CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy are a proud club, one where history and tradition create expectations, both domestically and abroad.
Winning a league-record five MLS Cups across 2002-14 will do that, same with having global superstars David Beckham, Robbie Keane and Zlatan Ibrahimovic don their crest in past seasons. Being the previous home of MLS’s all-time winningest coach (Bruce Arena) and who MLS’s MVP award is named after (Landon Donovan) factors in massively as well.
Yet it’s been nearly a decade since LA made a deep run in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the glory days of old fading further with each passing season.
The 2022 Galaxy are confident they can chip away at that, continuing with Thursday evening’s El Trafico matchup at LAFC in the Western Conference Semifinals (10 pm ET | FS1, FOX Deportes).
“Obviously we all know the past five, six years here has not been good enough and it's all our responsibility to bring this club back,” said veteran midfielder Sacha Kljestan. “Last season we made some strides but we didn't make the playoffs and missed out. Now we're back in the playoffs, we got a home game and we get the chance to make real noise against LAFC.
“We're going in the right direction and hopefully we continue to push that way and build this thing, so when all of us do leave here we leave the club in a better place than we found it.”
Kljestan’s word choice of responsibility was a common thread as MLSsoccer.com talked with players and head coach Greg Vanney at training Wednesday, held at Dignity Health Sports Park before the Galaxy make the short trip north to meet their rivals at Banc of California Stadium.
It perhaps surfaced in their Round One victory over Nashville SC, a deserving 1-0 result powered by Julian Araujo’s second-half header. They kept quiet Golden Boot presented by Audi winner Hany Mukhtar, who’s a frontrunner for MVP honors alongside Austin FC’s Sebastian Driussi before the award is announced in the buildup to MLS Cup on Nov. 5.
Araujo offered his own take on where the Galaxy are trying to return.
“Playing for this crest is a big responsibility,” said the southern California native and Mexican international. “We know what it represents, we know what we have to do. It's been a couple years since we've been able to do that, but this year we finally found that responsibility well.
“We're playing well, we're moving the ball, we're playing some amazing soccer toward the last part of this season. We haven't conceded many goals, we've stayed mentally locked in for the whole 90 minutes, from minute one to the last minute. We know what it means to play for this club, and we're trying to bring that back, we're trying to go for the sixth trophy here.”
Until the season's final few weeks, LA flirted dangerously with possibly missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. Instead, they earned the West’s No. 4 seed and could still host MLS Cup if FC Cincinnati emerge out of the Eastern Conference portion of the bracket.
LA haven’t advanced past the Conference Semifinals since their last MLS Cup victory in 2014, and overcoming the Supporters’ Shield champions is no easy task. But Vanney, who spoke of how the Galaxy have “built a legacy that has defined our league and set a standard” during his introductory press conference in January 2021, feels they’re heading in the right direction.
“Some of it is the addition of players who have played on the big stage, who have dealt with pressure, who have been in games where they do feel pressure in the moments that really matter,” Vanney said, having rebuilt the squad. “It's having some of that, it's the growth of some of our younger players into these scenarios and also learning from those guys who have been in big situations, of how to conduct themselves, how to be ready, how to be courageous in the moments and not be afraid in big moments."
LA’s summer transfer window was pivotal, bringing in three key signings: center back Martin Caceres, defensive midfielder Gaston Brugman and attacking midfielder Riqui Puig. They’ve solidified a core that stretched from goalkeeper Jonathan Bond up to striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez.
Perhaps more than anyone on the roster, Chicharito talks actively about the Galaxy’s history and all that brings.
“It's motivation,” said the captain. “This organization gives you all the trust on the field, in the team, so you need to give everything and be grateful. Then respond to confidence giving everything inside of you.”
Easier said than done, LA hope this playoff run can be a line-in-the-sand moment on their path back into MLS’s upper tier.
“Our, not necessarily a mantra, but what we do every day is we show up trying to make things better here,” Kljestan said. “It’s trying to get this club back to where it once was, to being at the forefront of MLS, to being a trendsetter in MLS, to being a champion in MLS."
Added Araujo: “Players can either fall or rise to this pressure. We know what this crest represents and the responsibility it is to play for this amazing club. We have to stay together through the good and the bad, and we're going to try and go out on top.”
