LAFC were back at work on the training pitch Monday to kick off Week 2 of the first preseason in Club history. With a full week of training in the books, head coach Bob Bradley was pleased with what he’s seen so far.
“We’ve had a good first week of training,” Bradley said following Monday’s session. “The mentality of the players has been excellent and the work has been very good.”
During the Club’s first week of training, Bradley emphasized establishing a foundation to build upon moving forward. He said players were given the general idea of the style of play he expected and then put into game-like situations in training to express those ideas.
“The idea is to create a picture of how we want to play and continue to work on some of the details, so that things get faster and sharper,” Bradley said. “The understanding of how we want to play gets better every week.”
With the foundation in place, LAFC will see its first action of the preseason in Week 2 of training camp. Reigning MLS Cup champs Toronto FC come to town Friday for a preseason friendly.
News and Notes
- Omar Gaber experienced a setback in training last week suffering a left adductor strain. “He’s already made progress and will continue to be evaluated by our medical staff,” Bradley said about the injury. Gaber spent Monday’s session rehabbing off to the side of training, and will be held out of live action for an indefinite period of time as he recovers.
- New signing Luis ‘Buba’ López was also working on the sidelines with medical staff during training this week. The goalkeeper is currently rehabbing a right tibial stress fracture. “From the beginning of our discussion with ‘Buba’ we knew that he was rehabbing a stress fracture of the tibia,” Bradley said. “Our doctors looked at him before the signing and were all confident in his full recovery.” Bradley said he looks forward to having López in the squad: “He’s an athletic goalkeeper with experience on the Honduran National Team and he had a very good Gold Cup last year. His quickness allows him to make some great saves and he’s very good with the ball at his feet.” LAFC Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager John Thorrington is hopeful that Lopez could return to training in 4-to-6 weeks. “We understood from the start with Luis where things stood physically, and we have been pleased with his progress.” Thorrington said. “We have a fantastic medical staff who will oversee his rehab process throughout the pre-season to get him back as soon as possible.”
- Walker Zimmerman played the full 90 minutes of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 0-0 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday. Zimmerman joined his teammates at UCLA on Monday and resumed training on Wednesday.
- LAFC Designated Player Carlos Vela was not at training on Monday as he traveled to join the Mexican National Team ahead of their friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in San Antonio. Vela is expected back with the Club on Friday.
