Americans love their playoffs, as much as apple pie, the Star-Spangled Banner and LaCroix. It’s why we put up with 162-game baseball seasons and the New England Patriots winning year after year.
Zlatan does not love the playoffs.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic channeled his inner Jim Mora on Thursday to trash the Major League Soccer playoff format, saying the “system is shit.”
Atlanta United thrashed the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 — although the Five Stripes only scored one goal of their own — in front of 72,548 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday night, the largest regular season crowd in MLS history.
Two own goals cursed the Galaxy, and without the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic up top, who was serving a one-game suspension, the team went cold in attack.
I understand professional sports are full of trash talk and bravado; the unnecessary and macho behavior is everywhere. But there is a time and place for such brashness, and following a heavy defeat is certainly not one of them. That said, the Zlatan vs Vela rivalry is becoming one of the best reasons to watch MLS this season.
In another fiery edition of “El Trafico,” Zlatan Ibrahimović played spoiler again by netting a perfect hat trick in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles FC, which has yet to beat its crosstown rival in four meetings now.
Ibrahimović told ESPN on Thursday that he was a superior player to LAFC’s Carlos Vela despite the latter’s impressive start to the season. He backed it up with Friday’s performance.
Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CT on ESPN, the LA Galaxy hosts Los Angeles FC in the fourth edition of El Tráfico. The early days of the Los Angeles Derby have been largely dominated by two players: LAFC’s Carlos Vela is the rivalry's top scorer with four to his name, but the Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović is right behind him with three, including that unforgettable brace on his MLS debut.
While you were probably busy pounding beers and watching fireworks, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had one of his busiest days of the year.
The Galaxy striker had to carry his team to its 11th win, scoring two goals to secure that win. He then joined the internet in the #BottleCapChallenge trend.
And he did all of this, with his name misspelled on his jersey.
Fresh off helping Mexico to the CONCACAF U-17 Championship title last month, 16-year-old Californian Efraín Álvarez has registered his first goals for the LA Galaxy, notching a brace in the club’s 3-0 U.S. Open Cup victory over Orange County FC on Wednesday night.
The Designated Player Rule, also known as the Beckham Rule, remains in effect as the league enters its 24th season. The rule allows teams to sign up to three players that are considered outside the team’s salary cap ($4.035M in 2018).
In essence, this allows teams to compete for star players in the international market (like how the LA Galaxy started this whole rigamarole by signing David Beckham to a five-year contract worth $6.5M annually back in 2007).
After winning two straight away matches, the Los Angeles Galaxy slipped to a surprise 2-1 defeat to the lowly New England Revolution on Sunday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Goals from Cristian Penilla and Teal Bunbury in the opening hour of play set the stage for New England’s first road win of the season. The Galaxy managed only two shots on target throughout the match, but one was an absolute stunner from Zlatan Ibrahimović in the 84th minute.
Since Major League soccer began play in 1996, the United States and Canada has been home to some of the world’s finest attacking talent. The likes of David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco have been scoring at an unprecedented rate over the last few years, but there are those from the league’s humble beginnings that scored at an even more impressive clip.