LAFC IN 2024
LAFC's 2024 season was a tale of extraordinary highs that preceded an unfamiliar end.
In its eighth season, the club won its first-ever U.S. Open Cup trophy, reached the Leagues Cup Final (following a dominant run through its knockout rounds), and secured another first-place finish in the Western Conference while empowering the individual brilliance of star forward Denis Bouanga. Although the Black & Gold ultimately fell short in the MLS Cup Playoffs following a thrilling summertime win streak, labeling 2024 a failure would be a mistake.
The year began with the acquisition of Hugo Lloris, perhaps the most decorated goalkeeper of his generation, who joined LAFC following a stellar 11-year run at Tottenham Hotspur in England—a span that also included two appearances in the FIFA World Cup Final and a World Cup title in 2018. Additionally, former Black & Gold mainstay and MLS Best XI midfielder Eduard Atuesta returned to LAFC on loan from Palmeiras of Brazil; and teenage attacking phenom David Martínez of the Venezuelan National Team joined the Black & Gold from Monagas SC in his home country.
Importantly, 2024 marked ten years since LAFC was first awarded expansion rights by MLS in 2014. The club celebrated the first decade of its existence throughout the 2024 campaign, including during a special Fan Appreciation Night at BMO Stadium.
On May 14 the club announced that it had signed star forward Olivier Giroud, one of the world’s most accomplished goal scorers, a veteran of the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A as well as a 2018 World Cup champion (with his France teammate Lloris). Giroud fulfilled his obligation to Team France in the Euros over the summer before making his much-anticipated LAFC debut on August 13 in a Leagues Cup victory over San Jose.
LAFC’s Leagues Cup journey had begun with group-stage play in late July. After advancing to the knockout rounds, the Black & Gold surged to the Leagues Cup Final by going 4W-0L-0D with a 13-1 goal differential. Awaiting LAFC in that final was the same Columbus club that had defeated LAFC in the 2023 MLS Cup Final – at the same venue in central Ohio.
Giroud, the famous new acquisition, made his first start and scored his first goal for LAFC in the Leagues Cup Final, tying the score 1-1 early in the second half. Although the Crew scored twice in second-half stoppage time to claim the trophy, Giroud was not done scoring in finals for his new club (see below). And Giroud was also not the only iconic striker to make history for LAFC in 2024.
On June 22, LA native and MLS legend Kei Kamara, who at age 39 had joined LAFC as a free agent, scored against San Jose to become the second-leading goal scorer in MLS history (146 goals). Two weeks later Kamara headed home another one against the Galaxy, at the Rose Bowl, helping the Black & Gold earn an emotional 2-1 win over its local rival in front of more than 70,000 fans.
LAFC would go 2W-1L-0D against the Galaxy in 2024 and was the only MLS club with a winning record against the eventual MLS Cup champions.
LAFC’s dominant run to the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final looked a lot like its Leagues Cup performance. The Black & Gold built a 4W-0L-0D record, with a 10-2 goal differential, en route to the U.S. Open Cup Final, including an inspiring 1-0 road win over another rival, the Seattle Sounders, in the Semifinal.
On September 25 at BMO Stadium, LAFC met Sporting KC with the trophy on the line. Giroud scored the opening goal, but the match went into extra time tied 1-1. Young fullback Omar Campos produced the matchwinner for LAFC in the 102nd minute on an electric night in the Heart of LA; Kamara added a late score to seal the 3-1 win that crowned LAFC champions of the oldest continuously running team sports competition in the United States. (The U.S. Open Cup dates back to 1914, preceding the NFL, NHL, and FIFA World Cup.)
LAFC’s win in the U.S. Open Cup Final was part of a dominant three-and-a-half month stretch in which LAFC went 18W-1L-3D, with a plus-40 goal differential, against teams from three different leagues. Crucial to the club’s success was the breakout season of attacker Mateusz Bogusz, who turned 23 years old during that run and would tally 20 goals across all competitions by season’s end. The Poland international’s exceptional play augmented LAFC’s reputation for identifying, acquiring, and developing young talent from around the world.
Denis Bouanga, who had won the MLS Golden Boot in his first full season with LAFC in 2023, scored 20 goals in ’24 and finished as the runner-up in the 2024 Golden Boot race while earning his second straight MLS Best XI selection and second straight invite to the MLS All Star game.
The team’s objective of finishing first in the Western Conference still hung in the balance on Decision Day, when LAFC hosted San Jose in both sides’ final regular-season match. LAFC needed to win by two goals, coupled with a Galaxy loss, in order to finish on top, but its chances looked slim until Brazilian defender Marlon scored in extra time to close out a 3-1 victory that set BMO Stadium alight. Euphoric and exhausted, LAFC fans stayed after the final whistle to watch on the big screen as the Galaxy fell to Houston on a late Dynamo goal, a result that clinched the Black & Gold’s first-place finish – the second time in three years it had earned “Best in the West” status, and the third time overall.
As the conference’s top seed, LAFC advanced past a formidable Vancouver side in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs before hosting Seattle in the Western Conference Semifinal. In yet another extra-time knockout match, the Sounders found a goal in the 109th minute that ended LAFC’s season in stunning fashion, despite the Black & Gold’s 28-13 edge that night in shots taken.
It was LAFC’s 50th match of the year in all competitions. The club had amassed a record of 31W-11L-8D in those 50 contests during an epic 2024 campaign that polished LAFC’s championship pedigree with a domestic trophy while showcasing its star-packed roster, even if the ultimate goal of an MLS title was not achieved.
