What if Olivier Giroud was never a star MLS striker? The 2018 world champion, who retired from the France team after Euro 2024 in Germany, joined Hugo Lloris at Los Angeles FC last July. But the North American championship is not easy. On the contrary, he is particularly physical and the former AC Milan striker, 38, was no match for five months. After a goal in the Leagues Cup, a summer competition with Mexican clubs, he did not score in 14 league matches. Catastrophic!
LAFC, which finished first in the Western Conference before failing in the conference semi-finals against Seattle (1-2, ap), could not sit idly by. The southern Californian club jumped on a golden opportunity by signing center forward Jeremy Ebobisse (27 years old). This Paris native of Cameroonian origin (who grew up in Maryland and is an American international) has become a reference in MLS in recent years. He remains on seasons of 17, 10 and 10 goals with the San Jose Earthquakes, after being champion in 2020 with Portland.
Giroud quickly on the bench?
Major League Soccer observers see Ebobisse as the perfect recruit to pair with Denis Bouanga, phenomenal with Los Angeles FC for two years (38 then 28 goals), at the expense of Giroud. For the site MLS Multiplex, “Even though the numbers don’t show a prolific striker, he (Ebobisse) has built a reputation as a consistent and reliable player, a much appreciated aspect in a championship where physical demands and constant adjustments to the schedule require teams to be strong and prepared.
For others on X, Jeremy Ebobisse will simply steal Olivier Giroud’s place at the forefront of the Angeline attack. “Big prediction: Ebobisse will take the starting position from Giroud by May” (i.e. after the first two months of the regular season), launches journalist Ben Wright, who is an editor for the official MLS website. “Big blow for them. He will come and compete with Olivier Giroud who has run out of fuel since his arrival! Interesting to follow »rejoices, NeilimeB, a French Twitter expert on MLS. Olivier Giroud won’t be able to miss it.
