Close but no cigar: The story of cup finals for LAFC in 2023
LAFC completed the heartbreak trifecta on Saturday with a 2-1 loss in MLS Cup to match their Concacaf Champions League and Campeones Cup losses
“If I say it I mean it,” the LAFC head coach began his post-match press conference following his club’s 2-1 MLS Cup defeat to the Columbus Crew. “The season was a success for us regardless of the result tonight.”
A rainy Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio marked the end of a grueling 2023 season for the no-longer-reigning champions who have lamentably gotten used to this disappointed feeling after finals over the past year. The club’s MLS record 53-game season required 62,784 miles of travel across five competitions (34 regular season games, five MLS Cup Playoff games, eight Concacaf Champions League games, two U.S. Open Cup games, and one Campeones Cup game) and included appearances in three cup finals, all losses.
LAFC players and staff watched Columbus Crew lift the trophy they hoped would be their (LAFC)
LAFC began this season as favorites to repeat as MLS Cup champions (+450) and their early form did nothing to dissuade that opinion. After fourteen matches, the Angelenos sat top of the Western Conference while on their way to León, Mexico for the Concacaf Champions League Final. That is where the sweet candy of the Cherundolo era began to see its sour moments. LAFC was outclassed by Club León, home and away, becoming the first MLS team to lose both legs of a CCL final. Campeones Cup was a closer match against Tigres UANL – another giant of Liga MX - but a Mexican side bettered LAFC again, ultimately prevailing in penalties. Then Saturday in MLS Cup, Cherundolo’s team fell at the final hurdle in a game where they were once again outplayed. Within thirteen months, the coach who became the first MLS manager to do the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup double in his first season turned into the only MLS manager to lose three finals in a single season. Though, in all fairness, they’re also the first MLS team to play in three cup finals in a single season.
“I will fight as hard as I can with you and anybody else who will categorize finals. They're all different,” Cherundolo contested me when I asked what he sees as the reasoning for his side’s losses in cup finals this season. “I know it's fun to dump things together and create your own statistics and facts. I know you have a tough job to do to fill papers and websites and cameras and all of that. But I won't do that. Every game has its own story and you cannot compare one with the other, they're just completely different. So we didn't play a very good first half tonight. That was the story tonight.”
Manager Steve Cherundolo has experienced unprecedented success which has led to unprecedented disappointment (LAFC)
It is clear Cherundolo views the ability to reach three finals (including two resulting from their play this season) as a successful season despite failing to win them, but you wouldn’t blame Black and Gold faithful who don’t feel the same way after suffering heartbreak in each of their four biggest matches of the season. Out of seven trophies on offer for LAFC as reigning champions, they won one. Undoubtedly, it was the least important one in the Western Conference Championship trophy but, “to get to [MLS Cup] and then say this is disappointing is disrespectful to the other 27 teams in this league who wish they were in this final.” as LAFC general manager John Thorrington logically phrased it. Nine of those teams (plus the Crew) will be competing in next season’s renamed Concacaf Champions Cup. LAFC will not. So I’ll let you decide; is 2023 a success for competing in three finals through unprecedented schedule congestion or is it a disappointment for the failure to win each of those finals, nor any other major trophy?
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