Grimaced expressions appear like involuntary reflexes on the faces of goalscorers when things don’t go their way.
“It’s normal for an attacker to be frustrated when you don’t score,” said Denis Bouanga, Los Angeles Football Club’s back-to-back 20-goal man. “That’s the same for me.”
Bouanga didn’t exactly light it up when he arrived during the 2022 summer transfer window, taking six matches before scoring his first goal for LAFC.
The longest drought for Bouanga in black and gold ended with a game-winner in Portland that clinched the Supporters’ Shield. From that point on, the front-flipping Frenchman’s bouts with frustration have been few and far between.
Since joining LAFC this August as the highest-paid player on the roster, another French forward, Olivier Giroud, is the clubhouse leader in that category.
Coming off a productive season in Italy in which Giroud delivered 15 goals and eight assists during 35 games for AC Milan, the 38-year-old all-time leading scorer for France is off to a slower-than-expected start in America.
While contemplating leaving Europe for Major League Soccer, Giroud conferred with Galaxy legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, his teammate in Milan, who told the 2018 World Cup winner that he will “enjoy a league for strikers because the teams, they don’t play to keep the result or defend. They play to score goals and to get pleasure for the passionate fans.”
“It will be nice for me,” was the message Giroud heard.
Ibrahimovic famously scored a brace in less than 20 minutes during his MLS debut, leading the Galaxy to a comeback win in the first El Trafico in 2018. Over two seasons in MLS, the big Swede finished with 53 goals in 58 games.
So far, in 13 MLS appearances, including three postseason games, Giroud is goalless. After 1,015 minutes in all competitions, he has seven shots on target in 23 attempts – putting one on frame in his previous eight appearances.
“I’ve been impressed by the intensity of the game,” Giroud said.
Following the Open Cup, Giroud’s goal tally is unchanged, as is the frustration he shows on the practice field and in competition, where pained looks have accompanied just-misses, mis-hits and moments of missed connections with his teammates.
“His ability to be the bounce pass and then get in the box and score goals is what we want,” said English midfielder Lewis O’Brien, who debuted one game after Giroud and quickly became a fixture in the lineup. “Sometimes I don’t think we play to that as much as we can. He’s obviously got different qualities than some of the players who have been here in recent years.”
In the midst of his tough stretch, Giroud still has three assists and a pair of goals, first in LAFC’s unsuccessful Leagues Cup final at Columbus in late August, and a month later while winning the U.S. Open Cup.
“Two goals in two finals,” Giroud said after tapping in a simple cross in front of the net Sept. 25. “I hope I will score more and more important goals for the team. That’s what matters.”
The opportunity for Giroud to score “more important goals” comes with the elevated stakes of the MLS Cup playoffs, which recommence Saturday at BMO Stadium for a conference semifinal matchup against the Seattle Sounders.
Giroud began on the bench in the club’s last contest, snapping a string of six straight starts for head coach Steve Cherundolo. Instead, Giroud entered at halftime as LAFC shifted formations and went on to beat the Vancouver Whitecaps in three games to advance past the opening round, keeping alive its bid for a third straight trip to the MLS Cup final and third championship match this season.
Giroud can take comfort in the fact that, while things haven’t clicked, LAFC repeatedly finds ways to win without him on the scoresheet. In that sense, he triumphantly lapped Ibrahimovic, who failed to reach a final for the Galaxy.
“I don’t have to explain anything to him,” Cherundolo said Thursday. “He’s seen all levels of the sport and all levels of ups and downs as well. The work rate for the team is always more important than scoring goals, from any attacker. And then depending on how many goals you score and how few you score, that ratio goes up and down. The direction can fluctuate for attackers. He’s well aware of that and puts the work in every week, every day.”
LAFC has always featured three attackers and preferred wingers over center forwards to rack up big goal totals – leading Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi and Bouanga to claim the Golden Boot in three of the past five MLS seasons.
“Olivier is helping a lot by his presence on the field,” Bouanga said. “He frees us wingers by his presence and bringing the defenders to him. I’m sure the goals are going to come pretty soon.
“Of course it’s disappointing for him, but we can help.”
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At his most influential, Giroud has dropped deeper into LAFC’s attack, facilitating and combining with midfielders, defenders and his good friend, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, all the while giving Bouanga and Mateusz Bogusz opportunities to reap most of the rewards in and around the box.
“As a striker, I always want to make the difference to help the team to be efficient,” Giroud said. “It’s all about dealing with your ‘frustrations.’”
MLS Western Conference semifinal
Who: Seattle at LAFC
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: BMO Stadium
How to watch: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)