The LA Galaxy have signed Swedish international Christian Wilhelmsson, giving them the winger that they have lacked for years. Wilhelmsson was out of contract after spending three years in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and has been training with the Galaxy, making his impending signing the worst kept secret in MLS.
LA Galaxy Sign Christian Wilhelmsson
The LA Galaxy have signed Swedish international Christian Wilhelmsson.
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Wilhelmsson has made 78 appearances for Sweden, including three appearances off of the bench at this summer’s Euro 2012. It was his fourth major tournament for Sweden, joining appearances at Euro 2004, Euro 2008 and the 2006 World Cup.
One of the biggest weaknesses for LA in recent years has been their predictability. That they have managed to be as successful as they have anyways is a testament to how well they defend and how they capitalize on the opportunities that they do get, but they have always had to play largely through the middle because they haven’t had wingers. Putting their wide midfielders on the sidelines was all just to create space to play through the middle and not really to break teams down from wide.
With Wilhelmsson in the fold, the Galaxy finally have a winger. He can play on either side and give the team someone who can actually threaten opponents out wide. They will no doubt still lean upon their defense and play through the middle, but now they have another option for the first time in years. For a team that is hitting its stride and starting to look more and more like last year’s MLS Cup champions, that is bad news for the rest of the league.
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