USL Feature
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Los Angeles Blues
Coach: Charlie Naimo
2010 Season: N/A
The Lowdown – The Blues enter their first professional season with high expectations, and a look at their roster would indicate that Coach Charlie Naimo has every right to believe that his squad can immediately be competitive. With a good balance of experience and youth, including a good contingent from the highly competitive Los Angeles area, Naimo is hopeful his side can hit the ground running.
“It is always a challenge when you have a blank sheet of paper as opposed to starting the year trying to fill a few needs,” Naimo said recently by e-mail. “Luckily we have had a lot of talented players in and out of the amateur Blues teams that have done well in the past years. Also, being in Southern California was a tremendous help as well because of the large pool of talent. We are happy with the roster we currently have but will continue to make moves every day.”
Key Arrivals – Maybe the most high-profile addition by any USL PRO club this offseason was the Blues’ acquisition of former Mexican League star Walter Gaitan. The 34-year-old Argentinean scored 73 goals in 179 games for Tigres UANL before a short spell with Necaxa. Naimo said Gaitan has started to find his form in preseason training, and along with team captain John Tudela and recent addition Chukwudi Chinjindu he is one of the players Naimo points to as keys for the team this season.
That’s not to say there aren’t others who will provide experience to the squad. Former Los Angeles Galaxy players Israel Sesay and Mike Randolph and former Real Maryland Monarchs defender Gareth Evans will all help the side with their professional experience.
The Coach’s Opinion – “No disrespect to any of the clubs that have been in this much longer but I do not feel that being a new team gives us the right to make excuses. Anything less than making the playoffs and developing a quality reputation for this club is a failure.” – Naimo
If it all goes to plan – The Blues certainly appear to have the toughest travel schedule in the league, but at the same time it appears as though they have the squad, and the coach, to withstand it. If River Plate Puerto Rico is the favorite to emerge as the International Division champion, the Blues are almost certainly going to give them a real run for their money.