Almost two years ago to the day, we witnessed the inaugural ‘El Tráfico’ match – so on Monday night, we decided to relive the famous 7-goal thriller between LA Galaxy and LAFC!
📆 March 31, 2018. @LAGalaxy vs LAFC. Zlatan vs Vela.
Relive the first-ever edition of El Trafico, tonight on @FS1. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/xeXlAvxlhH
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 30, 2020
The matchup aired on FS1, equipped with a surprise commentator or two.
Meanwhile, online, LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget took over @FoxSoccer Twitter handle for the last 30 minutes of the game.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by FOX Soccer (@foxsoccer) on Mar 30, 2020 at 4:00pm PDT
And that wasn’t all.
We also premiered our very own soccer show: Indoor Soccer, featuring John Strong, Stu Holden and Alexi Lalas, with special guest appearances.
FOX *Indoor* Soccer is LIVE!
Join @JohnStrong, @stuholden, @AlexiLalas and special guests from the U.S. national teams as they chat all things soccer from home. https://t.co/6891s2XG6n
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 30, 2020
The first question up: The most under-appreciated current and former USMNT player.
We’re always for showing a little love to someone who might not get enough of it.
Lalas went with Josie Zardes as the current player and Tab Ramos as the former player, while Holden went with Brad Guzan as the current player and Steve Cherundolo as the former player.
Which current and former USMNT player do you feel is underappreciated? 🤔@AlexiLalas and @stuholden have their say… pic.twitter.com/unt0e9rTEV
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 30, 2020
All this excitement has us feeling some type of way. And LA Galaxy defender Daniel Steres knew exactly what we’re talking about.
He explained what it felt like to play in the game we all enjoyed.
“It’s definitely a feeling I’ll never forget on the field.”@Dsteres44 takes a trip down memory lane and looks back on the @LAGalaxy‘s first meeting with LAFC. 💭 pic.twitter.com/iErsquB99r
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 30, 2020
So let’s get to the action. LAFC forward Carlos Vela‘s magic was on full display when he scored the first two goals of night – it was effectively one-way tráfico.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by FOX Soccer (@foxsoccer) on Mar 30, 2020 at 5:34pm PDT
But we knew we couldn’t sleep on international legend and LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimović.
He was cooking something up at halftime – that fire was burning hot.
Reckon this guy may feature in the second half at some point, @LAGalaxy? 😉 pic.twitter.com/FJKrKhnLQP
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2020
And just when it seemed LAFC got a little comfortable, the tide began to shift in a major way, starting with the first goal for LA Galaxy from midfielder Sebastian Lletget.
The start of an epic comeback…@SLletget cut the @LAGalaxy‘s deficit to 3-1. pic.twitter.com/QtjLNMdlSV
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2020
And with that, it was time for the goal scorer himself to answer all your questions.
Take it away, @SLletget! 📲
Send in your questions using #AskDaBoy and he’ll answer the best through the remainder of El Trafico. pic.twitter.com/hTFrwpFduz
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2020
Back to the game, where Zlatan had taken over.
Zlatan is not human!
His debut goal in @MLS was simply SPECTACULAR. 🦁😱 pic.twitter.com/lwffWwqOK8
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2020
What a debut he had – including the game-winner to complete the comeback for the Galaxy.
“Cole picks it up … Cole’s cross, Ibrahimovic! Oh are you serious?!”
From 0-3 down after 48 minutes to a 4-3 win.
Welcome to zLAtan. pic.twitter.com/R0aMdeIkoZ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2020
The first ‘El Trafico’ served as one of the greatest matches in MLS history, if not the greatest.
And even though Zlatan is gone, his name was forever stamped in American soccer after this performance alone.
