July 3 – When Olivier Giroud packed his bags for Los Angeles, it looked like another coup for Major League Soccer (MLS). Here was France’s all-time leading scorer, a man who had won everything from the World Cup to the Champions League, ready to grace American pitches with his elegant finishing.
Thirteen months later, the dream is dead. The 38-year-old striker has mutually agreed to terminate his LAFC contract, heading back to France with Lille on a free transfer. His parting shot? The MLS style “didn’t necessarily suit me”.
That’s a diplomatic way of saying his time in California was a disaster. Five goals in 37 total appearances tells its own story – a prolific striker who’d terrorised defenses across Europe looked bored and uninterested against MLS backlines. The man who’d danced through Serie A and muscled past Premier League centre-backs found himself swapping shooting boots for flip-flops under the Californian sun.
“Coming back to France 13 years later is an opportunity and an incredible challenge for me,” Giroud said at his Lille unveiling Wednesday. Challenge? One wonders what exactly was challenging about living in Los Angeles on a $3.2 million annual salary. The traffic on the 405 during rush-hour, perhaps?
The timing couldn’t be worse for MLS’s credibility. Fresh off Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brutal takedown of Inter Miami and the circus surrounding Lionel Messi’s status, American soccer finds itself defending its reputation once again. The “retirement league” jibes will be flowing freely after this embarrassment.
Remember LAFC co-president John Thorrington’s glowing assessment when the club signed their prize asset? “Olivier has a clear hunger to win, which he has done consistently throughout his club and international career.” That hunger apparently didn’t extend to adapting his game to American soccer’s unique demands.
At 38, Giroud insists he’s nowhere near finished. “I feel good for my age and I want to play until my body says stop,” he declared. Fair enough – but his body wasn’t the problem in MLS. His inability to find the net was.
“I need challenges, to challenge myself,” he said. “This challenge speaks to me.”
The challenge of making MLS work, evidently, didn’t speak loudly enough.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1751616219labto1751616219ofdlr1751616219owedi1751616219sni@o1751616219fni1751616219