Cyrille de la Morinerie / Photo credit: KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
After more than a decade in London at the Tottenham club, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will head to the United States, like Thierry Henry or Blaise Matuidi in the past. By opting for Los Angeles FC, the former Blues goalkeeper chose a club that was atypical to say the least.
Hugo Lloris takes off. At 37, a year after announcing the end of his international career, the French goalkeeper will take over the management of MLS, the North American football league. The former Tottenham goalkeeper – the club whose colors he wore for more than a decade – signed for Los Angeles FC, a club not really like the others.
Above all, the Californian team is overflowing with ambition. Only nine years after its creation, the club has already won the American championship in 2022. The franchise has even supplanted its neighbor, the Los Angeles Galaxy which in its time welcomed the Englishman David Beckham. But above all, in a country where soccer, as they say in the United States, is not the king sport with stadiums rarely full, Los Angeles FC is an exception, explains Antoine Latran, football specialist in the United States. United.
“A truly incredible atmosphere”
“The stadium is in the city center, it is full all the time and the atmosphere is really incredible. There is a Latin and Mexican influence which is impressive. We also find stars in the ownership group. There is “former basketball player Magic Johnson, actor Will Ferrell, so he’s a sporting phenomenon in a city with many others.”
After the notable passage of Welsh star Gareth Bale, the arrival of world champion Hugo Lloris should allow the Californian club to increase its notoriety a little more. Like Inter Miami which welcomed Blaise Matuidi, before convincing Lionel Messi. The former captain of the Blues who has not played competitively since April 2023 offers himself one last major challenge.