By Sergio Silva
28 Oct 2024, 1:46 PM EDT
The moment that Carlos Vela and Los Angeles FC were waiting for finally happened this Sunday with the return to the fields of the MLS of the Mexican forward after a long 10 months of inactivity.
Vela, who has been back with the Los Angeles team since mid-September after not having reached an agreement with another team to continue his career, entered in the 86th minute of LAFC’s victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1) in the MLS Playoffs.
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The Mexican, who had last played with the black and gold team in last season’s final of the North American championship, took the place of Gabonese forward Denis Bouanga, who scored one of his team’s two goals. The other goal was scored by Uruguayan Cristian Olivera.
“I want to thank you for the love you have always shown me and today, upon returning, hearing all those screams, the truth is that it generated a lot of emotion in me. “I am very happy to be able to return”commented the Mexican from the field to the team’s press department.
Since Carlos Vela’s return to LAFC was announced, he has been working to recover his level after a long absence from the fields. The club’s all-time top scorer, who signed a contract until the end of the season with the option of one more, began training with his teammates immediately.
“The truth is that the coach took a long time. “He should have given me a little more time, but it’s something.”the Mexican joked about Steve Cherundolo’s decision to admit him in the final stretch of the match played at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and to the applause of the fans.
When does LAFC play again?
With the victory achieved this Sunday against the Vancouver Whitecaps (2-1), LAFC began the MLS postseason on the right foot, in which they will face each other again against the Canadian team this weekend as a visitor.
Saturday’s game will be the second leg of the series between both teams for the first round of the playoffs. The winner of this series will advance to the conference semifinals where they will face off against the winner between Seattle Sounders and Houston Dynamo.
LAFC is coming off a great regular season in which it managed to finish in first place in the Western Conference after a great finish. They tied on points with the Los Angeles Galaxy (64) but due to a better goal difference (+20) they took first place.
Steve Cherundolo’s team was a finalist last season in the MLS, losing in the decisive match against the Columbus Crew.
Keep reading:
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