Real Salt Lake: Galaxy's pit bull wears a studded collar

CARSON, Calif. — The character of the Los Angeles Galaxy's Dema Kovalenko — or is it Demon? — appears to have been carefully constructed. The days-old stubble, the piercing hazel eyes and the Russian accent are archetypical of a persona built around bone-crunching tackles and card-collecting rages.

But Kovalenko strolls into the Galaxy's locker room with a not-so-menacing 12-pound Lhasa apso named Bentley tucked under his arm

The presence of Bentley, who responds only to commands in Russian, comes with the permission of the team's coach, Bruce Arena, and the blessing of the equipment manager, Raul Vargas, who had a nameplate made for him.

The dog is so dear to Kovalenko that he placed Bentley under his seat last winter when he flew to Ukraine to visit his family. Just hearing his name turns a pit bull of a player into a pussycat.

"I love my little dog," said Kovalenko, an unmarried 32-year-old. "He's everything to me. He's like my son. Every time I'm on the road, I miss him so much. People that don't know me think I'm this tough guy, but inside I'm a softie."

David Beckham and Landon Donovan, the glamour boys of the Galaxy — and Major League Soccer — may be the headliners in Seattle for Sunday's MLS Cup '09 match between Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake. But the reason the Galaxy is there, after missing the playoffs the past three seasons, is the team's defense.

Much of the credit for cutting last season's league-worst 62 goals allowed in half this year goes to the new goalie Donovan Ricketts. But a fair share goes to Kovalenko, who started only 15 games because of injury but provided a strong defensive presence in front of a back line that starts two rookies and 36-year-old Gregg Berhalter.

"Dema is the classic guy that you don't want to play against, but you love on your team," said Donovan, the league's most valuable player. "There's not too many guys in sports like that, but he's been great for us all year."

Such a love-hate relationship was evident in the Galaxy's playoff victories over Chivas USA and Houston. Chivas coach Preki charged after Kovalenko when he made a crude gesture at the end of their series. Houston coach Dominic Kinnear was just as irate the next week when Kovalenko went into a challenge with his studs up and did not receive a card. (He earned one later.)

"Players that are willing to put their neck on the line sometimes have to deal with adversity," Arena said. "That's been the case with Dema."