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May 26, 2006 L.A. Galaxy to play Select Stars of Iran in international exhibition at UCLA's Drake StadiumLos Angeles Galaxy Media Relations CARSON, CA - The Los Angeles Galaxy announced today that the club will play the Select Stars of Iran in an international exhibition on Sunday, June 4 (6:00 pm) at Drake Stadium on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Tickets for the Galaxy-Select Stars of Iran match are available now through Ticketmaster and at Iranian outlets throughout Southern California with pricing as follows: $25 General Admission and $10 for children under 15-years-old. "It is a wonderful opportunity for our guys to play a group of players of high international quality," said Galaxy President and General Manager Alexi Lalas. "Iran boasts a rich soccer tradition and we look forward to seeing everybody, including the Iranian-American community, come out and support these two great teams." The match marks the first-ever game between the MLS club and a selection of international players from Iran. Several members of the Select Stars of Iran have played for the Iranian national team. Four members of Iran's 1998 World Cup squad, which played against the United States World Cup team led by Galaxy Head Coach Steve Sampson, will be on hand, including midfielder Hamid Estili, who scored one of the two Iranian goals in the 1998 World Cup, as well as the teams' captain, goalkeeper Ahmadreza Abedzadeh. Defender Mehdi Amirabadi, midfielders Hossein Kazemi, Farzad Majidi and Alireza Mansourian, and forward Siavash Akbarpour of the Iranian League champion Esteghlal, who secured the title in front of over 100,000 fans in Tehran last month, will participate in the match. Forward Ali Samereh, a member of Iran's 2002 World Cup Qualifying team, finished the current season as the runner-up in goal scoring in the United Arab Emirates League with 18 goals. Along with Kazemi and Amirabadi, 23-year-old midfielder Iman Mobali was named as alternates to the 2006 Iranian World Cup roster. Mobali played with the national team in 2006 World Cup qualifying, the 2004 Asian Cup (third place finish) as well as the 2002 Busan Asian Games where Iran successfully defended its championship title. Select Stars of Iran - Roster * GOALKEEPERS: Ahmadreza Abedzadeh, Hadi Tabatabai. DERENDERS: Mehdi Amirabadi, Esmail Halali, Mohamad Khakpour, Aliakbar Yousefi, Mehdi Khakpour. MIDFIELDERS: Davoud Seyed Abbasi, Hamid Estili, Hossein Kazemi, Farzad Majidi, Alireza Mansourian, Iman Mobali, Omid Namazi. FORWARD: Behnam Abolghasempour, Siavash Akbarpour, Arash Noamooz, Ali Samereh. * = All players are subject to change.
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