It was a scene that felt both familiar and long awaited Laftc.
Since he entered the Major League Soccer seven years ago, the team has raised an MLS cup and two shields of supporters in front of its fans at the BMO Stadium. Only Columbus crew won more trophies during this period.
However, when a massive crimson victory platform was rolled on the stadium Wednesday evening, a few minutes after Lafc beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 in addition to winning its first US Open Cup championship, the atmosphere was more relief than joy.
Even fireworks were felt mandatory rather than festive.
Wednesday's match was the fifth team final in the past two seasons; According to MLS, only three other teams in the history of the league have played for equipment which often in such a short period.
Lafc is the only one of these teams to have lost four in a row. He couldn't afford another loss.
“It means a lot to win tonight,” said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was adopted by a group of teammates at the final whistle.
“This trophy,” he added, “is really important.”
“Tonight was a bit special,” said Olivier Giroud, who won a World Cup alongside Lloris for France and has now won an Open from the United States with Lafc.
Special because it has proven, in case someone has forgotten, that Lafc can win a final. In fact, the team is only the fourth club in the history of MLS to win a Shield, MLS Cup and US Open Cup of supporters in three years – and the first to do it since the Sounders of Seattle in 2014-2016.
Therefore, even with four final losses following Wednesday's arrival, coach Steve Cherundolo said the team had no demons to exorcise, a point of view he repeated after joining his players for parading his last trophy on the field.
“I don't know why you don't believe me,” he said. “You have a winner and a loser on each final. And before each finish, it's a bit like a draw.
“We are happy, of course, to win. And I think we had to. “
Victory did not come easily.
After a careful first half, physical and aimless, Giroud's goal gave the team an advance from 1-0 to the 53rd minute. But Erik Thommy, whose turnover in the midfielder led to the scoring of Giroud, equaled this with a goal of his own seven minutes later.
This sent the match in more time, where the most starred team in MLS was rescued by goals from the replacements Omar Campos and Kei Kamara.
The campos score 12 minutes after the first additional period was also his first with the team and came after the Mexican defender ran to a Cristian Olivera pass while he entered the penalty area. He then dribbled on the top of the box to create space before piercing a right shot inside the distant post.
Kamara, who came out of the bench at the start of additional time, then put the game with a head at four minutes in the second period of walking.
“I'm ecstatic,” said Cherundolo, “for players.”
“I thought it would be more relief,” he added when he was asked about his emotions. “But it's really just joy.”
Probably also a little fatigue since the LAFC match match all the competitions since the start of last season. No MLS team has never approached this.
And this calendar and recent LAFC results in the final are probably linked. Because if you are playing in so many competitions (MLS, Concacaf Champions League, Campeones Cup, League Cup, US Open Cup) in the past two years has increased the team's chances of playing for titles, it has also forced him to play a game every five days in the past two seasons.
Now, with all these other tournaments, Lafc (14-8-7 in MLS Play) has nothing on which to focus on, but its last five regular season games and the start of the MLS qualifiers.
“We know that we can improve,” Giroud said about a version that takes up Saturday in Cincinnati. “This cup will bring us confidence for the rest of the season because we don't want to stop there. We have a strong end of the season, we qualify for the playoffs and go as far as possible in the playoffs.
“We are hungry. We know our potential. Our qualities. “
For Sporting Kansas City, the fact that he had been playing for equipment at the end of what will probably be his worst season since 1999 – when he has played in a different state under a different name – is part of the magic of the US Open Cup.
SKC (8-16-7) is one of the two teams that have already been eliminated affirmations in the playoffs with three weeks to play. However, Wednesday, he played for a fifth US Open Cup title, which would have made it the most successful MLS team in the history of the tournament. But after playing the LAFC, even for more than 100 minutes, its players evolved through the Crimson of Fortune scene to collect consolation medals while Lafc won the Cup.
“Details count in football,” said Thommy. “This is the result we have.”
