Soccer <\/p>\n
CARSON, Calif. \u2013 Gast\u00f3n Brugman<\/a> did not need much reminding when Gabriel Pec<\/a>\u2019s goal was brought up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LA<\/a>\u2019s Brazilian winger scored plenty this year; 16 goals in the regular season and three more in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. But THE<\/em> goal, the pick of the litter, was the jaw-dropping golazo he bagged in the Gs\u2019 6-2 thrashing<\/a> of Minnesota United<\/a> during the Western Conference Semifinals two weeks ago. A driving, slaloming, 70-yard dribble capped by a calm, low finish tucked inside the far post with his supposedly weaker right foot.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah \u2013 like Maradona, yeah?!\u201d Brugman exclaimed to MLSsoccer.com after the Galaxy\u2019s training session at Dignity Health Sports Park on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s how good Gabriel Pec has been for the Galaxy this season. It earned him the MLS Newcomer of the Year<\/a> award, and Brugman is one of several teammates who marvels at the creativity and productivity they\u2019ve seen from the 23-year-old, both at training and on gamedays.<\/p>\n Especially considering he\u2019s also been adapting to a new league, country, city and language following a January move from Vasco da Gama for a transfer fee reportedly around $10 million, and also got married in the early stages of the regular season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s good, man,\u201d said goalkeeper John McCarthy<\/a>. \u201cHe’s smooth, he’s crafty, he trains hard, he works hard \u2013 I’m happy he’s on my side of the ball, you know? But when you train against him, he has a killer mentality. He plays to win and there’s moments where he gets super pissed off, which is a good thing at a young age.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Brugman: \u201cHe’s amazing, because it’s difficult to arrive in the league and it’s the first year and he started \u2013 in the beginning, maybe he has a little bit of a problem because it\u2019s normal. But in the end of the season was amazing, one of the best players in the league. He did amazing assists and goals; we are happy because he’s with us.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s a young guy, he needs to grow up a little bit more, but he is one of the best in the league and this is important.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Homegrown center back Jalen Neal<\/a> believes the task of defending Pec one-on-one at practice is ideal preparation for any other individual matchup he might encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god. Well, it definitely gets me ready for any other opponents I have to face in MLS,\u201d Neal told MLSsoccer.com on Friday. \u201cIn my opinion, he’s the trickiest winger in the league. And he has the \u2013 what\u2019s the word I’m looking for \u2013 he has output, you know?<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the end product \u2013 outside of his trickiness, he can dice you up and then score. That’s the scariest thing. It’s something else that someone can dice you up and not score, if you know they’re going to put in a bad pass. But he can do all those. Going up against him in training, it’s been challenging, but it’s also something that makes me a better defender.\u201d<\/p>\n All this makes Pec perhaps the leading player to watch Saturday in MLS Cup 2024 presented by Audi vs. the New York Red Bulls<\/a> at DHSP (4 pm ET | Apple TV – Free<\/a>; FOX, FOX Deportes; TSN, RDS), especially with his teammate Riqui Puig<\/a> sidelined by an ACL injury sustained in last week\u2019s Western Conference Final win over Seattle<\/a>.<\/p>\n With his quickness, outrageous skill on the ball and clinical finishing, Pec draws the viewer\u2019s eye and will draw plenty of attention from Saturday\u2019s opponents, too.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cHe’s a baller, to be honest. We know how dangerous he is. We’ve seen what he’s done all year long,\u201d RBNY left back John Tolkin<\/a> told reporters on Thursday, grinning mischievously as he added, \u201cso we respect him, but we also want to kick the s–t out of him!\u201d<\/p>\n With New York having shifted to a 3-5-2 formation to spark their unexpected postseason run, Tolkin has worked mainly as a wingback, which would suggest he, and left center back Sean Nealis<\/a>, will have the greatest responsibility for limiting Pec\u2019s impact. Red Bulls head coach Sandro Schwarz, however, also alluded to more collective solutions for managing the Brazilian and his left-sided wing bookend, Joseph Paintsil<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPec, we have to defend against him in a lot of moments, and especially in transition moments,\u201d Schwarz said in his matchday-1 press conference on Friday. \u201cAnd we have to prepare this situation. And it’s not only then to look, most of the time for JMi [Tolkin], for example, that he’s able to defend against him. So we have also to solve the situations before, so I think that’s an important topic for us in our defense behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to defend very aggressively some spaces, which is important to defend against Galaxy and especially when they find these moments on the side with these wingers, then we have to defend against the speed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ready for the spotlight. ????@LAGalaxy<\/a> \/\/ #MLSCup<\/a> pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com\/x678S7b7z5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n MLS Cup will play out amid a rising buzz of transfer rumors around Pec, with European giants like Arsenal and Liverpool recently said to have taken an interest in him. His durability can only pique their curiosity that much further; he appeared in all but one of LA\u2019s \u201824 league games and Vanney told MLSoccer.com last month that it was a key attraction for the Galaxy, a priority he\u2019s quickly vindicated.<\/p>\n \u201cThis league is physically demanding. It’s tough. One of the things we wanted to make sure is that we felt like we had players who could play every game, or play game in and game out, and were going to be durable. The best ability is availability, in many ways, right?\u201d said Vanney.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys like Gabriel Pec, who has played 50 games each season for the last three seasons, he’s just [always] available, he’s fantastic. And we saw qualities that we could enhance.\u201d<\/p>\n Teammates who\u2019ve played in elite leagues of that caliber see all the necessary tools for him to someday thrive at that level, particularly with a bit more seasoning in MLS. And the capture of a league title on Saturday.<\/p>\n“Killer mentality”<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
A defender’s nightmare<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Transfer rumors swirl<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n