CARSON, Calif. -- Todd Dunivant said it's good to be back, although the circumstances have changed dramatically.
The veteran defender has returned to the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he helped the club win MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in 2005 and played every minute of every game that season, after a trade on Tuesday with Toronto FC. He still has plenty of fond memories of his time spent in southern California, although he revisits a club that has fallen on hard times.
The Galaxy haven't made the postseason in each of the last three seasons, and Dunivant said that is unacceptable. The recovery starts, he said, not so much with new players -- there are at least 12 in training camp -- but with a new attitude.
"It's funny," said Dunivant, who turns 29 in December. "Every organization will go through something like that. There are always ups and downs in programs, even in professional sports. Obviously, it's a mind-set issue that needs to change. When I came on the Galaxy, it was championship or else. Now it's kind of the playoffs or else. The expectations are different, so we need to work on that."
Dunivant, who originally was drafted sixth overall in 2003 by San Jose and helped the Earthquakes win the MLS Cup as a rookie, was traded from the Galaxy midway through the 2006 season. He had just signed a new contract with the club and was expecting to be with the organization for some time when then-general manager Alexi Lalas -- who had just taken over for the late Doug Hamilton and also had traded Dunivant from the Earthquakes to Los Angeles when he was general manager in San Jose -- sent him to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for allocation money. Dunivant arrived on that scene just before Bruce Arena was named head coach in New York. Arena, however, then sent Dunivant to Toronto FC in June of 2007.
Arena, now head coach/general manager of the Galaxy, said he reacquired Dunivant because he fills a glaring need.
"He's an experienced left back in the league who has proven himself at a position where we've been fairly inexperienced," Arena said. "He's demonstrated he's a good, solid player who's obviously familiar with Los Angeles. And I feel he will be good in the locker room as well."
Dunivant still is recovering from microfracture surgery on his right ankle, which he broke last season and limited him to only nine games for Toronto, and hasn't been cleared for full training yet. But he is confident he can return by the time the regular season starts on March 22 against D.C. United.
"It's a six-month injury," Dunivant said. "I'm in the early stages of coming back. My recovery has gone great, and it's just a matter of getting fit and getting back in there with the guys. The good thing is we have a lot of time before the season starts."
In the meantime, he'll be more than happy to do what he can to help a team that is eager for improvement.
"I think I can offer a lot," he said. "I won a championship here, and I've won two championships in my career. This has been a little downturn for the Galaxy, but there's no question everyone has their sights set on making this club what it once was.
"We can't always look to the past, but we have such a storied history here it's hard not to aspire to those expectations again. It feels a bit like coming home again. It's good to be back and get this team going in the right direction again and be part of the Galaxy again."
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