Giovani dos Santos

Eight months after the kick off to the 2016 campaign, the MLS season has finally reached the playoff stage. In a case of switching identifies, last year’s champions, the Portland Timbers, failed to make the knockout round, while typical basement dwellers Colorado were a pacesetting team from start to finish. San Jose, Houston and Vancouver join Portland on the outside looking in, all hoping to be next year’s Rapids. 

After yet another impressive season, FC Dallas finish top of the Western Conference and MLS, winning the 2016 Supporters’ Shield. 

Mexico’s final tune-up before their World Cup qualifying clash with the USA on November 11th ended in a 1-0 victory over Panama.

For spectators at Toyota Park in Illinois, it was a relatively uneventful night with a largely experimental Mexico side grafting out a victory.

The highlight of the beginning proceedings was probably a mariachi version of “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

Mariachi version of the US anthem.

Very well received by Mexico fans.

After a one-year hiatus, Giovani Dos Santos is finally back in the fold for the Mexican National Team. 

El Tri's Colombian manager, Juan Carlos Osorio, called up Dos Santos for the first time since the 2015 Gold Cup, teaning the upcoming friendlies against New Zealand and Panama will be the first chance we get to see the LA Galaxy forward playing under Osorio. 

In terms of performance, Dos Santos’s call-up is no surprise, as he’s having a fantastic season in LA. So far he has scored 14 goals and dished out four assists this season in 26 MLS games.

For manager Bruce Arena and the LA Galaxy, they couldn’t have scripted Sunday night any better themselves. The Galaxy jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Orlando City by the game’s 70th minute, allowing Arena to substitute the night’s main attraction, Landon Donovan, into the match in the 83rd minute.

Permitting Donovan a few minutes, ending the media frenzy surrounding his comeback and giving the announced crowd of 27,167 a glimpse of what they came for were all positives for the Galaxy.

Giovani dos Santos’ year-long exclusion from the Mexican national team is all the more baffling when you consider his form of late. Perhaps Juan Carlos Osorio simply preferred giving youth a chance for El Tri’s meaningless qualifiers against Honduras and El Salvador. Or, he might still be salty over dos Santos’ decision to reject a call-up for the Copa America Centenario.

On Monday, May 2, Giovani Dos Santos was named in Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s 40-player preliminary squad. On Sunday, May 8, Dos Santos showed why with a dominant performance in the LA Galaxy’s 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution.

Mexican teams have grown used to playing in the FIFA Club World Cup. The way they achieve that ticket is by winning CONCACAF Champions League, a tournament that finishes almost 6 months before the World Cup. It turns out, a move by Giovani dos Santos to Club America may be the key for that club to shine in the tournament.