David Beckham begins his second season with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, hoping it goes much better than his first one. Beckham was injured most of the time last season and played in only five MLS games. "It was difficult last season because I came halfway through and wasn't fit," Beckham said. "Touch wood, the ankle's good, the knee's good. I'm definitely prepared physically and mentally, and definitely ready for the upcoming season." The MLS begins its 13th season with Beckham ready in Los Angeles and a new expansion team in San Jose.
The Galaxy open at Colorado on Saturday and Beckham should be at full strength. He played in all six of the Galaxy’s exhibition games and had a goal and three assists. "There's nobody who sees a long ball better than him," Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas said. "He's definitely someone who can open up games with one pass, which is pretty amazing." Last year many fans missed out on seeing Beckham since he was hurt and hopefully that won’t be the case this season. Ruud Gullit took over as coach from Frank Yallop for the Galaxy while Yallop went to San Jose. "We're slowly coming together," Gullit said. "The season will be a (work in) progress. We're improving in all areas of the field, but we're still trying to find our right shape."
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The MLS made a change in rules last season to allow a designated player that is outside of the salary cap. That allowed Los Angeles to sign Beckham, Chicago to get Cuauhtemoc Blanco and New York to bring in Juan Pablo Angel. Blanco was superb for Chicago last year while Angel had 19 goals for New York, second most in the league. "In 2007, the standard of play in the league took a huge leap forward," deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said. "It wasn't about David Beckham, although David clearly was a huge story for us and has been a terrific ambassador for our league. It was about the players that accompanied him."
Teams have added players from all over the world for the 2008 season including many South American players. D.C. United picked up designated player Marcelo Gallardo of Argentina, Peruvian goalkeeper Jose Carvallo and Colombian defender Gonzalo Martinez. Kansas City added Claudio Lopez as they try and replace Eddie Johnson who went to Fulham. This season teams were given another roster spot for a foreign player. The defending champion Houston Dynamo added Argentine forward Franco Caraccio.
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