Galaxy striving for giant leap back into contention

“For me, I'm always forward looking. I think the one thing about our sport is there's always a game the next week. There's always a new season where you're hitting the reset button and you're going again. I think reflection has been a part of it (the last few seasons), but for me, I tend to continue to look forward.”

— Greg Vanney, Galaxy head coach

“We have young players who are further along than they were a year ago when they joined us. That's a big, big thing because we were going to rely on those young players, like Lucas (Sanabria) and Elijah (Wynder) having to replace not just Riqui, but Mark Delgado and Gaston (Brugman). Now, those guys are a year along, more mature, have a better understanding and are settled in here.”

— Greg Vanney, Galaxy head coach

“We're excited about having Jakob and Justin here. Those are two really solid MLS veterans, proven playoff experience, big-game experience.”

— Will Kuntz, Galaxy general manager

“I want Marco to provide us with the experience and leadership that he has and the wisdom that he has and keep imparting that on the group. He's done a wonderful job through preseason of connecting with individuals … I don't think he's missed a day of training. I do think we have to be a little mindful of his minutes and that we don't grind him down early. But at the same time, he brings a unique skill set to the equation for us that we don't really have.”

— Greg Vanney, Galaxy head coach

“Coming into preseason, we knew the games were going to come fast and we're going to have a busy schedule (early). From the start, I think we set the standard, that we're going to need everybody, whether we rotate (lineups), whether we have different game plans, everybody needs to be on their toes.”

— Edwin Cerrillo, Galaxy midfielder