LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took Olivier Giroud less than 24 hours to discover one of the drawbacks of Southern California — its traffic.
Giroud arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. His introductory news conference with LAFC was delayed by 35 minutes because his family was stuck in traffic en route to the downtown hotel.
“That is the only weak point,” said Giroud with a laugh about the traffic.
The 37-year old French striker signed with LAFC in May. Giroud comes to the United States after 18 years in the top professional leagues in France, England and Italy. That included the past four seasons with AC Milan. He has 285 goals in 716 club matches.
Giroud will practice with LAFC for the first time Friday with his first appearance in a game probably a couple weeks away.
Giroud nearly arrived in Los Angeles four years ago. He said he met with representatives from the LA Galaxy but told them it was not the right time for him to leave Europe.
Instead, Giroud will wear No. 9 for the Galaxy’s biggest rival.
“I’m delighted to be here in LA, and join a great, young club that’s always doing very well,” Giroud said. “I’m looking forward to be being on the field with the boys to bring my experience. My goals are to be a competitor and always try to give the best for the team.”
Giroud’s final international appearance for France occurred last month in the European Championship. He came off the bench in four games, including a 2-1 loss to eventual champion Spain in the semifinals.
He was a member of the squad that won the 2018 World Cup, and scored a national record 57 goals in 137 matches for Les Bleus.
When Giroud plays in his first game for LAFC, he will be the 17th player to win a World Cup and play in an MLS match.
Giroud’s contract with LAFC goes through the 2025 season, and includes an option for 2026.
He is the second French player on LAFC, joining goaltender and former national teammate Hugo Lloris. Antoine Griezmann has also been a source of speculation about possibly coming to MLS and LAFC.
Before coming to the U.S., Giroud said he talked to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who spent two seasons with the LA Galaxy.
“He told me I will enjoy the league as a striker because the teams, they play, they don’t play to keep the results or to defend. They play to score goals,” Giroud said. “He just told me be careful if you play in August in Houston. You will be warm.”
Giroud’s scoring has increased over the past four seasons. After having just four goals for Chelsea in 2020-21, he had 11 in his first season for AC Milan in 2021-22, followed by 13 the following season and 15 during this past campaign.
LAFC trails the Galaxy by two points in the Western Conference, but has two games in hand. LAFC won its first MLS Cup in 2022 and made the final last year before losing to Columbus.
It is not the first time coach Steve Cherundolo has had to work in a significant summer signing. He did it two years ago with Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini.
Cherundolo told Giroud during the news conference: “You have free rein with the group. You can say anything you want, I have your back.”
“He’s a perennial winner, goal scorer, champion. These are the things that we need to push our club even further,” Cherundolo added. “And most importantly for this particular group, his leadership skills, which I’m really looking forward to seeing.”
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