CARSON, Calif. — As the champagne flowed in the Los Angeles Galaxy locker room on Saturday afternoon, Raul Vargas sat alone in his office. From across the hallway, you could hear the muffled sounds of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” through the walls, but other than that, things were pretty quiet.
Vargas is the Galaxy’s equipment manager and he is an MLS original, having been with the club since its inception in 1996. He is beloved by the team’s players and by its fans, as well, who have come to recognize him. His office, which sits under the stands on the stadium’s north end, is a cluttered mess that documents his 29 years in the game. There’s a framed jersey he made for former president Barack Obama on one wall, an autographed photo of David Beckham on another.
“Sometimes I think about retiring,” said Vargas, his MLS Cup winners medal hanging from his neck. “But with all the success the team is having, there’s no time to think about it, really. It’ll happen soon, but for now, I’m just going to keep enjoying it.”
Vargas was here for the club’s early days, serving its earliest superstars — Mauricio Cienfuegos, Jorge Campos and the like. He was here when Beckham arrived in 2007, turning his life into an absolute madhouse. And he prepared all of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s kits as well, printing a few extras every game for needy opponents, all of whom were desperate to get a jersey.
The Galaxy peaked during that Beckham era, going on a four-year run that was arguably the most dominant stretch put together by any team in league history. And then, something funny happened: things got a little quiet. The club struggled on the field, and it became a little less relevant off of it. The magic of the Galaxy, the club’s aura, practically disappeared.
A sixth MLS Cup title for long-serving LA Galaxy equipment manager Raul Vargas (Pablo Maurer/The Athletic)
On Saturday, with a laundry list of former Galaxy stars watching from the stands, the organization took a sizable step forward in reestablishing that vibe. After the final whistle, foundational players like Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and others walked amongst the confetti and rubbed elbows with the current crop of relative unknowns. If you squinted just a little, it almost looked like the Galaxy were back in their glory days.
“I’ve been in 10 MLS finals,” said Vargas, at the time looking for a stack of “2024 MLS Champion” hats to hand out to his players. “You learn how to appreciate these moments. You learn how to appreciate teams like this one, teams that play for each other, not just for themselves. Some of those other (winning) Galaxy teams, they played for each other — just like this one does.”
From the beginning, it just felt like the Galaxy’s day.
Even by Southern California standards, Saturday was impossibly beautiful. The sun rose over Dignity Health Sports Park, burning the mist out of the air and the dew off of the palms and succulents that surround the place. Slowly, the lots by the stadium filled with Galaxy faithful. Then came the taco and hot dog carts, and the Banda music.
The Galaxy have always had a reputation for being one of the league’s glamor teams, and they’ve sometimes faced criticism for feeling a little plastic, as have LAFC, the team up the 110 freeway. It’s a claim sometimes affixed to people in Los Angeles generally, and often unfairly, and that perception disappears the second you attend a match of any real importance here. Built in 2002, the place is a little worse for wear but remains one of American soccer’s crown jewels. It is an authentic experience.
The Galaxy’s fanbase is diverse and passionate and the club has done well over the years to connect with Latinos in the LA-area, something so many MLS clubs fail to do.
Thankfully, a decade of relative irrelevance — nationally, at least — has done little to extinguish the Galaxy’s popularity amongst locals.
“LA sports fans get a bad rap,” said Gio Montoya, a fan since 1996. “But the Galaxy fans, they’ve shown through thick and thin that they support the club no matter what. Good days and bad days. The culture here is just unmatched.”
At the pregame tailgate, the chatter among the Angel City Brigade, one of the club’s four recognized supporters’ groups, centered on the absence of injured star Riqui Puig. Supporters downed Modelos and lamented the loss of the Spaniard while hypothesizing about how the Galaxy might fare without him.
Except, in spirit, they weren’t really without him at all.
The Galaxy have had their share of stars in recent years — Ibrahimovic certainly comes to mind — but Puig is an entirely different animal, the type of young, exciting star Los Angeles has lacked for nearly a decade. He is one of those attacking players that please club owners, general managers and fans alike, deeply productive and deeply entertaining all at once. More than any other player in MLS — maybe even more than Lionel Messi — Puig is electric to watch.
Puig played on with an ACL injury during November’s Western Conference final (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Puig’s injury was a devastating blow to the Galaxy, but the club were determined to keep his place in the final, if not on the field. The Spaniard remained with the team all week, observing training and staying in constant contact with his teammates. Prior to the match, he spoke with them in the locker room. After the game, Galaxy midfielder Diego Fagundez said Puig offered a simple instruction:
“(Riqui said) ‘Don’t do it for me, do it for each other.’”
