Robbie Keane had a flight to catch, and more or less ran straight off the pitch at the end of the second edition of the California Clasico into a waiting car.  Chris Wondolowski and Gyasi Zardes chatted in the tunnel and traded flight information, as both are heading to Dallas to join the USMNT first thing in the morning. Simon Dawkins will be joining his Jamaican national team, and perhaps most unexpectedly, Baggio Husidic, Yugoslavia-born but Chicago-raised, shuffled quickly out of the Galaxy locker room to back his bags for Bosnia.

The days of MLS teams being forced to fall back on young reserves when an international star leaves are long over, especially in Los Angeles.  The Galaxy were happy to provide Steven Gerrard, Giovani Dos Santos, Nigel de Jong, Sebastian Lletget, and Mike Magee as “available for comment” after their match against Northern California rivals the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.  Safe to say, the Galaxy hardly feel hobbled by their remaining roster as the 2016 Euros and Copa America Cententario get underway.

“People have got to stand up,” said former England international Steven Gerrard, who will likely take the Galaxy’s captain’s armband now that Robbie Keane has departed for the Ireland national team. “We’ve got no choice.  We have to be prepared.  We have to share the responsibility around the squad.”

“This isn’t anything that surprised us” said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena in the post game press conference. “You know, Robbie will be gone, probably until July, and Gyasi, well, we just don’t know.  We have other players ready to step up.”

Indeed, several players who have made a significant impact for the Galaxy senior team, yet have struggled to find consistent minutes in the starting lineup, are excited by the opportunity this presents.

At the top of the list would be Lletget, who has impressed consistently since joining the Galaxy early in 2015, and yet still finds himself battling for a regular spot behind the offensive super-tandem of Dos Santos, Keane, and Zardes.

“We’re looking forward to it, you know?  I mean, I am” said Lletget, whose clever entry ball in the 82nd minute forced the sliding tackle by Marvell Wynne that resulted in the San Jose own-goal. “Individually, I’m really looking forward to it.  If I’m needed, depending on how Bruce wants me, I think I’m ready to do my job.”

San Jose will face a similar challenge, as the strike partnership of Simon Dawkins and Chris Wondolowski both depart.  Unlike the Galaxy, the Earthquakes cannot boast an arsenal of former internationals waiting in the wings.  It is likely that journeyman Chad Barrett and occasional starter Adam Jahn will step into the starting roles for the northern California side for the next several games. The Earthquakes have also added twenty year old Tommy Thompson to their roster, and it remains to be seen if the youngster will see any playing time.

There may be opportunities for a youth movement for the Galaxy as well, as Bradford Jamieson IV, Jack McBean, Jose Villarreal, and Ariel Lassiter have all seen limited playing time with the senior team.

But for the Galaxy, the days of drawing from the reserve squad are behind them. There are far more veteran players now on

Magee is another Galaxy player who will likely see his minutes increase.  After struggling somewhat against San Jose as a wide midfielder, he was more blunt about his thoughts looking forward.

“Yeah,” he quipped. “I hope I play forward.”