German star Marco Reus joins Galaxy ready to play versatile role

German free-agent midfielder Marco Reus.

German star Marco Reus sought a spot on the Galaxy roster, but team executives still had to convince MLS they were complying with rules to sign him.

By Jad El RedaColumnist, Staff Writer

Aug. 18, 2024 6 AM PT

Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus said even though MLS isn’t highly regarded in Germany, playing in the United States for the Galaxy was his first choice.

The Galaxy introduced Reus, who has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the club.

“It’s a little bit hard to say, to be honest, it’s not a popular league in Germany, but when players come here like [Lionel] Messi, for example, then they pay attention,” Reus said. “I think this league is great, where great players play — especially on this team. I’ve seen a lot of very good games.”

Reus was not under contract with Dortmund, but the Galaxy had to pay $400,000 to Charlotte FC in GAM, or general allocation money, for the player’s discovery rights.

“In MLS, it’s not as simple as saying, ‘OK, we want to sign you,’ because you have to deal with a lot of things, including the discovery rights,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz. “... When you sign a player of Marco’s caliber and it’s not a designated player contract, there’s a lot of hoops and disclosures that you have to go through with the league in this. There’s a sort of disbelief, right, sort of assuming we must be paying under the table.”

Coach Gregg Vanney said he expects to use the Reus, who was was part of Germany’s 2018 World Cup team, in a variety of ways, slotting him into multiple positions on the field.

“He’s a great player and he can be versatile, he can have different roles among our group,” Vanney said. “We’ve talked about certain areas on the pitch where we want to give him the ball, that he can help us generate our attack and that could be more in a midfield role.”

The Galaxy have star Riqui Puig in midfield leading an attack that would differ a bit from what Reus would offer, but the new signee doesn’t see that as a problem.

“This can be good, together, but it is also important not only [to think] about me or Riqui, there are very good players in this team,” Reus said. “You can only win a championship together and not alone. It’s important that we stick together in the good times and in the bad times.”

Vanney said Reus has been in Los Angeles for a week and expects his visa to be processed as soon as possible so that he can be part of the team’s game against Atlanta FC on Aug. 24 at Dignity Health Sports Park (7 p.m. PT, AppleTV).

The Galaxy are currently in first place in the Western Conference with 49 points with eight games remaining.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Landon Donovan to coach San Diego Wave

San Diego Loyal soccer team coach Landon Donovan looks on during a practice

The San Diego Wave announced Friday that former Galaxy star Landon Donovan, 42, will serve as the new interim head coach through the remainder of the 2024 season.

Donovan, who lives in San Diego, previously was the executive vice president of soccer operations for the San Diego Loyal following three years as the inaugural head coach for the USL club.

Wave president Jill Ellis asked Donovan if he could recommend anyone to coach the NWSL club through the end of the season. Previous interim coach Paul Buckle had previous commitments and could only lead the team during the Olympic break.

“And I thought about it for a little bit. I didn’t respond for a few hours,” Donovan told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I talked to my wife and I said, ‘Huh, that could be interesting.’ And so I sent Jill a message back and said, ‘There’s some people I could think of, but I would also be interested if you want to have that conversation.’ And she called and we started the process.”

Donovan said he spent a couple weeks “really digging deep” to make sure he was ready for the job, knowing that there are differences between the women’s and men’s games. He watched the team practice, and was sold.

“There’s a lot of good qualities with a lot of the players,” Donovan said. “There’s some pretty bad habits that we can break pretty quickly, which is exciting for me. And I think there’s a willingness and an excitement by all of these women to probably have a fresh start and get going and push towards a really good end of the season.”

Donovan was one of U.S. Soccer’s most decorated players before switching to coaching, winning six MLS Cup titles — four with the Galaxy — and becoming the only American player to surpass both 50 goals and assists during his career. His 157 appearances are second-most all-time in U.S. men’s soccer history.