With local bragging rights and likely the Western Conference No. 1 seed on the line, both sides of Los Angeles have been keenly anticipating Saturday night’s El Tráfico showdown, the third of the season, between the LA Galaxy and LAFC (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
So too have the rivalry’s two newest high-profile protagonists: Marco Reus and Olivier Giroud.
"Of course, I heard a lot of things about this rivalry," Reus told MLS Season Pass analyst Sacha Kljestan during a one-on-one interview this week. "I’ve played a lot in my past these [derby] games, so I know what the team has to do to win these games; it's completely different than the other games. I’m really, really looking forward – all the dressing room are excited for these games."
It turns out that the duo are acquainted, having faced off several times for both club and country in Europe over the years. Now they find themselves adversaries again at the dawn of their new adventure in sunny Southern California, Giroud with six LAFC appearances under his belt and Reus approaching his third match in Galaxy colors.
"Yes, I know, he texted me,” Giroud revealed of his German counterpart in a Thursday afternoon media availability. "He said, ‘Hey bro, welcome to LA, enjoy.’ And yeah, I told him, 'I will see you in a few weeks.' It was a few weeks ago.
"I'm very happy also for the league, that this kind of player, a great player, signs in MLS. It will improve MLS – he was a top player, he is still a top player. It will be fun to face him."
Midseason boost
Both coaches were detailed and expressive in praising the opponents’ midseason reinforcements on Thursday.
"Marco, a player I know very well, and an excellent guy, really a fantastic personality in German football for the last 15 years," said LAFC boss Steve Cherundolo, who spent his entire club career at Hannover 96 and began his coaching journey there, too.
"He doesn't make very many mistakes in tight spaces, under pressure, in the final third, and I think he complements [the Galaxy] very, very well. Another creative mind out there, another able passer and finisher, somebody who is very deceptive in his runs inside the box and penetrating defense back lines."
Reus adds another attacking option to a Gs roster overflowing with them, although Joseph Paintsil will miss out on Saturday due to yellow-card accumulation. Giroud has presented Cherundolo & Co. with a comparable upgrade with his leadership and elite target man toolkit, even as Kei Kamara – who just celebrated his 40th birthday – continues to defy the calendar.
Notably, last week LAFC fielded Giroud and Kamara together in a new 4-4-2 diamond look on their visit to Houston.
"Super intelligent about his movements and how he's manipulating things at the top, his timing in the box, his size in the box, their ability to play off of him to link up some of their attacks that then can build some speed,” said Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney of Giroud, a 2018 World Cup winner with France who most recently played for Italian Serie A giants AC Milan.
"He's the prototypical kind of 9, really, that they can do a lot of different things. He just gives them this focal point, something that I think Kei was giving them when Kei was up there at times – well, now you have a world-class guy who's also doing it. So they have two guys that they could play in that traditional 9 position that can be a handful for center backs.
"Guys like Giroud need one half of a look, and it's in the back of the net, and now they're on top of a game.”
Heightened drama
These two are the sort of bold-faced names any MLS side would welcome with open arms, and indeed, both Charlotte FC and St. Louis CITY SC sought to recruit Reus as he moved on from a glittering decade-plus with Borussia Dortmund earlier this year. But the German international and his family wanted the SoCal experience, and made a financial compromise to get it, with Reus signing a Targeted Allocation Money-tier contract rather than the Designated Player deal he’d easily merit under different circumstances.
Occasions like Saturday, forecast to be another trademark mild, breezy evening at Dignity Health Sports Park, are part of the allure. El Tráfico draws broad attention across MLS and beyond, with big personalities and a penchant for drama – and real postseason consequences this time.
"It's arguably the best rivalry game inside of the league. And so the intensity of it, the level, all that stuff is, I think, interesting for teams to look at," said Vanney, "and they kind of get a sense of what our teams will look like as we're moving towards closer and closer to the playoffs."
Vanney's team sits four points ahead of their crosstown rivals, while LAFC have two games in hand. The Gs believe a win this weekend can not only clinch an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot but provide enough separation to keep them in first down the stretch, and LAFC defender Aaron Long sounded inclined to agree with that assessment.
"Time is running out, right? So these games, and three points, are ever so important," said the SoCal native. "You're getting three points for yourself, but you're also taking three points away from the other team. And there's only so many points left on the table. So, huge game."
Clash of styles
In keeping with its Hollywood surroundings, the LA derby has packed a lot of popcorn into its brief existence, fueled by no small amount of star power.
Zlatan Ibrahimović set the tone in the inaugural edition on March 31, 2018, scoring a show-stopping brace off the bench in his Galaxy debut to deliver a delirious 4-3 comeback win that made worldwide headlines. The likes of Carlos Vela, Javier "Chicharito" Hernández, Jonathan dos Santos, Denis Bouanga, Diego Rossi and Cristian Arango have also illuminated these fixtures, along with a litany of role players finding inspiration under the brighter spotlight it provides.
The stylistic clash between the sides dials up the contrast that much further. The Galaxy are resolute in their ball-playing identity – Vanney spoke about carrying a "burden of possession" on Thursday – weaving their own version of tiki-taka via the effervescent orchestration of Riqui Puig. Conversely, the Black & Gold tend to be more pragmatic: organized and ruthlessly incisive on the counterattack, epitomized by Bouanga’s menace in open spaces.
It’s helped LAFC win six of the last eight El Tráficos, including the first two of ‘24, drawing first blood on a corner kick in both to tilt the game state in their advantage en route to twin 2-1 scorelines.
"LAFC is really compact. They played with the back five, and it's difficult for us because we need to attack with more players," said Puig. "But I think we're in a different page. We have the ball, and if we don't make mistakes that I think that LAFC is waiting for, then we can get the three points."
Vanney says he won’t go conservative this time, aside from an emphasis on rest defense. His Gs seem hard-wired to be proactive.
"How we lose the ball, where we lose the ball, reactions when we lose the ball are pivotal, just because of the power and speed and the quality that they have in the transition," said the coach. "If you look at the two teams that they've lost to over the last whatever, since May, it's been Columbus and Houston, both are teams that are good – very good – in possession, want to have the ball. They're possession-oriented teams. They were just very mature about how they managed their possessions, they didn't take risk in bad positions, they maintained good counter-pressing and good positions to manage the transitions."
Or as Reus put it: "We have to be, not worried, but careful with stupid mistakes when we have the ball."
Prime-time showdown
Fittingly, the all-time series now stands deadlocked at 9W-9L-5D, LAFC having slowly climbed back to level after the Galaxy’s superiority in the opening years. Never before have both teams been this complete, this competitive, this evenly matched.
"Our tactical discipline was, has been pretty good. Their strengths are extremely hard to defend, but I think we have a good scheme in order to defend those, and then our strengths match up well with their weaknesses," said Cherundolo. "There's going to be 22 excellent players in the field tomorrow starting the match, and plenty of good players on both benches. So there aren’t a lot of differences in quality, and so really, the team who sticks together and sticks to the plan for the longest amount of time, I believe, comes away with three points."
Will the latest arrivals make the difference? Or are more familiar figures like Puig and Bouanga better placed to seize the moment? While the names on the marquee may change, it’s in the nature of these two clubs, and thus the rivalry itself, for the show to always have big-time headliners.
"I can feel the boys, they are very pumped up, they are very excited regarding the derby," said Giroud. "I know this kind of game [is] massive for our fans, also, not only for the club. So, yeah, it will be a big game. I love pressure and big games. I hope I will have the opportunity to make the difference."
