Chicharito signing helps LA Galaxy serve reminder of their stature

Javier Hernandez has finally come to MLS, and it makes sense that the LA Galaxy are the team to land Chicharito.

Ask someone to point you toward Los Angeles’ hottest soccer property and they’d likely wag a finger in the direction of Banc of California Stadium. Indeed, Los Angeles FC’s home has very quickly become a cauldron of Californian soccer as the expansion side flourished in its first two seasons.

LAFC games are among the loudest and most atmospheric in all of Major League Soccer and yet when it comes to the club that does more than any other to move the needle in North American soccer the finger must be pointed across town at the LA Galaxy instead.

They are MLS’s original marquee franchise, with the signings and trophies to back up the claim.

https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy/status/1220418321474035713?s=20

They changed the landscape of the sport in the United States with the watershed signing of David Beckham back in 2007 and are still capturing the imagination, signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2018 and following that up with the capture of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez this week.

Of course, the LA Galaxy certainly aren’t the only MLS franchise to have signed big name players for big money — see Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, Clint Dempsey, David Villa and Frank Lampard among others — but when it comes to the players who can truly make a mainstream mark in the most challenging sports and media market in the world, they have ended up in Carson.

On the basis of their respective achievements in the game, Chicharito doesn’t measure up to either Beckham or Ibrahimovic, but the Mexican striker has long been considered a dream signing by MLS clubs. As El Tri’s top all-time goalscorer and one of the most recognizable stars in Mexico’s soccer history, Chicharito could hold the key to luring the giant Mexican support that has largely resisted MLS to date.

Indeed, it’s estimated that there are more fans of Liga MX clubs in the United States than there are fans of MLS clubs. The prize for any franchise that can tap this well could be great, and this is what the LA Galaxy have given themselves a chance of doing with the signing of Chicharito from Sevilla on a three-year contract worth a guaranteed $6 million a season. It’s especially powerful for a club located in Southern California, home to the country’s largest Hispanic population.

Hernandez could have gone elsewhere. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward was targeted by several MLS clubs over a number of years, reportedly turning down the Chicago Fire and Orlando City in 2015. Ibrahimovic had similar options and yet it was the LA Galaxy who got deals over the line for both players.

The Carson club puts in the effort when it comes to attracting big name players. They waited two years to sign Ibrahimovic, maintaining their interest in the Swede even after a serious knee injury. They visited Hernandez in Seville in person to persuade the 31-year-old to swap Andalusia for California.

https://twitter.com/LAGalaxy/status/1220201967168831490?s=20

The LA Galaxy recognized the need to fill the void, on and off the field, left by Ibrahimovic and got Hernandez to keep the needle high. Such conviction in the transfer market has kept the Galaxy as one of MLS’s most talked about clubs even at a time when the likes of Atlanta United and LAFC have raised the standard in the division.

That rivalry with LAFC, which had already grown into MLS’s defining contest, will only intensify following the arrival of Hernandez.

LAFC have their own Mexican superstar in Carlos Vela, with the former Arsenal and Real Sociedad striker winning the MLS Golden Boot and MVP award last season. Such is the interest in Chicharito and Vela that one wonders if an ‘El Trafico’ derby at the LA Coliseum or Rose Bowl has been considered.

MLS has reached a stage in its development where big name signings don’t always make much of an impact. The novelty of seeing ageing Premier League and European stars collect one last paycheck in the States has largely worn off. Fans are now smarter and savvier than to be duped by such ploys.

There are, however, still some players who can make a difference and the LA Galaxy are still the best at landing them.