LA Galaxy: Zlatan Ibrahimovic departure can be positive

This week, Zlatan Ibrahimovic confirmed his exit from the LA Galaxy. While his goals will be difficult to replicate, his exit can be positive for Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s side.

When Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived in Major League Soccer, it was quite inevitable what was going to proceed. Even at 36, coming off an ACL tear after a relatively torrid time at Manchester United, such was his dominance wherever he went in Europe that the expectation for his time in America was the same: to conquer.

And for the Los Angeles Galaxy, that is precisely what he did. He played 56 regular-season games across two years for the LA Galaxy. He scored an astonishing 52 goals with 17 assists. If that is not domination, I do not know what is.

In any other year, he would have been named league MVP. Potentially twice. But in this present era of MLS greatness, Josef Martinez and Carlos Vela were making history. Zlatan won Newcomer of the Year in 2018 and led the Galaxy to the playoffs in 2019, but ultimately fell short of his ultimate goal.

Now he departs Los Angeles having ‘conquered’, per his elaborate and quintessential social media post. Whether he did conquer or not is up for debate. On a personal level, he was magnificent. The numbers speak for themselves. But football is about winning trophies, as Ibrahimovic himself will tell you, and the LA Galaxy did not win anything under his jurisdiction.

And while his contributions were mightily impressive and important for the Galaxy, their overreliance on the centre-forward hampered the general play of the team. Zlatan was fabulous, yes, but he was fabulous at the extent of the overall cohesiveness and chemistry of the collective unit.

Where Josef Martinez and Carlos Vela slotted into the system nicely, the players capable of sensational moments but not completely freelancing such that they unhinged the overall balance of the side, Zlatan was selfishly brilliant. Brilliant unquestionably, but potentially at the harm of the LA Galaxy.

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Now his departure is confirmed, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is a world-renowned coach who implements a high-octane style that each and every one of his players must buy into and execute for it to be successful, can begin to build a team, not a supporting cast to a star. He will also have a third Designated Player spot to play with, and that is without restructuring Romain Alessandrini’s contract, as is anticipated after his injury troubles.

Alessandrini is an excellent player, but after two heavily injury-plagued seasons, it is unlikely that the Galaxy will keep him at a DP level. This potentially opens up two DP slots for Dennis te Kloese to work with and rebuild the attacking element of the team.

With Cristian Pavon’s loan including an option for a permanent deal, one that the Galaxy will surely take up after his excellent performances, there are already pieces for te Kloese to build around. Zlatan’s exit may also free up some funds to invest in the defence, the major issue for the LA Galaxy during the Swede’s time at the club — they conceded 64 and 59 goals in the last two seasons.

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On a purely individual basis, Zlatan has been superb in MLS. There is no doubting that fact. But for the LA Galaxy, his departure, while leaving a gaping hole in attack, could be a chance to rebuild and even better themselves. It should not be all doom and gloom.

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