Los Angeles FC and United States men's national team center back Aaron Long has a superhuman ability to block shots. This whole time Long has been hiding his true defensive qualities.
On Wednesday night during LAFC's 3-0 Concacaf Champions League victory vs. the Vancouver Whitecaps, he showed fans a glimpse of what he’s capable of.
Long decided that defending the old fashioned way was too easy. Instead, he opted to lay face-down on the floor and dared his opponents to try and shoot. Vancouver’s Javain Brown fell for the bait and was thwarted by the Long-inator.
Like a dolphin using echolocation, Long could sense the impending shot and stuck a foot up in the air while he was mid-snooze on the BC Palace turf.
The scariest part? This is only one percent of Long’s true power.
Aaron Long block vs. Vancouver
Well... that’s something you don’t see everyday @LAFC | @A_LoLo12 pic.twitter.com/nEWaNyumPJ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 6, 2023
It’s giving Scott Sterling vibes pic.twitter.com/TcBe2otNRT
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 6, 2023
USMNT fans were absolutely crushed when Long was snubbed from any playing time at the 2022 World Cup. How could a player with so much power not see the biggest stage?
Gregg Berhalter knows all too well of Long’s abilities. After starting Long in the six USMNT games leading up to the World Cup, Berhalter came to realize the beast he had on his roster.
It simply wouldn’t have been fair to the likes of Wales, England, Iran and Netherlands if they had to try to get past Long and his echolocation forcefield defending. Berhalter deserves some credit for benching Long and letting the World Cup games be a fair fight.
Major League Soccer and the Concacaf Champions League won’t have the luxury of a fair fight. The Long-inator is coming, and there’s no hope of stopping him.
