HEREDIA, Costa Rica -- When Herediano and the LA Galaxy face off in Costa Rica on Thursday evening, both teams will look a little different than they did in their last CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) outings.

A long off-season for the Major League Soccer champion Galaxy and a much shorter one for Herediano have brought some changes to both squads, as retooling was the order of the day for two clubs looking to make a deep run in regional play.

At Herediano, adding firepower was the focus of the winter transfer window ahead of the Summer Tournament in Costa Rica. Six players in total left the team, including Argentines Diego Pais and Tulio Etchemaite, but the additions may have outweighed the losses.

The arrival of two former players - each with an offensive inclination -- has helped spark an improvement in El Team Florense, which currently sits in fifth place in the national table, just one point short of second.

Jorge Barbosa, the club's all-time leading scorer in the CCL with six goals, is back after a short stint with Antigua of Guatemala. Yosimar Arias, who was with Municipal in Guatemala, also returned to the fold. He's one of only two players to have scored for three different teams in the CCL, but is cup-tied to Municipal and can't play in this week's quarterfinal.

While the Costa Rican side added players and a new manager (Marvin Solano was hired as Herediano's fourth full-time head coach in eight months on February 19), it was largely a process of subtraction for its CCL opponent. The Galaxy famously parted ways with David Beckham, who left for Paris St. Germain after his contract expired.  The 2000 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner saw a total of eight other players leave the Home Depot Center over the winter.

Besides Beckham, key contributors, including forwards Edson Buddle, Pat Noonan and Chad Barrett, midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson, defender Andrew Boyens and goalkeeper Josh Saunders, moved on during the off season following another MLS Cup title.

The most noticeable absence, however, is U.S. international Landon Donovan. The 31-year-old is on a prolonged break from the sport and is not expected to return to the team until late March.

Adding seven young players to the ranks - such as homegrown signee Gyasi Zardes - has given the Galaxy a fresh appearance. English Premier League veteran Carlo Cudicini, though, was brought in to man the pipes and provide needed experience.

It all adds up to a new look Galaxy against a reinforced Herediano on Thursday night. The match -- the first of the home-and-away quarterfinal series which returns to Los Angeles next week -- takes place at 7 p.m. local time.