Soccer <\/p>\n
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles \u2013 halfway between the historic Hollywood hills and hip-hop hometowns of Compton and Inglewood \u2013 \u2018getting the bag\u2019 has increasingly become a marker of international stardom and success.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
On Saturday night, LAFC<\/a> will have an unprecedented opportunity to do exactly that in a single-match playoff against Mexican powerhouse Club Am\u00e9rica for qualification to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> (10:30 pm ET | DAZN.com, TBS, UniM\u00e1s, TUDN). And since Concacaf teams are guaranteed $9.55 million for participating in the tournament that’s held June 14 to July 13 across the United States, all that cash is up for grabs as well.<\/p>\n It\u2019s up to the Black & Gold to get the bag.<\/p>\n “It’s a great opportunity,” said LAFC forward Denis Bouanga<\/a>. “As I said before, it’s even better than an MLS [Cup] final. It’s gonna open doors. We play against a good team, so it’s exciting.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The winner of Saturday\u2019s playoff will enter Group D alongside Chelsea (England), Flamengo (Brazil) and ES Tunis (Tunisia), replacing Club Le\u00f3n after they were disqualified from the tournament due to FIFA\u2019s multi-club ownership rules. Should LAFC win, they’d join Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> (2022 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> winner) and Inter Miami CF<\/a> (host nation spot) as the third MLS representative competing for up to nearly $100 million as part of the tournament\u2019s unprecedented $1 billion prize pool<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first heard that this could be a possibility, the first thing that crossed my mind was what an opportunity it would be for us as players and for the club,\u201d said LAFC captain Aaron Long<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s so hard to play teams outside of your region as a club and as a player. You have to qualify for Champions League and you can only go so far outside your region \u2013 we’re still in North America, Central America a little bit. So to be able to play teams from overseas and other countries, it’s a huge opportunity to show ourselves, and to showcase what this club has been made for and built on. It’s massive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In Spanish, they\u2019re called gigantes<\/em>, and Club Am\u00e9rica are the biggest of them all. Despite falling to Toluca in the LIGA MX Clausura final less than a week ago, Las \u00c1guilas boast by far the most expansive trophy cabinet in the region, with 36 major pieces of silverware, including 14 league titles and seven CCC trophies. If anyone deserves this CWC playoff opportunity, Am\u00e9rica would reasonably believe it’s them.<\/p>\n But north of the border, LAFC have been among the most dominant MLS teams since their 2018 expansion season. In that time, they\u2019ve lifted four major trophies \u2013 two Supporters\u2019 Shields, one MLS Cup and one US Open Cup<\/a> \u2013 while making consistent, deep tournament runs year in, year out. If anyone would fail to be intimidated by Club Am\u00e9rica, it’s the Black & Gold.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the stakes are probably as high as it can get,\u201d said Long. \u201cTwo titans of North America battling it out. I’m sure BMO will be like an arena \u2013 a different level,\u2029I’ll just put it that way. I think the fans from both sides are gonna be going all in, giving 100%. And I mean, if you’re a fan, this is the game that you want to go and see, right? This is the game you want to go and watch. So it’s going to be incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n As is often the case with two massive clubs, competition is not their only connection. They negotiate, too. In fact, the most expensive signing in LAFC history will not be wearing black and gold on Saturday night, but instead the blue and yellow of Am\u00e9rica.<\/p>\n Former LAFC Young DP Brian Rodr\u00edguez had an up-and-down tenure in Los Angeles before his reported $6 million move to Mexico in August 2022, but his talent was never in question. Rayito appeared in 55 regular-season matches for LAFC (46 starts), tallying 8g\/12a, while being named to the prestigious MLS 22 Under 22 lists in both 2019 and 2020. Now his former team will aim to use anything they remember about their former teammate to shut him down on his return to BMO Stadium.<\/p>\n “Obviously super happy for him. He’s doing really well in Am\u00e9rica and has been a huge piece for them. We miss him here. We loved having him here,” said defender Ryan Hollingshead<\/a>.<\/p>\n “He’s got just so much talent \u2013 such a good footballer, really good dribbler, so good on the ball. It’ll be fun to see him again and in high stakes like this… but we know if he’s on the field, you’ve got to be careful and you’ve got to have an eye on him at all times.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n FIFA needed a stadium to host this unique match, which was easier said than done on short notice. Prioritizing markets where the Club World Cup would be played, FIFA encountered numerous scheduling conflicts when searching for a venue, in addition to being unable to commit themselves until the final Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in early May. The upshot was BMO Stadium, LAFC\u2019s home ground, became the best option.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a kind of match you need to play at 110%. To get the opportunity to play that kind of competition is a big chance for the boys,\u201d said striker Olivier Giroud<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI never played it. Basically, when we won the [UEFA] Champions League with Chelsea, I left to [AC] Milan the year after, so it could be nice to meet Chelsea again, but obviously it will be the massive game at the weekend against Am\u00e9rica. We play home, we need to start the game really strong, with good rhythm, strong intensity, and to play with our qualities. I’m pretty sure the boys understand the importance of the game for the club and for myself, and we need to grab this opportunity to play this competition.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the name on the outside of the stadium, inside, everything will be equal. Each team received equal ticket allocations with the same accessibility, and with many Am\u00e9rica fans already living in Los Angeles, the intended neutrality is likely to be reflected in the stands despite any perceived home-field advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cPlaying this game at home will be really important for us, playing in front of fans, 3252,\u201d said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris<\/a>. \u201cI know there will be a lot of Mexican fans in the club, so it will be probably 50\/50. But at the same time, it will be like a final. We know that we need our fans behind us like they [are] used to be to push us, to help us in a difficult moment, and I think all together we can make it.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, BMO Stadium isn\u2019t new to Club Am\u00e9rica either. This past February, Las \u00c1guilas made the trip north for a preseason friendly against LAFC, falling 2-1<\/a> courtesy of goals from Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s funny that we did play them in preseason this year, right?\u201d Long said. \u201cIt’s an interesting kind of caveat, so I guess we have a little bit of understanding of each other. And I believe they played their starters for the first half of that game, so we got a little taste of what they’re like and what they’re made of and how they play. I think they got a little taste of what we’re playing like and what BMO is going to be. And I think all that’s just gonna be amplified, kind of turned up to 100 on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n That can swing both ways. Am\u00e9rica are familiar with the stadium, but LAFC have confidence from beating Las \u00c1guilas mere months ago, albeit with little at stake.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s gonna be amazing,” said Hollingshead. “This is why we play football, right? To play against opponents like this, to play in environments like this, to play in a stadium like BMO will be tomorrow. I know the 3252 and our fans are gonna show up. I know Club Am\u00e9rica fans are gonna show up, and let’s do it. Let’s have a battle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In what will be his final season with the club, head coach Steve Cherundolo has a golden opportunity to get one last monkey off his back before returning to Germany.<\/p>\n Since his incredible 2022 debut season, in which he became the only first-year head coach to win the Supporters\u2019 Shield-MLS Cup double, finals have proven to be Cherundolo\u2019s biggest kryptonite. The following season, LAFC lost three finals in just over six months, including the CCC final against Club Le\u00f3n (which earned their playoff spot), Campeones Cup<\/a> against Tigres UANL and MLS Cup against the Columbus Crew<\/a>.<\/p>\nHuge opportunity<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Clash of giants<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Home field \u2018advantage\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Finals & farewells<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n