Football Season Guide

After going close to rock bottom in a disastrous 2023 season that saw them miss out on the play-offs entirely, LA Galaxy returned to past glories in 2024 by lifting a record-extending sixth MLS Cup. The Galaxy went unbeaten at Dignity Health Sports Park (P20 W17 D3 L0) throughout the entire Regular Season and their only loss in a “home” fixture came to LAFC in a game that was played at the Rose Bowl. Greg Vanney’s side were pipped to top spot in the Western Conference by their local rivals on Decision Day, but the G’s would have the last laugh by winning every single game in the play-offs to lift the ultimate prize in American soccer again. Much of the Galaxy’s success owed to excellent recruitment, with wingers Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec arriving as Designated Players, making the attack one of the most exciting to watch in the league. Pec in particular was outstanding, finishing the campaign as the club’s joint-top scorer with 21 goals across all competitions and deservedly being named as MLS Newcomer of the Year. Both wide men helped get the best out of midfield maestro Riqui Puig who consistently pulled the strings and drove the team forward, but it didn’t feel like he was doing it all on his own like the previous campaign. That was shown when Puig went down with an ACL injury before the MLS Cup final and it still didn’t stop the Galaxy lifting the trophy. The Spanish midfielder will miss a large portion of the upcoming season and supporters will be hoping that superstar signing Marco Reus, who arrived in the summer, can step up to the plate in his absence. There are also plenty of unsung heroes in the squad, with the likes of goalkeeper John McCarthy and left-back John Nelson proving to be shrewd signings that provided reliability at the back alongside Japanese duo Maya Yoshida and Miki Yamane. Emiro Garcés shone when he eventually came into the defence, so much so that the Galaxy allowed talented young centre-back Jalen Neal and veteran Martín Cáceres to leave in the off-season. Edwin Cerillo was a revelation at defensive-midfield but the squad does look slightly light in that area of the field with Marky Delgado and Gaston Brugman leaving, coupled with Puig’s injury. Sean Davis arrives with MLS experience, whilst Lucas Sanabria is more of a gamble. The most surprising departure has been that of centre-forward Dejan Joveljić who the club were reluctantly forced to let go due to salary issues. The Serbian was joint-top scorer in all competitions alongside Pec in a breakout season as a starting striker. MLS veteran Christian Ramirez appears to be his replacement but he hasn’t been as prolific a goal scorer in recent years. The Galaxy probably need to do more business if they want to hit the heights of last term.