Carlos Vela scored a penalty kick for Mexico in the World Cup against South Korea. He is continuing to show what are LAFC are missing with him and other star players in Russia.
It has been a remarkable inaugural season for Los Angeles FC. While they have been able to invest heavily in the team, a new stadium and in the infrastructure necessary to quickly achieve success, I am not sure many foresaw the immediacy of their rise into the elite tier of MLS teams.
And yet, here they are — they currently sit in third place in the Western Conference, five points Sporting KC and FC Dallas with a game in hand on the latter.
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Much of their success has come down to a startling sprinkle of south and central American attacking flair. Marco Urena of Costa Rica. Diego Rossi of Uruguay. And, most importantly, Carlos Vela of Mexico.
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It is the latter that is integral to Bob Bradley’s system. Fielded as the central attacking midfielder, Vela, a former striker in his younger days, has the freedom to roam throughout the pitch, picking up positions in the final third that can make him very difficult to mark. He still has the clinical edge from when he was a striker, but has added an element of creativity and guile to his play that makes him an all-around attacking threat.
However, he is currently plying his trade in Russia, at the 2018 World Cup with Mexico where he is also fielded as the heartbeat of the side as the central attacking midfielder. It was in this role that he was central to the dismantling of Germany, picking up the ball on the counter-attack and breaking with real pace and attacking intent, and it was in this role again that he became only the second non-US MLS player to score in a World Cup, sliding home a penalty in a 2-1 win over South Korea that all but secured Mexico’s qualification out of a very tough group.
Back in the States, LAFC are preparing for a tough run of fixtures without their most important and influential player. They played Columbus Crew on Saturday night — I am writing this piece before that match has been played, but am aware it will be published after — and then face the Philadelphia Union, the Houston Dynamo, and Orlando City in the next three weeks.
Assuming that Mexico qualify for the knockout stages, which is almost certified, the earliest that Vela will return is the July 1st. It is more likely that he would not be available for selection until LAFC play Orlando City on July 7th. If Mexico make it to the quarter-finals, Vela won’t be back until July 7th at the earliest. At that point, his most likely fixture to return in will be against the Portland Timbers on July 15th. Either way, it is not good for LAFC. How many points can they pick up in that time? And this is also a period where they will be without Urena and Laurent Ciman among others.
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Carlos Vela’s absence will hurt LAFC. While I am sure that they overjoyed with his World Cup success, I feel that they would rather he be doing that at the Banc of California, not in Russia. Vela is showing LAFC what their missing. Let’s hope that they can tread water without him.