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Soccer leagues all over the world are planning how and when to return to action in the wake the coronavirus pandemic, but LA Galaxy general manager Dennis te Kloese has warned MLS has a more complicated conundrum due to how much travel is involved in the North American league.
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“It’s difficult to generalize, our situation [in Los Angeles] is distinct than that of New York; New York is different than Minnesota, which is different than Houston or Utah,” said Te Kloese in an interview with ESPN. “It’s hard to generalize protocols and have everyone in line and it won’t be easy to return to competition.”
Te Kloese pointed out that providing an analysis of training centers was a positive first step and MLS announced last week that players will be allowed to conduct individual workouts on outdoor team training fields from this Wednesday.
But while traveling around the United States and into Canada poses a logistical challenge for MLS, the league’s alternative calendar compared to Europe is an advantage, according to Dutchman te Kloese, giving it more flexibility to finish the 2020 season.
“MLS is a little bit distinct in the sense that our calendar is from February until November and that’s been a blessing at this time because we don’t need to play the last part of the league and then start the next one quickly,” Te Kloese said. “We can program a format from here until the end of the year that is convenient for all the teams and is equal and just.”
Te Kloese also talked about recent Galaxy signing Javier Hernandez, indicating that the striker needs time to get to know his teammates, after he didn’t much of an impact in his first two games in MLS.
“It’s a classic case of the team having to adapt to him and him [having to adapt] to the team,” said Te Kloese.
The former director of national teams for the Mexican federation also stated that the developing partnership between MLS and Liga MX is ” a good step” from which “a lot of thing could grow.”
The Galaxy GM denied that Mexican midfielder Jonathan dos Santos has been the subject of interest from Club America and stated that he wants the 30-year-old to be at the club for some time.