It certainly felt, at times, like the Galaxy were doing it for Puig. Fans chanted his name when he was shown on the video board and after both of the Galaxy’s goals, Puig’s teammates went above and beyond to pay their respects.
Galaxy winger Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring early with a nicely-taken finish in the ninth minute, and Vargas, the kit man, was ready. Anticipating what need may arise, he had one of Puig’s shirts close at hand. After a momentary pause it made its may to Paintsil, who held it aloft, making for an unusually emotional moment among the madness.
“Riqui means a lot,” Paintsil told reporters after the match. “He has been fantastic from the beginning of the season until now. So, what else can I do? I cannot do anything for Riqui but just show the appreciation for the love that he has shown us throughout the season. All I can do is just to lift his jersey and show LA Galaxy that he is the man.”
Joseph Paintsil pays tribute to Puig after scoring the MLS Cup final opener (Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljic did his part soon after when he scored the Galaxy’s eventual matchwinner. After paying homage to club legend Robbie Keane by emulating the Irishman’s iconic celebration, Joveljic raced to the sidelines, once again grabbing a Puig shirt and hoisting it toward the skies.
Puig was far from absent. He took the action in from a suite and eventually made his way down to the field for the Galaxy’s celebration, trading his suit for one of his jerseys. He promptly put the shirt on backwards, sprinting onto the pitch prematurely, believing the final whistle had blown, along with the rest of the Galaxy bench. Eventually, Puig did his own impression of Paintsil, Joveljic (and Lionel Messi’s) celebration, ripping his jersey off and holding it high for all to see.
No player is more intimately familiar with the Galaxy’s glory days than Donovan, who had a busy day on Saturday. He brought the trophy onto the field prior to the match, and after it, presented the Galaxy’s players with their winners’ medals.
Donovan is a Galaxy legend but over the 10 or so years between the squad’s last MLS Cup appearance and this one, he grew apart from the club. The phone rang a little less, so to speak, and Donovan felt unwelcome. Eventually, he stopped attending Galaxy games at all.
Club and player have since mended fences. Standing alone at the center of the pitch, Donovan grew emotional when recalling the Galaxy’s last title, in 2014, and thinking about their current fortunes.
“The feeling here is identical,” said Donovan. “The energy in the stadium, from the beginning, was special again. There was an anticipation in the crowd and I think an expectation that has been gone for a long time. This is just an awesome moment.”
Donovan, who last featured for the Galaxy in 2016, was sporting some of Vargas’ work. When Donovan agreed to attend the match, the Galaxy asked if he’d be interested in doing the trophy presentation. The six-time MLS champion said he would, but he called back a few hours later with a special request: he wanted to do so wearing a Riqui Puig jersey. Donovan looked at home in the No. 10 kit, the same number he sported for years at the Galaxy and also with the U.S. men’s national team.
“I’m getting goosebumps just talking about this,” said Donovan. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a player epitomize what the Galaxy is. In the early days, it was Cienfuegos, Cobi Jones and a lot of our 2011, 2012, and 2014ers that are here — Juninho, Omar (Gonzalez), Todd Dunivant. Those guys epitomize the Galaxy. Riqui, you can feel like he genuinely cares about the club. He is part of the club, and it feels like the soul is back. And I wanted to honor that, so I asked if they could make me a jersey.”
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Puig clearly appreciated Donovan’s gesture and the two exchanged an extended embrace just after the match, and again as Donovan placed Puig’s medal around his neck.
Donovan, Vargas and a host of others in attendance on Saturday know the Galaxy’s place in American soccer history. They lived it.
Puig isn’t yet a Galaxy legend and at just 25, he probably barely remembers the Galaxy of old, if at all, having been raised on the Spanish game. But he’s done his homework. After Saturday’s victory, he did his best to plant the Galaxy’s flag again. Time will tell if they can hold onto this newfound glory.
Donovan’s statue at Galaxy’s home stadium was unveiled in 2021. (Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)
“We’re the kings of MLS,” Puig told viewers on Apple TV’s broadcast. “We’ve won the most titles. The Galaxy has once again done it.”
As Puig spoke, Vargas came into the picture once more. Off in the distance, the Galaxy’s beloved kit man was being dragged towards the club’s supporters by goalkeeper John McCarthy. Vargas, sporting all five of his championship rings — it will soon become six — looked a little timid, but he eventually relented, walking towards the support and offering a wave.
The Galaxy supporters, recognizing him as one of many legends in the building — and one of them, too — paid their respects.
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