Coming off a second straight MLS All-Star appearance, French goal machine Denis Bouanga is eager for the start of a weeks-long international competition.
No, not the 2024 Summer Olympics, which officially begin on Friday with the opening ceremony along the River Seine in Bouanga’s hometown of Paris.
Living nine hours and a continent away from the games, the chance to see France bedazzled in the Olympic colors drew a dismissive “pfft” from Bouanga last week.
Beside the soccer competition, which kicked off Wednesday and featured France’s 3-0 dismantling of the U.S. in a men’s tournament group-stage match, Bouanga said he will skip much of the quadrennial event – even if his other childhood passion, break dancing, is part of the Olympic program for the first time as a medal sport.
Instead, with three spots in next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup up for grabs, the second iteration of Leagues Cup, a joint venture between MLS and Liga MX that pits the 47 first-division clubs across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, sits squarely in Bouanga’s crosshairs.
“It’s short,” the 29-year-old winger said. “You play a game every fourth day. In three games you can be in the final stage. I’m eager to start and I like this tournament.”
By virtue of winning the 2022 MLS Cup, last year’s inaugural competition automatically landed LAFC in the knockout stage. Following a pair of wins, LAFC bowed out against CF Monterrey in the quarterfinal round.
Losing to the Columbus Crew in the 2023 league final meant that LAFC would need to maneuver through the group stage this year. Starting at BMO Stadium on Friday, LAFC hosts Club Tijuana followed Tuesday by the Vancouver Whitecaps. The group will be decided when Vancouver and Tijuana meet at B.C. Place in British Columbia on Aug. 3.
Regulation wins count for three points. There aren’t any ties. Each team receives a point for a level score after 90 minutes, and the winner of a penalty shootout takes an additional point.
The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout round. Surviving clubs from LAFC’s group (West 7, one of 16 groups split between the East and West sides of the bracket) face Monterrey, Pumas or Austin FC (West 1) in the Round of 32 as the path to the Aug. 25 final takes shape.
“We understand the quality on the other side of the field, but we also think we’re a pretty good team so it’s a competition we take seriously,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “We want to continue in the next round, first and foremost, and then from there go as far as possible.”
In each Leagues Cup match last year, Bouanga scored at least once. His six goals, the third-most in the competition, fell short of Lionel Messi’s 10, although the Argentine legend appeared in seven matches, including the trophy-clinching final.
Still, the competition marked another moment since Bouanga joined LAFC two years ago when he played flippin’ fantastic.
Connecting on a club record-tying 38 goals in all competitions last year, and again leading LAFC in scoring in 2024 with 16 goals, Bouanga, one behind the MLS lead as the regular season pauses for a month for Leagues Cup, keeps finding ways to shine.
To be fair, the 29-year-old’s aggressive goal-scoring style – and front-flip frolic – are regularly head-over-heels impressive.
“That comes from break dancing,” Bouanga said. “It’s easy for me. I know it’s not easy for everybody, but this celebration is becoming unique.”
After signing with AS Saint-Ètienne in Ligue 1 of the French first division in 2019, Bouanga made his first front-flip tribute to former Saint-Ètienne striker and fellow Gabonese international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was doing something similar for Arsenal.
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While celebrating his half-dozen Leagues Cup goals last year, Bouanga pulled off the salto move four times. For a kid who was admittedly too shy to breakdance with friends on the streets of Paris – “No, never,” he said. “Impossible.” – repeated name-in-lights moments with LAFC have delivered defender-exposing sequences that are attributable, at least in part, to popping days.
“It definitely helped me to know my body better,” Bouanga said. “It helps the way you move. Not only from that, but it definitely helped me become more agile.”
Bouanga might be indifferent about the Olympic break dance competition, but LAFC midfielder Ilie Sanchez “cannot wait to watch.” As far as Bouanga’s skills go, Sanchez and his teammates love the acrobatics so long as he keeps sticking the landing.
CLUB TIJUANA AT LAFC
When: Friday, 8 p.m.
Where: BMO Stadium, Los Angeles
TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – MLS Season Pass/710 AM, 980 AM
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