[ad_1]
CARSON — One current member of the Galaxy was on the field when the final whistle sounded ending the 2014 MLS Cup.
That was the last time the Galaxy celebrated winning the trophy, defeating the New England Revolution 2-1.
Diego Fagundez, a reserve on the Revolution that day, remembers perfectly.
“I remember them lifting the Cup,” he said of the Galaxy. “Standing there and saying how come it wasn’t us. Hopefully on Saturday, I can be on stage celebrating and not think about that (2014).”
On Saturday, Fagundez and the Galaxy get another chance to make memories and history. The Galaxy hosts the New York Red Bulls with a chance at a sixth MLS Cup. The Galaxy leads MLS with five MLS Cups.
The Galaxy won their its MLS Cup in 2002 and added a second in 2005. Under Bruce Arena, the Galaxy won back-to-back finals in 2011 and 2012 and followed with its fifth in 2014.
Since Arena left, the Galaxy had three coaches, four if you include Dominic Kinnear’s interim stint and five if you consider Kinnear’s second interim stint.
Greg Vanney returned to the Galaxy in 2021. He missed the playoffs two of his first three seasons. This season, the Galaxy has a chance to return to the top of the league, but even before that, some stability has finally returned.
“The expectation is to be in games like this and to win trophies and championships,” Vanney said. “This group has attacked it from Day One this season and hasn’t been afraid of it or in awe of it and has gone for it. I think that’s one of the beauties of this group. I’m excited for the group and for this opportunity, and now the objective here is to win it and really put the stamp on it and say you’ve been here.”
The Galaxy went all season never losing consecutive games and was clear above the playoff line throughout the season, even holding onto first place in the Western Conference for several weeks.
The Galaxy finished second in the conference to LAFC on a tiebreaker and breezed past Colorado in the first round and Minnesota United in the semifinal. After a hard-fought 1-0 conference final slugfest against the Seattle Sounders, the Galaxy is back playing for the MLS Cup.
“I think throughout the season we had a couple stretches where we had really good performances, and we’ve gotten results,” defender Edwin Cerrillo said. “I think the mentality changes when it’s the playoffs and it’s knockout round and everybody’s really locked in and we have a great opportunity and everybody needs to be locked in. What better way to play our best soccer if not now?”
A Galaxy win would come on the exact day of its last MLS Cup, the day Fagundez remembers and is willing to trade for a new set of cherished memories. The same goes for Vanney, who as a player lost three MLS Cup finals with the Galaxy (1996, 1999 and 2001).
“This is where my heart is because the L.A. Galaxy gave me my chance as a player, my first professional club,” Vanney said. “It was also the club where I retired at. I saw from afar the challenges and the struggles to fulfill sort of the expectations of the L.A. Galaxy, which is to compete and win championships.
“To be here now in that position where we’ve been able to, with everybody involved, navigate back to this position, I couldn’t be more proud of the group of people who started this process and are a part of this today. Now it is our job to try to finish this off.”
Adding to the challenge is having to do this without star midfielder Riqui Puig, who suffered an ACL injury in the Western Conference final.
“We’ll miss that on the attacking side for sure, more than anything,” Vanney said. “He’s someone that the opposition always has to account for in transition because the team is so good and transition through him. They also have to be really mindful of Riqui when they have the ball. We’re going to miss all of those things.”
The Galaxy can lessen the sting of losing Puig with the availability of Marco Reus, who has been dealing with a nagging groin injury. Reus said Thursday he was confident he would be ready to play. Vanney confirmed Friday that Reus went through a full training session and will be available.
“For me, this is something where we can play hard, for me,” Galaxy defender John Nelson said Puig. “We want to get this MLS Cup for him, he’s definitely a big reason why we’re here. That’s another motivation to get the job done.”
MLS Cup final
Who: New York Red Bulls at Galaxy
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
How to watch: FOX (Ch. 11), Apple TV+ (free)
Originally Published:
0 Comments