You don’t have to look long or far to spot the differences between this year’s Galaxy team and last year’s.
The lineup? Eight of the 11 players the Galaxy started in Saturday’s El Tráfico win over LAFC weren’t with the team at the start of last season. The standings? The Galaxy were 13th in the 14-team Western Conference table at this point last season, this year they have the second-best record in the league and are closing in on their first conference title since 2011.
And what about their record. Last year the Galaxy won eight games all season; they’ve already won twice as many this year, clinching a playoff berth with five games left.
For coach Greg Vanney, only the numbers have changed. The team’s values, philosophy and goals, he said, have remained constant. And that consistency, a little luck and a few other things the naked eye can’t see are what has really fueled the team’s best season in a decade.
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“We had to sort out our roster a little bit. But the vision for what we wanted and how we felt the team could be successful didn’t change,” he said. “A lot of things have to come together for you to have a turnaround like we did. A lot of credit [goes] to just the vision for what we wanted to do, sticking to it, and then finding the players who fit into that vision.”
Maybe. But there’s more to it than that.
Take Saturday, for example. Both teams needed a victory to improve their chances of winning the conference and securing home-field advantage in the playoffs. So when LAFC, arguably the deepest team in MLS, ran out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes, it appeared as if that issue had been decided.
Last year’s Galaxy would have quit at that stage. And it wasn’t a consistency in the team’s vision that brought them back Saturday. It was heart, grit, determination and a few other things the naked eye can’t see.
“To get punched in the mouth, to be down two. The response just showed a lot of maturity and a lot of belief,” Vanney said.
“In my nearly four years here, this is one of the proudest moments I’ve had of this group,” he continued. “The courage they showed and the personality they showed in the second half, it was fun to watch. They came together and believed in what they are doing and believed in the mission and got it done.”
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