LA Galaxy send Giancarlo Gonzalez on loan to Alajuelense

The LA Galaxy announced on Friday they have loaned defender Giancarlo Gonzalez to Costa Rican outfit Alajuelense, in a move widely expected, for the rest of the year.

Gonzalez had been linked with a move back to his native country, and as it appears the Galaxy couldn’t get a club there to pay a transfer fee with the player out of contract at the end of the year, a loan it was. And considering the veteran has not played a minute this season, even as the Galaxy under new head coach Greg Vanney have been casting about for warm bodies to fill in competently in central defense at times, and he still didn’t feature, the writing was on the wall.

I think it’s safe to say this will end Gonzalez’s run with the Galaxy. Frankly, it was a bumpy ride with the defender, who was expected to shore up the defense and provide a Best XI-caliber anchor in the back and he never came close to that standard. Not helping him in this regard was the revelation that former coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto persisted in playing him out of his best spot on the backline throughout his tenure, when it was clear Gonzalez was struggling mightily, and when he got to play in his preferred spot in the few games under interim manager Dom Kinnear last season, Gonzalez was like a whole new player. In that regard, I think he was a bit hard done by. However, not fitting into Vanney’s plans this season while the team went abroad to add multiple center backs meant that his days with the club were numbered regardless of the circumstance.

So, best of luck to Giancarlo moving forward.

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