Football Season Guide

MLS

USA

MLS

2023

Los Angeles FC

In

Stipe Biuk (att) Hajduk Split, Timothy Tillman (mid) Greuther Furth, Aaron Long (def) New York Red Bulls, Sergi Palencia (def) Saint-Etienne, Danny Crisostomo (mid) Las Vegas, Abraham Romero (gk) Las Vegas, Eldin Jakupovic (gk) Everton, Jassem Koleilat (gk) UNH Wildcats, Denil Maldonado (def) FC Motagua, Mohamed Traore (def) Las Vegas, Erik Duenas (def) Las Vegas, Nathan Ordaz (att) Las Vegas, Armando Avila (def) Las Vegas.

Out

Cristian Arango (att) Pachuca, Latif Blessing (mid) New England Revolution, Cristian Tello (att) Al-Fateh, Jhegson Mendez (mid) Sao Paulo, Sebastien Ibeagha (def) Dallas FC, Franco Escobar (def) Houston, Cal Jennings (att) TB Rowdies, Danny Trejo (mid) Phoenix Rising, Tomas Romero (gk) Toronto, Eddie Segura (def), Gareth Bale (att).

Last season's MLS Cup winners, LAFC, are more ready than ever to defend their title. They have finally emerged from the shadow of their bitter city rivals LA Galaxy and completely dominated the entire 2022 MLS division with 67 points after 34 games. Led by Steven Cherundolo, LAFC maintained their top form in the playoffs, averaging three goals in the three games to win the unprecedented MLS trophy with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Philadelphia. The champions did not hold back during the winter transfer window, making several new signings that should help them fight for the title again. The most important addition was Croatian winger Stipe Biuk from Hajduk Split for over 6 million euros to compensate for the departures of Gareth Bale, who has retired from football, and Cristian Tello. Another player expected to improve LAFC's play in midfield is Timothy Tillman, who arrived from Greuther Fuerth and will replace Jhegson Mendez. Cristian Arango's departure could prove to be an important factor in LAFC's title defence, as the Colombian striker scored 18 goals last season, making him the team's top scorer. The defending champions have not brought in an equal replacement for him, so Carlos Vela, Denis Bouanga and Kwadwo Opoku will have to up their game to compensate for the loss of Arango.

Target

Retaining the title is always difficult. LAFC have strengthened in some areas but lost key players in others, which does not make them the clear title favourite, but they certainly have a chance.