As Major League Soccer moved into a new age with Inter Miami’s signing of Lionel Messi last year, the LA Galaxy had seemingly been left behind as a relic of different era. The club of David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robbie Keane failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons. Supporters protested against the Galaxy’s leadership and boycotted matches. MLS’s original glamour club had lost its shine.
Now, though, the Galaxy are just one game from a record sixth MLS Cup title with Greg Vanney’s team hosting the New York Red Bulls in Saturday’s championship decider. Ten years after they last lifted the trophy, the Galaxy have the opportunity to reassert their standing as the league’s marquee franchise while Messi and Co watch from home.
What was meant to be a playoff series defined by Inter Miami and their all-time great Argentinian will instead be remembered for the shocks it produced. Atlanta United’s toppling of the record-breaking Supporters’ Shield winners. RBNY’s upset of the defending champions, Columbus Crew, and fourth seeds Orlando City. New York City’s win over third seeds FC Cincinnati.
It will also be remembered for the scintillating soccer played by an LA Galaxy team that has scored 16 goals in just four playoff games. In the absence of soccer’s greatest entertainer, Galaxy have produced a spectacle almost every time they have taken to the field, with their 6-2 win over Minnesota United in the Western Conference semi-finals a particular highlight.
Anyone who watched the Galaxy over the regular season won’t be surprised by their attacking potency: only Inter Miami and Columbus scored more goals. The question over the Galaxy’s playoff chances, however, focused on their defence. Of all the teams to make the playoffs this season, only CF Montreal, the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers conceded more.
While the Galaxy shut out the Seattle Sounders in last weekend’s Western Conference final, there remains a sense that their defensive line is only ever a moment away from calamity. Vanney, however, has embraced this chaos. The Galaxy have learned to use their unavoidable volatility to stoke their attacking fire. However many goals you score against the Galaxy, they’ll score more.
Their frontline of Dejan Joveljic, Joseph Paintsil and Gabriel Pec is as dynamic as any in MLS. The trio have combined for 50 goals and 26 assists in 2024 and give the Galaxy a variety of attacking looks – they can overpower defenders in the air and dribble past them on the ground. Joveljic can even beat you at chess: he’s ranked 17,517th in the world.
Playmaker Riqui Puig might have been the one to reach checkmate for the Galaxy in Saturday’s MLS Cup final, such is the Spaniard’s ability to see moves before they happen. But he is sidelined after tearing an ACL in last weekend’s win over Seattle. The former Barcelona midfielder still managed to produce the game-winning assist while playing on one leg. He will be missed.
Saturday’s match will be evocative of another age in MLS, an age many believed the league had moved on from. The LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls are founding MLS members (albeit by a different name in the case of the latter) that looked to have fallen behind the curve as new franchises joined the league, bringing with them more modern stadiums, bigger name signings and grander ambitions. It wasn’t just Inter Miami, it was clubs like Atlanta United, Los Angeles FC and New York City FC too.
By hiring Will Kuntz as general manager last winter after a successful stint with rivals LAFC, though, the Galaxy made a statement of intent. After years of missing on signings like Kevin Cabral and Cristian Pavon, the transfer strategy shifted. “The league has evolved since 10 years ago,” Kuntz told Backheeled, “and what that means is that the way teams are putting together consistent championship contenders is a little bit different.”
The Galaxy still have recognisable European stars – Puig and Marco Reus – but only one of them (Puig) occupies a Designated Player spot. The other two are filled by high-potential players in their peak years – Paintsil and Pec. “The biggest change that we made is the how,” said Kuntz. “Not what we want to do, but how we are going to do it.”
RBNY have certainly changed the ‘how’ and the ‘what we want to do’ since they were once a marquee franchise back in the days of Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill. Only two months ago, Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff criticised MLS “for developing far too slowly.” Many countered that Red Bulls’ New York franchise are as much to blame for that as anyone else. The club stagnated for years. Few believed they would ever make an MLS Cup final any time soon.
Just as they were against Columbus, NYC FC and Orlando, RBNY will be underdogs on Saturday, but the match-up against the Galaxy could suit them. A chaotic, end-to-end encounter might draw the best out of Sandro Schwarz’s high-energy outfit. If the Galaxy don’t want to defend, the Red Bulls don’t want to pass. Their direct approach could work.
The first-ever LA v New York MLS Cup final has the potential to be a memorable one. For RBNY, a maiden championship is on the line. Their triumph would highlight the unpredictability of the MLS playoffs and the inherent parity that must be protected as the league continues to grow and evolve. For the LA Galaxy, Saturday could mark a return to their glory days.
