National Writer: Charles Boehm<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n CARSON, Calif. \u2013 The pitch at Dignity Health Sports Park looked like something out of a Renaissance painting as LA Galaxy<\/a> players, staff and executives flooded out onto the grass after referee Guido Gonzales, Jr. blew his whistle for the final time, bringing MLS Cup 2024 presented by Audi to a close.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Every interaction, every embrace, every smile across the playing surface carried its own story. Injured talisman Riqui Puig<\/a> was everywhere, grinning, hugging teammates and brandishing his jersey, this time adorned with a 6 to commemorate LA\u2019s sixth league title instead of his usual No. 10, to the teeming masses in the Victoria Block supporters section.<\/p>\n Head coach Greg Vanney and general manager Will Kuntz, two key architects of this rapidly reinvigorated squad, shared a hug as they crossed paths in the swirling crowd of humanity, their mission to restore the Gs to their previous place at the top of the MLS mountaintop accomplished after Saturday’s 2-1 win<\/a> over New York Red Bulls<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of soccer and the group and the quality of players, style of play, all those things that this group has shown, has shown that the quality is there and the quality is back,\u201d said Vanney in his postgame press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at the Galaxy, it’s about winning championships. And I think going into this week, that was the thing we’ve proven,\u201d he added, \u201cthat we’re back as an organization, and now it’s to prove that we’re back as champions and on top again. And these guys did it. They cemented their legacy at what is a club with incredible history and legacy, and I’m proud of them. It will bond them together as a group forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n At first, midfield veteran and local product Mark Delgado<\/a> simply sat down on the field, for a long time nearly motionless, spent from 90-plus minutes of hard graft. While lauded attackers Joseph Paintsil<\/a> and Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/a> got the goals and the spotlight that accompanies them, it was the engine-room labor of Delgado, man of the match Gast\u00f3n Brugman<\/a> and Edwin Cerrillo<\/a> that had asserted the pitch control needed to subdue the Red Bulls.<\/p>\n That cuts in marked contrast to the flowing, wide-open soccer the Galaxy had conjured up for most of the season and underlines the steely resolve just under their surface.<\/p>\n \u201cListen, I got the callup, I did what I could for the team. I got an assist, I ran my ass off,\u201d Delgado later told MLSsoccer.com, both fatigue and fulfillment evident in his demeanor after his fourth career MLS Cup final, seven years on from winning the 2017 edition with Vanney at Toronto FC<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was another championship. I know what it takes. I’ve been here now four times \u2013 this one just kind of hits different, right? This one hits home. I\u2019m from the LA area. I grew up coming to these games, watching these games with my family, watching Cobi Jones, and now to be on the field wearing the crest, wearing the jersey and now adding a sixth star to this badge, there’s no feeling like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The most storied franchise in the league ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com\/5Joby41IYi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) December 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n A couple dozen meters to Delgado\u2019s left, goalkeeper John McCarthy<\/a> grabbed equipment manager Ra\u00fal Vargas and propelled him towards the supporters\u2019 section, pointing at the beloved club icon who\u2019s been with the Galaxy since year one, way back in 1996, with a handful \u2013 literally \u2013 of championship rings to prove it.<\/p>\n Those who spend the most time at 18400 Avalon Blvd, players and fans alike, revere Vargas, an unassuming type whose daily grind provides the team with a foundation for performance. They know how important he and others like him are to the survival, let alone success, of their club; they are its institutional memory, its culture personified.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have a full group fully invested in the team and the bigger picture, it makes a huge difference,\u201d said McCarthy, the first player to win this title with both the Galaxy and their crosstown rivals LAFC<\/a>, in LA\u2019s beer- and champagne-soaked locker room. \u201cWhen you have a good group of guys and not really any a–holes, if they’re fully invested, and everyone gets along well on and off the field, it makes a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Vanney had spoken earlier in the week of the team\u2019s desire to add a sixth ring so Vargas\u2019 collection could expand to a second hand, one more spark of motivation in what turned out to be a winning constellation. Sharp elbows, competing egos and self-interest are often woven into the fabric of a so-called big club. But this Galaxy group feels something different, something more.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, my God, this is a true family in here,\u201d explained homegrown defender Jalen Neal<\/a>. \u201cSometimes the season can get long and you can kind of dread some days coming to the stadium, thinking, \u2018Oh, I have to see the same people over and over again.\u2019 But these guys make me want to come to the stadium every single day. They keep me motivated. They keep challenging me. They keep pushing me.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, you can see it all around. Everyone in this group is like a family, whether it’s from players, staff, front office, everyone. It’s literally family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Gs have long been associated with big names, the likes of Puig, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, David Beckham \u2013 the glitz befitting a town known for stagecraft and star power. Yet in reality, DHSP is a long way south of Hollywood proper; the complex sits among blue-collar suburbs, streets lined with modest houses, home to working people who constitute the bedrock of greater Los Angeles\u2019 sprawling economy.<\/p>\n There were echoes of that in LA\u2019s Designated Player signings last winter, Paintsil and Gabriel Pec<\/a>. Though they arrived on hefty transfer fees reportedly totaling around $20 million, they\u2019re talents on the rise, not aging veterans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the DP spots opened up, we didn’t necessarily go look for guys with big names and huge careers already that are kind of behind them. We went for guys that are hungry and super talented and athletic and fit our style of play, which is important,\u201d said Vanney.<\/p>\n \u201cThey fit with the guys that we had, and we knew they were going to help make those guys better and make our team better. And we tried to build on a vision that these guys, they came here, again, with the desire to win, but also with the desire to keep improving and to keep building on their careers as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ALL FOR LA! ????????????@LAGalaxy<\/a> \/\/ MLS Cup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com\/hCfrJB2tJH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It\u2019s telling that Marco Reus<\/a>, a decorated German star with enormous experience on Europe\u2019s biggest stages, quietly slotted into Vanney\u2019s squad when he arrived in midseason, adapting himself to his new surroundings with no semblance of ego, starting barely half of the matches in which he appeared. A groin issue limited him to a substitute\u2019s role on Saturday, but that just opened the door for Brugman to step up and play hero.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was coming four months ago, I had the feeling that with this group, we are special,\u201d he said after Saturday\u2019s win, his remarks to reporters occasionally interrupted by teammates dumping cold beer on his head. \u201cI mean, it was a tight game at the end, to be honest. But at the end, we won the trophy and we are very, very proud.<\/p>\n \u201cThe characters, the mentality of the team \u2013 of course, you have a lot of ups and downs during the season, but especially now in these playoffs, we come together. We say we can do it, we can do it, but we have to stick together and trust in each other. And yeah, we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Galaxy\u2019s glory has been restored. But this redemption story owes just as much to the role players as the headliners, as John Nelson<\/a>, who down the stretch won the starting left back job ahead of Juli\u00e1n Aude<\/a>, a highly talented U22 initiative import, noted.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s why we’re so good. This team is so deep. No, I think that’s why we’re champions,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cOne thing I would say is, we’re brothers here: the culture, everything, we fight for each other, and it shows on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nCollective effort<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Tight-knit group<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Championship-caliber signings<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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