Carlos Vela’s return to the pitch was supposed to happen a week earlier, near the end of LAFC’s Decision Day match against San Jose. But an unforeseeable injury to a teammate thwarted that plan. When the greatest player in club history finally returned to the pitch Sunday night against Vancouver, after nearly 11 months away, it felt as if Vela had never left.
After halftime of LAFC’s 2-1 win in Game 1 of its Round One Best-of-3 Series against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Vela, who re-signed with LAFC in September after spending most of the year as a free agent, jogged to the northwest corner of the stadium he first toured in 2017 - when it was merely a construction site - to warm up the body that had led the club to the 2022 MLS Cup title, two Supporters’ Shields, and a long list of other team and individual accolades.
Just before he was called back to the bench so he could be subbed into the match, he could be seen smiling and glancing eagerly toward LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo, as excited as the child who played his first game in Cancun thirty years ago.
The fans who had been chanting his name – Car-los Ve-la – were finally rewarded in the 86th minute, when he embraced Denis Bouanga as the night’s opening goal-scorer came off the pitch and Vela jogged onto it. “Yeah, the coach took a bit too long,” Vela joked later in Spanish. “It should have been a bit earlier, but hey, it’s a start!”
“Everybody was happy to have him on the field,” Bouanga said in French, “the players, the stadium, you could hear the stadium, it was very important for us. He has many qualities. We know what he brings to the team.”
Added Vela: “I felt very grateful for all the love and support that the fans have always given me. To return, hearing these chants, honestly it was very emotional and I’m really happy to be back.”
“Huge moment for his family, huge moment for the club, for the fans,” said defender Aaron Long, who wore the captain’s armband Sunday night until he slid it onto Vela’s arm. “You could hear them chanting from the 45th minute, the 60th minute whenever he went over there to warm up. He's such an integral part of this club since the beginning. He was here helping this team achieve all the things, and setting the standards from the beginning. So for him to get back on the field, yeah, it was massive for him, and it's great for us to get him integrated for the playoffs.”
“It's a great moment,” Cherundolo said of Vela’s first appearance since LAFC fell in the 2023 MLS Cup Final on Dec. 9, 2023. “Moments like that are why we go and fill stadiums and enjoy professional sports. There's always a personal side, an emotional side to this, and Carlos has been an amazing figure for the club. An amazing player. And he's also very well liked in the locker room as you can see, around the guys. So it's a great moment for him and for everyone.”
“For us, we feel a great pride to share the pitch with him, share the locker room with him,” attacker Cristian Olivera said in Spanish. “He has helped me out immensely on and off the pitch. So again, we just feel pride.”
“I wanted to stay on the field,” Bouanga added. “I want to play with Carlos. I want to win with Carlos.”
LAFC faces Vancouver in Game 2 of their Round One Best-of-3 Series at BC Place in Vancouver on Sunday, November 3. The game will kick off at 5:45 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and FS1.
