LAFC gets chance to prove it’s no fluke
Bob Bradley doesn’t put much stock in what reporters think or what rankings say about his soccer team.
“I don’t pay any attention to anybody’s power rankings or much of what gets said or written,” he said Friday, punctuating the thought with a dismissive chuckle.
That’s too bad because much of what is being said and written about Bradley and his Los Angeles Football Club would turn that chuckle into a wide smile. LAFC is riding a Western Conference-best five-game winning streak and playing some of the most attractive ball in Major League Soccer heading into Sunday’s match against New York City FC at Banc of California Stadium. And people have noticed. LAFC has the conference’s top goal scorer in Carlos Vela, the league’s co-leader in assists in Diego Rossi, and a goalkeeper in Tyler Miller who is tied for second in the league in shutouts. Bradley’s team entered the weekend second in MLS in wins and, at 6-2-1, second in the conference in points with 19.
It’s the best start for an expansion team in league history.
As good as Bradley and LAFC have been, we really don’t know how good they are. Only three of their first nine games came against teams with a winning record at the time — and LAFC beat just one of them, Vancouver.
Even Bradley seems uncertain what to think. While he clearly likes his team, he goes out of his way to temper any praise with an acknowledgment that things are far from perfect.
“I see things that are going in a good direction. I still see things that still need to get better,” he said after a brisk training session last week. “I don’t think we’re a complete team yet. That’s what we work toward.”
Sunday’s game might give Bradley a good idea of how far he has to go. New York City (6-2-2) is second in the Eastern Conference and a point better than LAFC, having played one more game.
Though it has struggled lately, losing two of its last three games, New York City is a team with a playoff pedigree, having reached the Eastern Conference semifinals the last two seasons.
In some ways New York City, with a big-name coach in Patrick Vieira and a roster of big-name players led by David Villa and Sean Johnson, is what Bradley and LAFC aspire to be.
“When you play against good teams it tests your football ideas,” Bradley said. “Players look forward to these kinds of matches.”
Another thing that makes this game one of LAFC’s biggest of the young season is the fact it comes with the club at a crossroads: The match is the first of two consecutive games LAFC will play against 2017 playoffs teams and the third of six that Bradley’s club will play in a 22-day period.
Finding early success with an expansion team is difficult, especially one like Bradley’s squad, which is still adding players 21⁄2 months into the season. The coach has done a phenomenal job teaching his shortpassing, ball-control offense to players who, in many cases, are still getting to know one another.
But how will it do against a team that has limited opponents to 40% possession this season?
On defense, Miller and his veteran back line have four shutouts. But they’ve given up 14 goals combined in the other five games and Sunday they’ll be facing Villa, a former league MVP and World Cup champ who has scored more than 400 times for club and country.
It’s unclear if LAFC’s great start is more miracle or mirage. There’s no doubt it’s been unusual, though: Just three MLS expansion teams have made the playoffs in their first season and just one — the Chicago Fire in 1998 — won a title.
That team, also coached by Bradley, endured a fivegame losing streak early in the season, one the coach said united the roster and eventually fueled the title run. LAFC has yet to be challenged like that.
It figures to be tested Sunday. How it does on that test could go a long way toward determining whether Bradley’s current team should be considered a legitimate title contender as well.