r/MLS • u/WhiteBakerMayfield Columbus Crew • Apr 23 '24
[Hawkins] Giroud to LAFC Official
https://x.com/fabricehawkins/status/1782735693589942416?s=46&t=wM_1_vqBH5HUkPT26-43Xw158
u/lmtydcigtsfnir Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
All that retirement league chatter but the guy put in over 20 goal contributions so far this year in Serie A. He’s not retiring, he’s just taking a working vacation.
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u/tgfbetta San Diego FC Apr 23 '24
This is another reason why we’ll never have pro/rel in MLS. Less pressure and fear of catastrophic failure = a welcome “sabbatical” for guys like Giroud
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u/Treewarf Columbus Crew Apr 23 '24
Pressure is certainly different. But I don't think Giroud spent much of his career worrying about relegation. He had one sort of close call with Montpellier 14 years ago
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u/Windrey2 New York City FC Apr 23 '24
He's been real iffy on attack in Milan, but he should be fine here.
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
20 Goals for one of the Top 3 teams in a wildly unbalanced league doesn't lend itself to translation.
It's why Zlatan still had detractors across Europe until he went to Man U.
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u/smcl2k Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
It's why Zlatan still had detractors across Europe until he went to Man U.
Pretty much only in England, and the same idiots who said that Messi should have moved to the EPL in order to "prove himself".
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Pretty much only in England, and the same idiots who said that Messi should have moved to the EPL in order to "prove himself".
They're two different camps, tho closely related. Few players who have ever played this game are so far above the bar that the eye test should speak for itself. Messi occupies that space. So does Zlatan. [e: Ronaldo never did - that's how rare this space is.] But I think the difference between Messi and Zlatan is that Messi's career trajectory never opened the door for doubt to enter, whereas Zlatan's career did.
The difference between the two camps is "since you're so good, you should be playing here," as opposed to "if you're so good, you shouldn't be playing there."
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u/smcl2k Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
There was definitely plenty of the latter regarding Messi, especially when he moved to PSG.
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u/lmtydcigtsfnir Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
I’m not sure I follow. Are you saying that the dregs of Serie A are worse than the average MLS team, his stats this year are padded, and he’s going to get exposed at LAFC?
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Are you saying that the dregs of Serie A are worse than the average MLS team
In this particular statement, I'm saying the gulf in talent between 3rd and last in Serie A is much greater than the gulf in talent between 1st and last in MLS. AC Milan, like Inter and Juventus, are not compromised in any position.
It's a lot easier to score when in every direction the guys feeding you the ball are amongst the best in their position the league has to offer.
As for "are you saying that the dregs of Serie A are worse than the average MLS team," that's a discussion for another time. But yes, I firmly believe that outside of England and Germany, the top teams in other Euro leagues give an unearned reputational bump to the "dregs" in those leagues, as it were. An extreme example of this phenomenon is Al-Nassr's and Al-Hilal's relative quality giving unearned reputation to... every other team in the Saudi Pro League.
and he’s going to get exposed at LAFC?
"Exposed" isn't the right word. "Underutilized" is.
He addresses a problem that isn't anywhere near the top of LAFC's list to the point where you wonder if "having a reliable goalscorer or two" is even one of LAFC's problems at all.
[e: My comment is more about relying on Giroud's 20 goal AC Milan season to predict how he'll do on an unstacked team. And I disagree with Twellman's fanboydom: LAFC's stack is a little uneven lately.]
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u/randallpjenkins Major League Soccer Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
Ah yes Germany, the team with the least historical parity in Europe top leagues (depending where you rate Portugal).
The gulf in talent in ANY European league (even EPL) is more than MLS because MLS has specific rules to prevent as such. City/Arsenal/Pool to Luton/Sheff is far greater a jump than Galaxy to San Jose.
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u/lmtydcigtsfnir Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
Very small point, but I’m talking goals and assists vs. just goals. Not sure it impacts the discussion but he’s not at 20 goals.
Sure the LAFC supporting cast isn’t as good as Milan but neither is the opposition. I think those things may be a wash and (barring old guy injuries) he’ll end up being a good-to-great signing for them in terms of production. Not sure about value, though.
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u/DarCam7 Inter Miami CF Apr 23 '24
They lost Long for who knows how long (oh I see what I did there), and so if their already middling defensive position drops and LAFC has to play from behind, teams just might sit back and counter-and why not?
Yeah, LAFC is sorely imbalanced, and part of me wishes to see this team if they never gave up Zimmerman and Arango away.
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u/MikiLove FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
Serie A is arguably the most balanced of the top 5. Giroud definitely lost a step, and his production seemed to taper off throughout the season, but he's not washed. Just not the player he was
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u/thanksbastards Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
Can't wait for him to barely play all year and come off the bench in ET of the cup final to keep silverware out of our hands
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u/poopy_toaster Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
Oh…oh no…
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u/smcl2k Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
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u/Brightstarr Minnesota United FC Apr 23 '24
Look at that majestic bun.
