Heading into the 2022 Major League Soccer season, Chicharito has only one goal in mind: A sixth league title for the LA Galaxy.
The Mexican spoke exclusively to 90min about his expectations for the next season, his perspective on the American league and his path with the LA Galaxy. After spells in the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga and the German Bundesliga, Chicharito is looking to find his best form in Major League Soccer.
It’s been two years since you came to the MLS, what have you learned from soccer in this league?
I have learned much more than that: the joy and the way in which this country and the city of Los Angeles have received me also culturally and with how I live and obviously with all the Mexican people who live in Los Angeles, it is incredible to feel at home and part of the League (MLS), it is a very nice thing that this League has grown a lot.
What I liked about this project is not only what I represent for the LA Galaxy, which obviously wants to win the Sixth (MLS Cup), which this year we are going to do everything possible to achieve, but also in the League, which will consider it as a football image and outside of it so that this league can grow. This league is 26 or 27 years old and all the growth it has shown and that I can be part of that is something that I have liked very much and I am eternally grateful.
What do you hope to achieve this season, both individually and collectively?
Try to be the best version every day, in every training session, in every match and in the group, to be champions. We want the sixth for the best institution, the best team in MLS, such as the LA Galaxy. We will do everything possible for that, we are preparing and I think we are on a good path.
You played in England, Germany, Spain… what differences do you see between the leagues of these countries and the MLS?
There are many differences and the reality is that when we make comparisons, the narrative always goes to things that may be lacking or things that are better one over the other and the truth is, I believe that not only the MLS, but any league in the world has its pros and cons. There is no perfect league, there is no league that is the most favorable or the least favorable, it is a matter of taste, it is life. We have to learn and that is why I would like to give this message, not just because I am here, but because it is to taste. There are many people who say that the best league in the world is the Spanish one and there are many people who say that it is the English one and they will never be 100% sure which is the best, for example, when at the time the league was also Italian was the German, etc, so comparing them like this sometimes makes me a little reckless, that’s why I always want to mention that all leagues have their pros and cons, their culture also in which you have to adapt the way of life , because people believe that you only go there and play soccer and that’s it, then outside of it, where you spend more time is in a country, it’s in a city, with or without your family, with or without loved ones, then there are lots of issues around.
I think that something I always want to emphasize to the MLS is the growth of this league, all that they are investing in marketing, in players, in young players, in promises, in being able to send many players from here to play in Europe, the league as It has improved, expanding with teams, with cities, I think they are doing it in an incredible way and that I can be part of that, it is an honor.
What has surprised you about this league?
That they try to grow, the desire to grow, the desire to improve and the football level that every year is improving a lot because many players arrive, they do not necessarily have to be the DPs (Designated Players) or the figure, but many players from anywhere of the world. There are also many players who are coming out of the academy, from the basic forces of any team, so I think that, the desire to grow, the humility with which they are doing it and knowing that they have a long way to go, but also that they value themselves all that they have done well to continue to maintain it and continue to do so.
You have become a figure in the league, how does it feel to be received that way by the fans, the league and the LA Galaxy?
I am very grateful, I was also a child, I also had many shirts of my idols and players that I followed so I am very grateful and it is a driving force, a motivation and something that in my case gives me a lot of confidence to continue giving everything because it is the only thing that is in my control, obviously we do not have the results at hand, it is not at all predictable, but the only thing that can be predictable is my dedication, my dedication, professionalism, everything that I want to dedicate to my profession and this institution, to this project and return all that trust and gratitude, giving everything with my attitude, which is what is within my reach.
In recent months there have been many messages on social networks supporting you and asking for your return to the National Team that I imagine you have already seen…
How does this type of support from Mexican fans make you feel?
Well (he feels) chingón, he feels very good. Obviously it feels very cool, it’s going to be something that negative words will never come out of me. How many people do you have in the stadiums who go, who pay, who buy your shirt, who dedicate time of their lives to you to go see a sport that they really like, to go see you or some player.
It is something that I always appreciate, that I always have it there. For me, gratitude is something that the only way to return it is to give everything, and if they leave happy, they are welcome, and if they do not leave happy, it will be for the next one, also when I lose I never leave happy and I always try to do it The best way. I would love for people to know that from my point of view I am always the most self-critical person and I am the one who knows and feels when things do not go well and I always want to try to improve and be a better version day by day.
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