CARSON, Calif. –The addition of Los Angeles Football Club to MLS in 2017 may not change much for LA Galaxy club president Chris Klein, but LA’s players admit that they hope a new rivalry will be born in Southern California.
After the dissolution of Chivas USA earlier this week, MLS unveiled the powerhouse ownership group of LAFC—a “working title” and not the team’s official name—at a press conference along Sunset Boulevard on Thursday. The group included many of the same faces that took ownership of the Dodgers several years earlier including Lakers great Ervin “Magic” Johnson.
While not much is known about what the team once they finally take the field in two years, Galaxy captain Robbie Keane said that he was excited to see the club join MLS.
“I think it will be exciting. What I will say about Chivas is that when you’re around the dressing room and locker room and you see these guys walking and people in the background, unfortunately they’ve lost their jobs, you know? For me it’s a shame,” said Keane. “Maybe the league could do something about that. But I think it’s exciting for the league. I’m sure if they get a new team, whatever they call it, it’ll get more [players] that want to come here. I’m excited about it.
“I think it’s good though because we need a fierce rivalry. If you look at Seattle and Portland, they’re good rivalries. With Chivas, I wouldn’t really call that a rivalry, to be honest with you,” he added. “We were in the same building, but with the declared attendance what they had … I’m used to playing these derby games where you had 60,000 people throwing abuse at each other, which is good in a friendly way. We didn’t really have that hear, hopefully we can have that with the new team.
Landon Donovan agreed that the addition of LAFC in 2017 will only enrich the local soccer landscape.
“I think it’s great. This city, when Chivas were good, it made this rivalry good and made it special for everyone,” Donovan said. “Obviously they’ve had a tough time with a lot of different things over the years, but I think having a chance to have new ownership obviously a new brand and a new team is fantastic for this market. I think it can only bring positives.”