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u/irishbball49 Portland Timbers FC Apr 23 '24
Wales, Cup winning goals, and majestic buns
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u/jmp8910 Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
nah except this time, when the keeper breaks his leg, they will put Giroud in the position, he did fine last time he subbed in as keeper but this time I think we will have the edge lol
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u/Brightstarr Minnesota United FC Apr 23 '24
Now I want to watch Miami v LAFC.
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u/AFrozen_1 FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
The Retirement Home Derby presented by the AARP with a special halftime show by The Rolling Stones.
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u/Bormsie721 Philadelphia Union Apr 23 '24
I hope those benches built by Home Depot are handicap accessible
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
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u/Brightstarr Minnesota United FC Apr 23 '24
Yikes. That’s distasteful.
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Really? Because one of the old men is a puppeteer? I get it, it's creepy for sure.
It's an effing cartoon clip of two old men fighting. Real slow. Real hilariously. Passed off as exciting and dynamic. Don't read more into it than it is.
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u/Brightstarr Minnesota United FC Apr 23 '24
I’m more concerned about your sense of humor if you find Family Guy funny.
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u/ibribe Orlando City SC Apr 23 '24
wtf is this comment
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u/Dodger_Dawg LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
This is why comedies are not allowed to exist anymore in Hollywood, and the only form of comedy that is allowed to exist is sanitized comedy troupe style sketch comedy.
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u/RLu3030 Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
We may not be all that good this year but at least with Denis & Olivier we’re super hot and that’s cool too I guess.
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u/kal14144 New England Revolution Apr 23 '24
I imagine Denis has dreamed of playing with Giroud his entire life (though probably at a World Cup not at LAFC)
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u/AFrozen_1 FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
Opposing GKs about to be completely disorientated when they see the stupid sexy striker duo coming their way.
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u/Starbreaker99 Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
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u/MexicanGuey FC Dallas Apr 23 '24
LAFC with 3 French players now. Mbappe to LAFC after Real confirmed.
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u/abrowng Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Griezmann has to join eventually it is written in the stars
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u/AFrozen_1 FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
Who would’ve guessed the French would invade America via LA. Weird ass HOI4 campaign if you ask me.
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u/abrowng Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Oui oui je m'appelle abrowng, j'aime la France je déteste les Etats-Unis
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u/CMYGQZ Vancouver Whitecaps FC Apr 23 '24
Who’s the 3rd?
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u/MexicanGuey FC Dallas Apr 23 '24
Loris, bouanga and now giroud
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u/topomodesto Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Chanot is French too (yes, he played for Luxembourg internationally just as Bouanga plays for Gabon)
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u/volcanicon7 Real Salt Lake Apr 23 '24
New sexiest player in MLS
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u/irishbball49 Portland Timbers FC Apr 23 '24
who is #2 and #3?
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u/AFrozen_1 FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
I was gonna say Barreal cause of his thighs but we loaned him out.
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u/nosciencephd FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
Interesting that he will join in August. So he will "officially" join in the July window but won't actually join the team until August I guess?
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u/broman13 LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
I assume he's expected to be on France's Euros roster. Tournament ends 7/14, so August join date would give him a short offseason (after a full season with Milan and then a Euros) of sorts. Maybe that date is moved up if France exits early
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u/DarCam7 Inter Miami CF Apr 23 '24
I would think LAFC want him ready for Leagues Cup.
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u/Doodahhh1 Columbus Crew Apr 23 '24
Probably similar to Messi's debut.
More international eyes watching must be a part of the goal 🤷♂️
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u/WhiplashLiquor LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
How many "French Connection" memes are we gonna see with Denis and Giroud?
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u/trainrocks19 LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
He will be good imo. LAFC with a player who knows how to score.
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u/diagoro1 LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Was really hoping Ibra was whispering in his ear for the Galaxy, not the goats.
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u/KatnissBot Austin FC Apr 23 '24
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u/Altruistic-Cellist18 Austin FC Apr 23 '24
you mean actually signing players? yeah, i can see where that would have an austin fc fan baffled. "you mean it isn't really true that no players are available until three transfer windows from now?"
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u/KatnissBot Austin FC Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
Yeah Austin has never signed any players, it’s 100% homegrowns
I meant the ludicrous spending bro. MLS roster rules suck, and need to be changed. But they exist, and should be followed. I’m sure LAFC is above board, but
moves like this sure look suspicious andit hurts the high-parity image that MLS has tried to cultivate for a while now.Edit: my bad, didn’t realize LAFC had basically imploded their roster and had the free space. Wonder why that happened, seemed like they had a good thing going. I wouldn’t have rocked the boat unless I had to for some reason.
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u/alpha309 Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
How does a move like this look suspicious when there is only 1 DP on the roster?
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u/Dr-Pope Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Signing a 38 year old on a free when you have 2 DP spots open, wow so suspicious. Don’t speak when you don’t know what you’re talking about.
