LA Galaxy fans fear club’s glory days are far gone as new season approaches

S aturday could be a historic day for Major League Soccer: the 2023 season curtain-raiser between Los Angeles FC and the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl is expected to break the league’s all-time single-match attendance record. As of 10 days ago, a reported 70,000 tickets had been sold – the current record stands at 74,479.

Yet some Galaxy fans are boycotting the game in protest at the club’s leadership. In particular, LA Galaxy president Chris Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski are being targeted for their role in a prolonged period of underachievement.

Once MLS’s dominant force on and off the field, winning five MLS Cups – three between 2011 and 2014 – the LA Galaxy have made the playoffs just twice in the last six years. Since their last championship in 2014, they have failed to make it past the Western Conference semi-finals, losing to LAFC in 2019 and 2022. The emergence of LAFC as the superior force in their own city has made the Galaxy’s downfall even more painful for their fans.

By almost every measure, LAFC have usurped the LA Galaxy since their introduction to MLS in 2018. They have been crowned Western Conference champions twice in five seasons and lifted their first MLS Cup last season, beating the Galaxy along the way. On top of this, the biggest names are now more likely to wear black and gold than white and navy blue – see Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini.

Even when big names like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Steven Gerrard have been lured to Galaxy, disappointment has followed. Ibrahimovic’s personal contribution was excellent – 53 goals scored in 58 MLS games – but the team missed the playoffs in his first season and lost to LAFC in the playoffs in his second. LAFC’s big names, on the other hand, have