CARSON, Calif. – Romain Alessandrini took a gamble moving to America but after his first season with the LA Galaxy, he couldn’t be happier about the move to Major League Soccer.
Alessandrini notched a brace and added an assist as he led the Galaxy to a 3-0 victory over Minnesota United in the team’s final home game of the 2017 season.
After another remarkable performance which brought his scoring total to a team-high 13 goals and 11 assists, the Frenchman could not hide his emotions.
“One goal was for my girlfriend, and the other was for my daughter,” he said holding back tears as he spoke to LA Galaxy Insider referencing his newborn Naomi who was born in August.
For a final time in 2017, the StubHub Center faithful were treated to a fantastic showing from the 28-year-old winger. Alessandrini opened the scoring by slicing through two defenders and unleashing a shot that beat Bobby Shuttlesworth. Minutes later, Alessandrini played a brilliant ball with the outside of his foot to the head of Jonathan dos Santos to double the Galaxy’s lead.
As the game wore on, the Frenchman remained dangerous, and in the final moments, he completed his Man of the Match performance with a brilliant counterattacking finish.
“He’s a dangerous player,” Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid said. “Early in the game, we thought we could take advantage of the matchup with their left back and obviously, that worked out for us with the early goal that he got and then the second goal was just the icing on the cake.”
In Alessandrini’s eyes, the win was vital for Los Angeles, who earned their third victory of the year at StubHub Center and will close out the season next Sunday against FC Dallas.
“It was important for us tonight to win the last game at home. We did a good job, everybody gave everything on the pitch, and you can see the result,” he said. “It’s good for me; it’s good for the club, and for the team.”
When he arrived in Southern California at the start of the year, Alessandrini had little and knew virtually no-one, but now the Frenchman believes he’s found a home in Los Angeles and is already looking ahead to a repeat performance next season.
“I came [to Los Angeles] just with my girlfriend. My parents, my sister, and my family are all in France right now,” Alessandrini said. “It was tough for me, but I tried to give everything every day in every training and every day. Next year, I want to do the same thing.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at www.LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.