Major League Soccer’s current season has been one of its most dramatic in recent memory, and even that might be an understatement. From the players themselves to the expansion of the league off the pitch, there aren’t too many stones that have been left unturned – and that’s exactly the kind of approach you want when it comes to a league that is still pretty much an infant.
Other leagues may point and laugh, but the one thing that the MLS, alongside the Chinese Super League has in its favour, is momentum. You don’t really know what’s going to happen next or who is going to emerge as a brand new superpower and we really like that aspect of the game.
Hitting that next level
This season, Los Angeles Football Club has been the predominant force in Major League Soccer and it hasn’t even really been close. They’re leading the way by quite some distance in the Western Conference and in the East, it doesn’t really look like there’s any team that is capable of stopping them or slowing them down.
As reported by LA Times and CBS Sports, it certainly appears as if one man is receiving more plaudits than any other: and that man, as you can probably expect, is Carlos Vela. He has been banging in the goals for fun and is on the verge of doing something really special, beyond the wildest dreams of what anyone could’ve anticipated at the start of the campaign. However, it’s about much more than that.
We’re coming up to the five year anniversary of when LAFC was officially formed, but they haven’t actually been in the league for that long – with March 4, 2018 marking the date of their first official game in the league.
Given how quickly they’ve been able to establish themselves as serious contenders, in the footsteps of Atlanta United who did the same last season, it feels like there’s a genuine opportunity for something big to happen here.
Handling disappointment
With the hype behind them, going hand in hand with the momentum they’ve been creating for themselves, some would argue that it’s just a matter of time until they lift the trophy.
Alas, given that many are already bestowing them with the crown prior to it even happening, you have to wonder what would happen if they did, in fact, lose in the playoffs.
It’s entirely plausible and there’s no point in getting around it, because it needs to be met head on with force and consistency.
Seeing a juggernaut like this tear through everyone in sight isn’t always the most enjoyable of things for neutrals to see, but sometimes, you just need to appreciate greatness when it’s right in front of you.
Nobody else can deter LAFC from their mission statement, and while they haven’t exactly walked through everyone they’ve come up against this season, that isn’t the point. You can only beat whatis put in front of you and while others have slipped up, Los Angeles will try and ride it through until the end.