The Tony Sanneh comeback tour officially kicked off on Tuesday with the news that the veteran defender had finalized a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 2009 season.
Not that there were any doubts that Sanneh, who turns 38 in June, would make it in the first place. He has not missed a day of training, he continues to be the ideal mentor to top draft picks Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza and he has been a steadying influence on a team that has been almost completely overhauled since last season.
"Tony's been great," midfielder Mike Magee said, "especially with a pretty young corps of defenders. He doesn't play like his age and he doesn't look like his age."
Sanneh said the MLS environment has made his return worth the sacrifices he has made.
"Being around the guys is special," Sanneh said Tuesday. "It makes up for anything else."
Galaxy head coach/general manager Bruce Arena brought Sanneh in for a trial in January and the more he practiced, the more he impressed the coaches and players. Sanneh certainly was no stranger to Arena and associate head coach Dave Sarachan, having played for Arena on MLS Cup-winning teams with D.C. United in 1996 and '97 and for Sarachan on the Chicago Fire in 2005 and 2006, but his age and the fact he had been away from competitive soccer for 16 months understandably were concerns.
Those concerns, however, quickly were assuaged.
"I think we were all curious to see how he looked when he came in," Landon Donovan said. "I've been very impressed with him. Tony has as much experience in U.S. soccer as anybody and he's been around a long time. He's played on big teams around the world and he really understands the league."
Arena admitted he did have a few doubts of his own, especially regarding fitness. Sanneh, after all, had labrum surgery at the end of the 2007 season and then suffered a deep bone bruise while training in his hometown of St. Paul, Minn.
"Certainly at his age you have to look at him in preseason and see where his fitness is and be able to project whether he's going to be able to help you and not break down physically," Arena said. "He has not missed a training session, and I would say there probably aren't five others who have accomplished that.
"He's been a very good influence as well."
Sanneh said he never had any second thoughts about returning to MLS. Those punishing conditioning drills at the end of practice? They were no big deal as far as he was concerned.
"I always believed in myself," he said, "but at the same time I was realistic. I was expecting to be here, but I also was prepared if something went wrong. I've had some injuries and I feel pretty good, but I know you can't cheat time.
"I have to admit it's been a long preseason and it was a little bit of a grind at times, but I'm happy it's worked out the way it has to this point."
Sanneh said he had a recent conversation with U.S. men's national coach Bob Bradley, who reminded him that he would have to do the "extra little things" to stay ahead. Sanneh can remember the days not too long when he could eat at McDonald's, work out and be able to play, but not anymore.
He said he has learned his lessons over the years. His upbeat attitude has helped, too.
"I've been a pretty confident guy my whole life, and that's probably helped me," he said. "I would hope I'll get even stronger. I think if I can stay healthy I can have a very strong season. I have high hopes and high expectations."
Larry Morgan is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
