Over the next month I will be putting out a series of previews for MLS (not The) this season. I know you are all wondering why should I care about MLS, however here are a couple facts to get you going.

• Since 2007 the league has gone from 13 to 24 teams (and counting)
• Last year MLS added a new team in LA owned by Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra, and Mia Hamm!
• Soccer has the longest run time of the 4 major sports in 90 minutes, however because there’s no commercials the game only lasts 2 hours.
• Great players such as Josef Martinez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Carlos Vela, and many many more come to a tv near you every week!
• ESPN+ has made it very easy to find each game every week.

LAFC

Owner: List Below

Coach: Bob Bradley

Previous Season Record: 16-9-9 3rd in West

U.S. Open Cup 2018: Semifinals

Top Scorer: Carlos Vela 14 Goals

Stadium: Banc of California Stadium

2018 Recap

Last season was the inagural season for LAFC. They have a massive group of celebrities as their owners and hired one of the most successful American coaches ever in Bob Bradley.

The season went much better than anyone could have dreamed, with LAFC setting a record for points in the regular season (for an expansion team) with 57. They also scored 68 goals which is two less than Atlanta’s expansion record from 2017.

The owners built a beautiful new stadium right down in LA and brought in some great talent such as Diego Rossi, Benny Feilhaber and Carlos Vela. The team also performed extremely well and was able to finish 3rd in the west, way ahead of their much more expensive rivals. They play Bob Bradley soccer which is utilizing the defensive mids and swing to the outsides for crosses in. As long as he has the right talent they should be able to continue the success.

Off Season Transactions

* A couple things to highlight here

• Andre Horta is one of the best and most expensive signings in MLS this off season.
• Losing Benny Feilhaber is a big blow into the midfield stability wise.
• Joshua Perez should bring some excitement on the wings.

2019 Outlook

This next season could be an exciting one for the Black and Gold. It is not necessarily that they brought in a ton of new talent, it is more cultivating and growing together as a group. More coaching from Bob Bradley, and a lot of these players can really make things happen in MLS. Carlos Vela will of course look to build on his 14 goal 13 assist campaign, and I think again with more acclimation time he will only get better.

As is the case with a lot of MLS teams, this defense and goalie are a question mark. Tyler Miller has shown signs in net, and has recently been called up for the national team. However, he will need to be more consistent in order for LAFC to make the next jump. Omar Gaber is coming over from Switzerland to try and help the defense, so if those two work out this could be a wild ride for the fans.

I think LAFC will be fighting for the number one seed in the west this year, and possibly make the conference finals.