Saturday night in downtown Seattle it’ll be fourth-place in the Supporters’ Shield race (LAFC) versus 11th place (Seattle)— a top-half-of-the-table matchup that compared to others in MLS Matchday 28 trails only NYRB-Cincinnati (10th vs. 2nd), and Colorado-RSL (8th vs. 5th) in highest combined Shield rankings.
The focus at the LAFC Sports Performance on Friday was not on the standings but on the 90 minutes that will play out Saturday on Lumen Field’s synthetic FieldTurf surface (which by the way will be changed to grass by the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around).
The focus was also on the details and adjustments that follow two matches in which LAFC conceded more goals (six) than it had in its previous 10 MLS matches combined (five); and the focus was on mustering energy to move past three straight games against teams ranked in the Top 6 of the Shield race, only to take on another stout opponent in a rivalry that according to defender Jesús Murillo is nearly as intense as what LAFC experiences with the Galaxy.
“Since the first game that I played against Seattle,” the four-year MLS vet said in Spanish, “I noticed the high-level rivalry match that this was. It could be compared to another rivalry game, like the Galaxy. And [Seattle] is always competing for titles and trophies.”
RAVE GREEN REVIVAL
This version of the Sounders welcomes LAFC to town after turning its 2024 season around entirely. Seattle notched just one win in its first nine matches, but since then has lost just twice in their last 18 matches, including a seven-game unbeaten streak in MLS play, and four straight wins at home.
“They’re executing on both ends,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after training on Friday, “keeping clean sheets and taking their chances. The best Seattle Sounders teams that I've seen had very few weaknesses in their squad, very well-balanced teams, and we're seeing that right now.
“I think you saw a lot of that same play throughout the season,” Cherundolo continued, “but they weren't executing and finishing games, and they are now. Again, we have our work cut out for us with another tough game.”
“Going into Seattle,” said LAFC forward Kei Kamara, “seeing how they've been doing, something like five or six games where they've had good results, obviously unbeaten at home, it's gonna be a tough. It's always a tough place to play, but to get in there at this time of the season when they're on a roll like that, we have to pick it back up and be ready for it.”
For LAFC to return to the form that carried the Black & Gold to a franchise-record 13-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, Murillo said, requires “looking back at what we did in previous matches before the last two games, just doing more of that, being more concentrated and more compact, because this is a team that you cannot give any advantage to. [Seattle] will capitalize and it will result in what the last two matches resulted in.
“This is another opportunity for us to get back on track and strengthen our position at this point of the season,” he added, “to continue fighting to be in a good position for the playoffs.”
ARRIVEDERCI, GIORGIO (FOR NOW)
Having just returned from broadcasting UEFA Euro 2024 for Fox Sports, international legend (and 2020 Euros champion) Giorgio Chiellini returned to LAFC, the last club he played for and the club he served as a player development coach this season, to say goodbye.
“It's quieter upstairs,” Cherundolo said of the LAFC coaching offices since Chiellini’s departure. “And that's not a good thing. We'll miss Giorgio. He was always insightful, in a good mood, always willing to help in any way he could. But he's part of LAFC's history and family moving forward. So he'll be back, even just as a visitor.
“I think Giorgio was the type of player, once he's played for a club and bought into that identity, he's kind of a lifer … he'll always keep one eye on us.”
“I think we've all spoken on what a great person Giorgio is,” said Murillo. “He's impeccable, a magnificent person to be around … He’s a world legend for what he did on the pitch. I'm very thankful to share nearly two years with him.”
SPEAKING OF ITALY
One of the LAFC players Chiellini has had the greatest impact on during his time in LA is 20-year-old center back Lorenzo Dellavalle, who grew up idolizing Chiellini as a kid in Carmagnola, Italy. Dellavalle suffered a knee injury shortly before LAFC’s last meeting with Seattle—in their season-opener back in February.
“He loves it here,” Cherundolo said of Dellavalle, “and he has integrated himself into the community and carved himself out a nice little life. The injury came at obviously a terrible time for him, but he's recovering very well, ahead of schedule, and he's young and he'll make a full recovery, so we'll hopefully get him back at some point this year … he should be in training by the end of the year for sure.”
Olivier Giroud, who won Italy’s Serie A title with AC Milan in 2022, just finished competing in the Euros for France and is expected to join LAFC in late July, Cherundolo said. As for when the star striker will suit up for the Black & Gold in competition, “we'll see when he arrives and in what form he arrives, and we'll give him time. He's had a pretty emotional and stressful last couple of weeks finishing his career in Italy, at Milan, and then going over the national team, so he's had a lot going on and now the big move overseas … I'm hopeful that it won't take long, but we'll assess that when he gets here.”
UP AHEAD
After the Seattle match, LAFC forward Denis Bouanga will fly to Columbus, Ohio, along with fellow Frenchman and fellow 2024 MLS All Star Hugo Lloris, for All-Star week festivities. The game will be played on Wed. July 24, against a squad of Liga MX All Stars, including several players LAFC faced in 2023 when it squared off against Mexican giants León, Monterrey, and Tigres in three different club competitions.
Two days after the MLS All Star Game, LAFC will leap into one of those competitions, Leagues Cup, with a home match against Club Tijuana on Friday, July 26.
“We would love to finish this part of the season tomorrow, this week, obviously on a higher note results-wise,” Cherundolo said of his team’s MLS standing, “but the previous eight weeks were amazing. So I think we're happy with where we are.
“Leagues Cup is going to be a tough competition as always. Our first game should be really good, very competitive, against Xolos. We're looking forward to it.”
LAFC travels to face the Seattle Sounders on Saturday, July 20, at Lumen Field. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. PT and can be enjoyed on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 710 AM ESPN LA, the ESPN LA app, and 980 AM La Mera Mera.
