LOS ANGELES — Success remains a common theme for the Los Angeles Football Club, which has clinched a berth in the MLS Playoffs for the fourth straight season. Since its inaugural season in 2018, LAFC has only missed the playoffs once, indicating a strong ability to remain one of the most competitive teams in the MLS.
It is rare for an expansion team to be so competitive off the bat, but for LAFC, all the pieces seem to click, whether it;s coaching, management or the ability to bring in elite difference-making talent.
From Carlos Vela to Gareth Bale, Giorgio Chiellini, Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud, LAFC has had no shortage of great players over the years. Beyond the star-studded talent, the club has built its identity around signing players with elite ability and global name recognition. That approach has once again proven successful as the play of two superstar forwards has allowed LAFC to climb its way up the Western Conference standings with five games left in the regular season and back to the playoffs.
Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min have combined to score LAFC’s last 14 goals, completely taking over the team’s offensive production and making it count where it matters the most. What both of these players have done over the past week is dominating at its finest, and it’s almost unprecedented.
“It just makes our job a lot easier knowing that you have quality up top,” LAFC midfielder Mark Delgado said. “You can just create fluidity in the midfield knowing Sonny’s going to be there and Denis being a threat in behind.”
“When they are (as) both prolific as they are, it gives the rest of the team energy,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “If you are a defender, you will run gladly for 100 minutes, however long we play, if your attackers are finishing plays like Denis and Sonny are finishing plays, and so I’m perfectly happy keeping this going.”
In a week that was filled with a plethora of achievements and milestones for LAFC, it is tough to find one that doesn’t have Bouanga or Heung-min’s name written all over it.
It is not every day players get to go toe-to-toe with one of the greatest to ever step foot on a soccer field, but that’s exactly what Bouanga has done. With a hat-trick performance against Real Salt Lake last Sunday, Bouanga tied Lionel Messi for the most goals this season, in a race for the Golden Boot award. Both Bouanga and Messi currently sit at 22 goals each as the season winds down. While Messi will have more opportunities to continue filling the net as Inter Miami has six games left to play, Bouanga and LAFC have a slightly easier schedule.
Winning the Golden Boot is not unfamiliar to Bouanga, and if he does manage to come out on top, it will be the second time in three seasons in which he has scored the most goals in the MLS.
“Winning the Golden Boot (again), of course, is a goal, but the most important thing is to stay focused every game,” Bouanga, a forward from Gabon, said through a translator.
That mentality keeps Bouanga grounded, allows him to produce at a scorching level, and achieve awards that categorize him as one of the best players in the MLS.
The individual accolades don’t stop there for Bouanga. On Sunday night, he made MLS history, becoming the first player to score 20 goals in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
“It’s a combination of technique, obviously, Denis understands how to finish plays, his physical attributes, he is extremely durable,” Cherundolo said. “Then you throw in his competitiveness in training, in every game, he’s always trying to score, always going, going, going, and without those attributes and those characteristics, I don’t think it’s achievable, but Denis has that.”
Not only has this feat been recognized by Bouanga’s coach, but his partner in crime, who has a very experienced resume, knows how difficult it is to accomplish.
“Even in Europe, I think it’s also extremely hard to find someone who has scored 20 goals three seasons in a row,” Heung-min said. “Scoring 20 goals in one season, some people would be very happy about it, and scoring (20 goals) three seasons in a row is a massive thing, and obviously credit to Denis because he works hard to help the team and score a lot of goals. It’s not random, you know, it’s not lucky, he works really hard to be in the right positions.”
With Bouanga alone, LAFC’s offensive prowess is elite, but add South Korea’s biggest soccer superstar to the mix in Heung-min, and it’s no wonder the team has strung multiple wins together and climbed the standings so quickly.
The list of achievements is endless for Heung-min, from winning the UEFA Europa League with Tottenham Hotspur last season to being the first Asian player to not only score 100 goals in the Premier League but also win the Premier League Golden Boot. The former Spurs captain was brought to Los Angeles in August to become the next face of LAFC and lead the team through its next chapter.
In just seven games with LAFC, Heung-min has already made an instant impact, collecting six goals, three assists and drawing 13 fouls.
“Two very simple words,” Cherundolo said when asked about the intangibles Heung-min has brought to the team. “Intensity and quality. Those moments in a player, in any player, are what make the difference … that combination is lethal and Son brings exactly that to our team and to our league.”
Players like Bouanga, Heung-min and Messi continue to bring the league more eyes and traction. In L.A., the support players are receiving from a growing fanbase hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“(The support), it’s big and bigger now,” Bouanga said. “Son coming here brings a spotlight to the MLS; Messi also came here and brought attention. So more people are interested in the MLS, and any player that comes here will also feel this passion growing in the U.S.”
LAFC currently sits in fourth place in the Western Conference standings with 50 points, just four points behind Minnesota United FC, with two games in hand. Playoffs are a lock for the black and gold, but that doesn’t mean they won’t strive to become the highest seed possible, and with Bouanga and Heung-min continuing to terrorize the league, LAFC doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.
“I can tell you that this team is locked in and focused to maximize our potential,” Cherundolo said. “We feel very good about ourselves at the moment. We’re going to use every bit of confidence and momentum we have to finish the season out as strong as possible, going into playoffs.”
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