Jaime Penedo, Robbie Rogers, A.J. De La Garza, Omar Gonzalez, Dan Gargan; Jamieson, Juninho, Baggio Husidic, Stefan Ishizaki; Gyasi Zardes, Robbie Keane

Note: Lineup projections made for opening match of season, hence the absence of Gerrard.

Season in a Sentence

It's a case of no Landon, no problem for the most talented team in the league, who will be expected to achieve nothing less than yet another MLS Cup triumph.

PS: Don't mess with the Galaxy's Twitter account. You'll get burned.