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Robbie Keane and David Beckham are hungry for more success with L.A Galaxy ©INPHO/GettyImages
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Back to business for Robbie with the Galaxy

The striker’s road to Poland and the Ukraine takes a cup-chasing diversion by Canada and Toronto FC

ROBBIE KEANE WILL line up for the LA Galaxy alongside Landon Donovan and David Beckham at the Rogers Centre this evening as they play Toronto FC in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final.

The Ireland captain will be hoping to continue in the rich vein of form that endeared him to Aston Villa fans during his loan spell there. Giovanni Trapattoni ear-marked the 31-year-old for the Francesco Totti role at Euro 2012 but Galaxy coach Bruce Arena wants the Irishman to play off targetman Edson Buddle.

When asked by reporters in Canada if the strikers had to form an immediate bond, Keane responded, ”When you get thrown in straight away sometimes that’s even better. When you get too much preparation and too much work sometimes you over-confuse situations.”

Donovan enjoyed a short stint with Everton and has set his sights on the club’s first Champions League trophy since 2000. He said: “We think we have a team that’s capable of doing something special. You don’t want to take that lightly.”

The other quarter-final taking place late on Wednesday includes Seattle Sounders and Santos Lagunas from Mexico’s Primera División. The battle to wrest the Major League Soccer crown from the grip of Keane’s L.A Galaxy begins in Vancouver this Saturday.

The Whitecaps, former club to Peter Beardsley, take on newest of the 19 MLS sides, the Montreal Impact, at BC Place, Vancouver. The first league game of the season for Galaxy will be against Real Salt Lake at The Home Depot Centre on Saturday. The other game of note in the opening round of fixtures comes on Sunday when Thierry Henry, fresh from a gleeful cameo at Arsenal, and his New York Red Bull colleagues play FC Dallas.

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