This Saturday marks the first El Tráfico derby of the 2024 Major League Soccer season between LA Galaxy and LAFC. Diego Fagúndez, LA Galaxy’s Uruguayan midfielder, emphasized his team’s determination to assert their ownership of Los Angeles.
Fagúndez stated in an ESPN interview, “We want the city to remain ours. They keep talking all over Twitter, everywhere, they fight (on social media) and that’s something very nice, but on the field, we have to control what we can. When we can score goals, we need to do it and try to come out happy from there with three points and know that we continue fighting and remain at the top.”
The rivalry between the two Los Angeles teams began on March 31, 2018, during LAFC’s debut year in MLS, with an intense first encounter that saw LA Galaxy claim a 4-3 victory. Since then, they have played against each other 21 times across all competitions, including knockout matches. In head-to-head matchups, LA Galaxy leads with 9 wins, 5 draws, and 7 victories for LAFC.
LA Galaxy has had a strong start to the 2024 season, remaining unbeaten after six matches and leading the Western Conference standings with 12 points.
Diego Fagúndez, a 29-year-old midfielder, highlighted the Galaxy’s stature in the league, saying, “Everyone knows that the Galaxy is a very big team in this league because of all the championships they have won, it’s very nice that we’re up there (in the table), but it’s also a very long season, we have to keep working, trying to keep fighting every game, when there are opportunities to finish off teams, we have to do it, the important thing is the next match and then continue fighting.”
Fagúndez, who joined LA Galaxy midway through the previous campaign from Austin FC, has a rich history in MLS, having signed with the New England Revolution in 2011 at the age of 16 as a Homegrown Player. With over a decade of MLS experience, he is on the cusp of joining the exclusive 70-70 club, which includes players with at least 70 goals and 70 assists, a feat achieved by only ten other players in the league.
Diego expressed his eagerness to achieve this milestone, saying, “Of all the things I’ve been able to accomplish here in MLS, it’s very nice, I’m one goal away, I’m looking for opportunities and the ball doesn’t want to go in, but hopefully on Saturday if I have the chance to score, it would be very nice. My whole family and I are looking for that goal, but when it comes, it will come. The most important thing now is for the team to keep winning and stay on top.”
This Saturday, LA Galaxy will visit BMO Stadium seeking to maintain their unbeaten streak in another exciting edition of El Tráfico.
