Five years of history have been enough for Los Angeles FC to become the brightest star in the North American constellation. Since its creation in 2017, the sports project of the Los Angeles franchise has always been characterized by its seriousness and ambition. This weekend he reaped the fruits of that commendable work by being crowned champion of the MLS Cup on penalties (3-3).
The outcome of the North American final in a packed Banc of California stadium in Los Angeles seemed written by some Hollywood screenwriter. And it is that there was in some phases of the meeting an overdose of emotion. Nothing sums it up better than the first two goals (one for each team) in the last ten minutes of regular time or the last two in added time in the second half of extra time.
The madness was unleashed in the tie to three. Gareth Bale jumped to beat central defender Elliot, until then the protagonist of the day with two goals, and headed the ball into the back of the net in the 128th minute. The Welshman, highly questioned in these first months in the United States, starting from the bench went from being the villain to becoming the hero.
With Madrid he was already swollen to score important goals on the days that titles are decided and on the first occasion he had, he became gigantic. "It's incredible to score in finals because it's the most important moment for a club and, above all, for its fans," said the Welshman after the game, already focused one hundred percent on the World Cup.
But as in any good movie, it is necessary to have luxury secondary characters. Los Angeles FC found him in their substitute goalkeeper. John McCarthy had to come out in extra time due to the expulsion of Maxime Crépeau after an unfortunate tackle on Cory Burke in which he also ended up injured - he will miss Canada's historic World Cup date.
It took ten minutes to attend to Crépeau. He could do little with Elliot's goal in the 124th minute, but Bale's equalizer gave him an opportunity to shine precisely against his former team. A pitch off the Union and two saves from him earned the title. The person in charge of converting the final goal was Barcelona's Ilie Sánchez. McCarthy's saves reassured another Barça youth player, Cristian Tello, who had missed the first shot of the shootout.
An illustrious Los Angeles legend joined Magic Johnson in celebrating the title on the pitch. The Lakers legend has been a shareholder of the club since its foundation and wanted to celebrate it as one more next to his wife. The basketball legend, in addition to having been a fabulous athlete, works perfectly in business. His investments in the world of sports had already been successful in the past with franchises in the city that welcomed him in the early eighties.
"God has truly blessed me. 10 NBA championships (five as a player and five as co-owner), a World Series ring with the Dodgers, a WNBA championship with the Sparks and now the MLS title with LAFC. What's next?" a euphoric Magic Johnson wondered on social media.
The American base is not the only famous shareholder of the entity. Others like Peter Guber, audiovisual producer and owner of the Warriors or YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley or former soccer player Mia Hamm. In the stands, celebrities such as singer Justin Bieber could also be seen suffering and cheering on the Angelenos.
The success of Carlos Vela as their franchise player when he still had a tour of Europe (he played for Real Sociedad) has turned out to be a great success. The Mexican is the undisputed star of a team that has always been in the top positions since it began its adventure in Major League Soccer. This season Vela has been accompanied by the Colombian Cristian Arango and he scored goals in a team that also includes another legendary veteran like Giorgio Chiellini.
LAFC reached the MLS Cup final after beating Austin FC, co-owned by actor Matthew McConaughey, in the Western Conference final. In the conference semifinals they beat Riqui Puig's Galaxy in the Los Angeles derby in a tense tie, a new rivalry but one that is here to stay.
