Death of infant son fuels resolve of veteran Miami defender De La Garza
A.J. De La Garza is not the most imposing Inter Miami player. At 5-9 and 150 pounds, he is one of the smaller center backs in Major League Soccer history.
But he has been an influential figure on and off the field every step of his career and could prove crucial as the nascent team heads into its MLS playoff opener Nov. 20 at Nashville SC.
Everywhere De La Garza goes, he wins trophies. His resume includes a pair of youth national titles, two NCAA titles and three
MLS Cup championships.
The 33-year-old defender — son of a Native American mother and MexicanGuamanian father — makes up for his slight stature with his timing, tenacity, positioning, voice and smarts. He knows when to step up and when to retreat. De La Garza never backs down from an opponent, facing every challenge with undaunted courage.
Never was that more evident than on Sept. 4, 2014, when he and his wife, Megan, lost their newborn son, Luca, who died one week after birth of complications from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital defect.
The De La Garzas had known since April there was a high probability
Luca would not make it. They were given the option to terminate the pregnancy, but they held onto their faith and hoped for a miracle. Through it all, De La Garza said the soccer field was his refuge, the one place he could temporarily clear his mind of
“the real problems” he faced.
Three months after burying his first child, De La Garza helped lead the Los Angeles Galaxy to the MLS Cup championship. Players wore black “Luca” armbands. When he heard the final whistle, he dropped to his knees and wept.
“Winning that MLS Cup was very emotional for me, the most memorable moment of my career,” he said.
“I learned that you never know when it could be your last day. When I first heard I was having a son, I thought about him being a professional soccer player and going to his games when I’m old and gray and hearing his name on the loudspeaker, but he never had that opportunity. So, now I am playing for Luca every single day. When times get tough, I remember that I’ve been through tougher things in my life and I can overcome.”
Determined to keep Luca’s name alive, the De La Garzas started the “Luca Knows Heart” foundation, which raises funds and hosts blood drives and other events to increase awareness of heart defects. They went on to have two daughters — 5-year-old Noelle (who was born at 8:28 p.m., which A.J. viewed as a sign from Luca, who was born on Aug. 28) and 20month-old Alexi. They are expecting a third daughter in late November.
Toronto FC defender Omar Gonzalez played alongside De La Garza for 10 seasons — three at the University of Maryland and seven with the Galaxy. They are close friends. Gonzalez calls De Le Garza an inspiration.
“Our wives were both pregnant at the time, and there were a couple other pregnancies on the team,” Gonzalez recalled of 2014. “A.J.’s child was the first to be born and to go through that tragedy of him not making it was very difficult on him. For us, thinking about our baby coming, we just couldn’t imagine what he and Megan were going through.
“The way he dealt with everything was truly inspiring. He came in every day and did his job and left everything on the field.
“He was laser focused.
From the outside, we’re thinking, ‘How’s this guy doing this?’ I would be a wreck. He had so much resolve. Every time we scored a goal that season, we’d celebrate Luca. I know he would have loved to have been carrying Luca on the field after we won that MLS Cup, but at least he knew we won it for Luca.”
New England Revolution coach Bruce Arena, the former U.S. national coach, was the Galaxy coach who drafted De La Garza 19th overall in 2009 and coached him for seven seasons. He got choked up talking about him during a phone interview Thursday night.
“A.J. is one of the greatest people I have ever met, and I am honored to call him a friend,” said Arena, pausing to compose himself. “The real rewards of coaching are being involved with people like A.J. You can talk about winning trophies. That’s wonderful and nice; but the experiences and relationships you have with people like A.J. last a lifetime.”
Arena says De La Garza’s character makes him a coach’s dream.
“He has a great attitude and great personality. He can deal with the highs and lows you deal with in sports,” Arena said. “He’s not a yo-yo like most players where they’re at both ends of the spectrum in terms of their emotions. He’s got a real steady way about him.”
De La Garza was raised in Bryans Road, Maryland., not far from Washington, D.C. His father worked for an alarm company; his mother, a bank. He began playing soccer at 4 years old, and immediately stood out with his speed and skills. He was also introduced to Native American customs at a young age.
“We’d go to powwows, have the whole outfit, the feathers and dancing, chanting and cheering,” he said. “That was something I did when I was very, very young. But then soccer took over my life.”
By age 12, he was playing for the D.C. United youth club and traveled to Paris to play against youth teams from Manchester United, Paris Saint Germain and South African club Orlando Pirates.
He went on to star at the University of Maryland, then joined the L.A. Galaxy, where he was a teammate of Inter Miami coowner David Beckham. He remembers being “in awe” the first time he encountered Beckham.
“This guy was a global superstar, played for Manchester United and Real Madrid, and here I am fresh out of college and
I’m playing with David Beckham and Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, guys you’ve watched play in World Cups,” De La Garza said. “That was the moment I realized, ‘I’m a professional.’”
Arena knew early on that De La Garza was a rare breed of defender.
“He reads the game so well,” Arena said. “He’s smart. There are things he does you can’t coach. I have players now that I wish had A.J.’s senses on the field. Every now and then he’s going to lose physical battles. He’s not going to win everything in the air, but he’s going to battle to neutralize players when he’s at a disadvantage physically.
“David Beckham should know this because David Beckham wasn’t the most gifted athlete, either. David used his brains and skill to be an effective player and that is what A.J. does.”
Despite his vast experience, De La Garza was stuck on the Inter Miami bench until early October. An injury to Nico Figal and yellow card accumulation suspension for Andres Reyes opened a slot for De La Garza.
“I am happy to see him get playing time, it’s welldeserved,” Gonzalez said. “It can be really hard for a player who doesn’t see the field for almost the entire year to be able to stay focused and keep working every day even though you know you don’t have a shot. A.J. did. He’s that guy. He’s clutch.”