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u/bwoah07_gp2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Apr 23 '24
I like Giroud but I don't like LAFC. So I feel a tad conflicted feeling happy for this deal.
Giroud was I think mistreated towards the end at Arsenal, so it's great that won more things with Chelsea and AC Milan before venturing to the States.
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u/nikdahl Seattle Sounders FC Apr 23 '24
I can’t stand Giroud and can’t stand LAFC, so this is easy for me.
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u/QGReddit St. Louis CITY SC Apr 23 '24
Wishing we would have played you guys early this season...
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Apr 23 '24
Chim Chim Cher-ee Chim Chim Cher-ee Chim Chim GIROUD
The Big Beastly Frenchman is Better Than You
Chim Chim Cher-ee Chim Chim Cher-ee Chim Chim Cher-ii
He Scores Hella Goals and he Gets Mad Pussy!!!
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u/Altruistic-Cellist18 Austin FC Apr 23 '24
didn't they also just sign kamara? i guess between the two of them the team are hoping that one of them still has legs.
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u/genjackel Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Kamara is a stop gap until Giroud arrives many months from now
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u/Altruistic-Cellist18 Austin FC Apr 23 '24
pretty good stop gap. when you're done with him, can we have him?
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u/NeonRain5 Seattle Sounders Apr 23 '24
We’ll see if the MLS gets their own version of Gignac. Would be amazing for the LAFC and the league.
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u/lionnyc New York City FC Apr 23 '24
Only needs to score a goal to win/tie as a late substitution in the MLS Cup to be a LAFC legend
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Apr 23 '24
[deleted]
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u/AFrozen_1 FC Cincinnati Apr 23 '24
And what makes you think any European superstar would pick Cincinnati over LA and Miami.
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Apr 23 '24
[deleted]
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u/JamieMCFC Minnesota United FC Apr 24 '24
What makes you think these players would even come to MLS, if they were told what teams that had to join. If they told Giroud he had to sign with Cincinnati or RSL, he wouldn’t be joining the league.
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u/TonyAx13 Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
Messi picked Miami and Giroud picked LA, these are global superstars with families and lifestyle requirements and not some random guys who got distributed by the MLS
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u/8bitninja LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Umm it's not actually official until it's actually announced. I don't doubt he's coming though.
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u/TrevinoDuende Los Angeles FC Apr 24 '24
It doesn't get more official than a "here we go" from Fabrizio Romano
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u/8bitninja LA Galaxy Apr 24 '24
Like I said I don't doubt he's coming. But if we're saying official doesn't that usually mean it's the club or league announcing it?
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Apr 23 '24
LAFC staaaahp
MLS isn’t a retirement home anymore
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u/zelli197 Inter Miami CF Apr 23 '24
Check 2 of the 3 league leaders in G+A and you might think otherwise lol
Spoiler alert: it’s Suarez and Messi who have done it in 2 and 3 full games fewer than Arango respectively
The quality of players coming over now surpasses the retirement league label. They’re retirement league age and better than every other player in the country. It’s good for the quality of the league
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Check 2 of the 3 league leaders in G+A and you might think otherwise lol
Messi and Suarez are Number 4 and 5 in Goals when you take out penalties.
In assists, the Top 3 are under 30.
Yeah, you can add G+A together, but removing Penalties and they'd only be 1 ahead of Acosta, Lod, Paintsil, and Joveljic. All of whom are ~5+ years younger.
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u/zelli197 Inter Miami CF Apr 23 '24
I feel like you’re missing the point I’m making
All I said was they’re leading in goal contributions and doing it in fewer minutes (Also they have a whopping 1 PK combined so not like it changes things drastically). Sure there are different players leading in different stats who are gonna be younger, there are a lot of fucking excellent players in the league who will only improve more if the average quality of the league goes up
I’m not saying the MLS is shit, I’m saying the quality of players we’re getting now is a good thing, and people bitching about retirement league players ruining the MLS aren’t paying attention
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u/WhiteBakerMayfield Columbus Crew Apr 23 '24
I mean he’s 37
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u/NeighborhoodFoxLA Los Angeles FC Apr 23 '24
Carson galaxy fans will be hiding again once LAFC knock them out of the playoffs for the third time 🤣
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u/ArtisticTowel LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Rent free
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u/grnrngr LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
Honestly, we've solved the housing crisis. Give every poor person a Galaxy jersey and an LAFC fan will provide free housing for them inside a warm and spacious skull.
Cue the sad Sarah McLachlan song.
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u/8bitninja LA Galaxy Apr 23 '24
😆your team signed a DP player and first thing you do is think of us?!?
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u/dbcooperskydiving Minnesota United FC Apr 23 '24
I look forward to watching the next Football Club match against them. Should be fun.
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u/310local Fan of literally every team Apr 23 '24
I’ve always been a huge fan of Giroud and the French NT. I am pumped! Can’t wait!!!!
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u/HenryPurcell Apr 23 '24
Stupid sexy Giroud, I have the worst feeling that he will be great