Know Your Foe: L.A. Galaxy

Charlotte FC’s historic home opener will be against arguably the most iconic team in MLS history.

Here is everything you need to know about our foe:

History

It’s no coincidence that the team located in the City of Stars is named the Galaxy. Los Angeles is home to the numerous “stars” of Hollywood and the club has lived up its city’s reputation.

L.A. Galaxy was one of the 10 founding clubs in Major League Soccer. They began competing when the league made its debut in 1996, and in their first season won the western conference but fell short in the MLS Cup final against D.C. United.

They would continue to be competitive in the following years, winning their first piece of hardware in the 1998 season, finishing with the highest number of points, earning the Supporter’s Shield.

With the help of United States Men’s National Team legend, Cobi Jones, they went on to win the 2000 CONCACAF Cup, 2001 and 2005 U.S. Open Cup, 2002 Supporter’s Shield, and the 2002 and 2005 MLS Cups.

But it was when the Galaxy signed global superstar, David Beckham, from Real Madrid that they began to be globally recognized. Signing the English National Team and previous Manchester United player would change not only the Galaxy but the league forever.

The signing of David Beckham would lead to the addition of the Designated Player Rule, which would allow MLS teams to be able to sign three players who would be considered outside the salary cap. This rule was introduced to allow Beckham to join L.A. Galaxy and let to MLS being able to compete for stars on the international market, increasing the recognition of the league throughout the world.

However, in the years following Beckham's signing, the Galaxy would go through a trophy drought before having one of the most successful four years spans in MLS history. Between 2011 and 2014 the Galaxy would go on to win one Supporter’s Shield and three MLS Cups with arguably the greatest U.S. Men's National Team player of all time, Landon Donovan, leading the way.

The Galaxy became the first and only team to have won a total of five MLS Cups. In total, all of the Galaxy's trophies would add up to 12, making them one of the most successful teams in MLS history.

Currently

Like Charlotte FC’s previous foe, D.C. United, the Galaxy are looking to return to winning ways after an eight-year hiatus without winning any trophies and sporadically making playoffs.

They went out and hired Greg Vanney for the 2021 season, who has proven he can turn a losing MLS organization into a winning one when he transformed a Toronto FC into a powerhouse during his tenure.

In the first season under Vanney, they barely missed out on playoffs finishing 8th in the Western Conference but improving on their 2020 10th place finish. This year it’s full steam ahead to make the playoffs.

L.A. Galaxy have gone out and signed winger Douglas Costa, previous Juventus and Bayern Munich player and U.S. International Marc Delgado to further bolster their push for the playoffs. They’ve started their 2022 season in the best possible manner, beating the 2021 MLS Cup Champions, NYCFC in their home opener.

Key Players

Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez: Chicharito has scored goals his whole career for teams like Real Madrid and Manchester United, is the all-time leading scorer for the Mexican National Player, and continues to score for the L.A. Galaxy. He scored 17 goals and assisted three in the 2021 season and has already opened up his 2022 account with a goal against NYCFC.

Douglas Costa: Another player on the Galaxy that has played at the highest level, Costa is speedy, skillful winger who thrives in 1 v 1 situations. He is a player capable of producing moments of magic and keeps defenders on their toes.

Julian Araujo: Araujo, a Mexican international, plays as a right-back and is heavily involved in both sides of play. He’s a strong 1 v 1 defender who’s difficult to beat because of his relentlessness and speed and offensively gets involved by making overlapping runs and crossing the ball into dangerous areas.