As the Los Angeles Galaxy bus rolled down Route 3 and eventually turned into the Meadowlands Sports Complex, the memories came flooding back for Gregg Berhalter.
The former U.S. international grew up 15 minutes away in Tenafly and played on the same St. Benedict's H.S. team in Newark with former New York Red Bulls captain Claudio Reyna. He would often find himself inside of Giants Stadium.
"I used to come here all the time," the veteran defender said. "I watched the Cosmos, Giants, Jets, Supercross, the fair -- I was always here."
Berhalter's first chance to compete at Giants Stadium on the club level will also be his last. A few miles away in Harrison, Red Bull Arena is beginning to take shape and is scheduled to be the new Red Bulls home for the start of the 2010 MLS season.
"It's weird. I'm home, but I'm not living here," said Berhalter, who played for the U.S. national team in matches against Jamaica and Mexico at Giants Stadium. "It's kind of strange, but anytime I get to come back here I appreciate it and I'm happy."
Berhalter, who played 15 years in Europe before joining the Galaxy in April, said he still has family here and they will be attending Thursday night's match against the struggling Red Bulls. The match also serves as a homecoming for several Galaxy players who have New York ties.
Alecko Eskandarian grew up in Montvale, N.J. and was a star at Bergen Catholic HS. Edson Buddle was raised across the Hudson River in New Rochelle and also played for the Red Bulls, while Stefani Miglioranzi is from Port Chester, N.Y., and won an NCAA championship at St. John's University.
And then there's Mike Magee, Todd Dunivant and Dema Kovalenko, who all played with the Red Bulls. And Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena is making his first trip back to East Rutherford in charge of the Galaxy since he was coach of the Red Bulls.
With so many local ties, tickets for the Galaxy players are at a premium.
"I have my family coming, but unfortunately there's so many other guys who want tickets that I can only offer the tickets to my family this time," Miglioranzi said. "A lot of my friends have purchased tickets and they will be attending the game. It will make for a good encounter."
The majority of the crowd, though, as well as the close to 200 credentialed media, will be there to see David Beckham make his return to Major League Soccer. Beckham, who is finally able to return to the field after his six-month loan deal with Serie A powerhouse AC Milan, joins a Galaxy squad that has won three consecutive games, all by 1-0.
The Galaxy are now within striking distance of second-place Seattle and third-place Chivas USA.
"We've been playing as a team, we've been playing organized, the team shape has been really good and we've been battling for each other and been able to get on teams and hold that lead," Berhalter said. "That's been our strength."
If there are any concerns about Beckham rocking the boat, Berhalter doesn't have any.
"We have one of the best players in the world joining us so I think it's a luxury to be able to have that," Berhalter said. "We've gotten this far without him and now we're looking to build with him because he's a great player and he can definitely help our team."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com
