Time isn’t really on the Galaxy’s side.
The Galaxy is in eighth place in the Western Conference with five games remaining, but the next two games are at home against the Seattle Sounders (Sunday) and the Vancouver Whitecaps (Sept. 29).
Both teams are ahead of the Galaxy in the standings.
“We have to win the game, let’s be honest,” interim coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I think if we lose the game, we’re in real big trouble. Our playoff lifeline is hanging by a thread, but in order to do that we have to stay committed to each other and play together.”
The Galaxy hopes to take advantage of a Seattle squad that had a mid-week game or, as has been the case this season, hopes Zlatan Ibrahimovic dials up some more of his goal-scoring magic.
Ibrahimovic has scored 17 goals in 22 games this season, including his 500th of his career last Saturday.
“I’ve seen all the comments and compliments I get and of course you feel more proud,” he said of reaching No. 500. “You realized more of what you have achieved and when you see the players who have done 500 and above, it is not normal players, so I appreciate it a lot and I’m very thankful for all the comments out there.”
Ibrahimovic joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only active players with 500-plus goals.
“Like (David) Beckham said, if you score 500, you’re really old in the game,” Ibrahimovic said. “That’s pretty much how I feel, but I still have some more to give and hopefully it doesn’t stop there with 500.
“I’ve tried to make all the Swedish (people) proud for what I’m doing and putting Sweden on the map, so that is what my main goal is. Coming from Sweden, that little country, but I had a chance to play with all the big clubs and big players and still produce the goals I’ve did.”
In his short time with the Galaxy, Ibrahimovic has proved he still has the ability to score goals and carry a team. This season has also found him in an unusual position of fighting for the postseason. When you’ve played for the biggest clubs in the world, the fight is usually for Champions League positions. Winning titles has been a way of life.
“The teams I’ve played for, I’ve had the feeling like we were unbeatable, nobody can destroy us, we will destroy everybody,” he said. “Now it is like you come to a game and feels like 50-50, anything can happen.”
“I don’t want to talk about luck, because luck is for the less good teams and players, so I don’t want to have luck. I want to have quality, I want to have a stable season, stable games, where you control the games more and that is where I think the lack has been. We don’t control the games. Every time somebody attacks, it feels like we will get hurt instead of thinking, ‘This is no problem, we will take care of it.’”
Throughout the season, Ibrahimovic has tried to shield his obvious frustrations with a funny quip, but Thursday, it was obvious he wasn’t happy with the way things have gone.
“We had nine games where we didn’t lose and then we lost one and from that we didn’t win since that game,” he said. “As soon as we lose, you should come back strong, but we haven’t got out from that hole.”
The Galaxy hasn’t won since July 29 and is currently in the midst of a seven-game winless streak.
When asked if there was a situation he wouldn’t return next season, Ibrahimovic said: “I don’t know … this I have to discuss. It is not the moment to talk about that. It is something that I will discuss with the club what they want, what I want. I have five games (left), I’m happy, physically I feel strong, I feel good, I’m producing, we just need to win games and then everything is perfect.”
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (13-10-5, 44 points) at L.A. GALAXY (10-11-8, 38 points)
Kickoff: 4 p.m. at StubHub Center
TV/Radio: Fox Sports 1; KTMZ/1220; LAGalaxy.com (English)
Update: The Sounders had their nine-game winning streak snapped 1-0 Wednesday by the Philadelphia Union. One of their wins during that streak with a 5-0 romp over the Galaxy on Aug. 18. Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz (ankle) left Wednesday’s game early and was limited during training. Chad Marshall also left the game early, but did not suffer a concussion.
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