Carlos Vela began his career in the academies of Chivas Guadalajara and Arsenal. His first professional team was the Gunners. He made 5 separate loan stints before one stuck, La Liga's Real Sociedad. He played for the Spanish club from 2012-2018, scoring 54 goals in 184 matches. On August 8, 2017, MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC signed Vela and made him the club's first ever Designated Player. The brand new team was set to begin play in the 2018 MLS season. In the club's second game in existence, Carlos Vela clipped a goal in against Real Salt Lake. In the following match, the Mexican winger/midfielder scored a brace against the LA Galaxy, including one of his signature left footed curlers into the top left corner. It was the first edition of El Trafico, but the Galaxy were victorious, 4-3. He went to the 2018 World Cup with Mexico, scoring once against South Korea.
Vela made the 2018 MLS All-Star Team, playing one half in the penalty loss to Juventus, where he assisted the MLS goal. In a 4-2 win over Toronto FC, he added another double. His second was a spectacular bar-down shot from a near impossible angle. In October, he put two more past the Houston Dynamo, scoring a perfectly weighted chip. On Decision Day, he scored his 14th goal of his first MLS season against Sporting Kansas City. LAFC finished as the third seed in the Western Conference. Their first stab at the postseason ended straight away, losing in upset fashion to Real Salt Lake. Vela made the Best XI as well in his first season.
Carlos Vela's 2019 season speaks for itself. It is the single best regular season by any player in MLS history, and it is hardly debatable. He did just about everything imaginable. He opened his account of the historical season with a finesse shot against the Portland Timbers. In the next game, he scored both goals in a 2-2 draw with NYCFC. On March 30th, he scored the first hat trick of his LAFC career. He netted three against the San Jose Earthquakes. He quite literally dribbled the ball into the net for the first one. He added a tap in and the exact opposite in a curling screamer from downtown San Jose. Vela scored a brace in a 4-1 thrashing of Seattle. In an astonishing scoring stretch across both MLS and the US Open Cup, Vela scored 10 goals in 10 matches mid-season. He capped it off with a double on Vancouver. In another close El Trafico loss, Vela scored two more, which includes one in the final moments.
In a scoring run even more impressive than the aforementioned one mid-season, Vela closed the season out with scoring levels that do not even seem possible. In the final nine MLS regular season matches, Vela scored a whopping 12 times, increasing his total from 22 to 34. He scored a brace against the San Jose Earthquakes. Vela scored an incredible solo goal, dribbling around all the San Jose defenders in the way and poking it into the gaping goal frame. On Decision Day, the Colorado Rapids felt the wrath of the 2019 version of Carlos Vela, as he claimed the Golden Boot with a hat trick. He stepped into a long range strike that served as a record-breaker, the most goals in a single MLS season. LAFC won the Supporters' Shield. It goes without saying that Vela was a member of the All-Star Team and Best XI once again. Additionally, Vela won the MLS MVP award with his MLS record 34 goal season, in which he also assisted 15. In the first playoff match, Vela scored two in the rivalry against the Galaxy. The first was a right footed shot into the bottom corner, the second an easy tap in from Brian Rodriguez. The season like no other ended at the hands of the Seattle Sounders in a 3-1 loss.
While the 2019 season for Carlos Vela was untouchable and may forever be untouchable, he never quite returned to that level. He has shown some spurts and some magic moments, but his individual performances have not lived up to those of 2019 as he grew older and struggled with injuries. Injuries forced Vela to miss 12 games of the shortened 2020 season. He scored four goals, the first one against Miami. He used tight control to get to the top of the box and chip it over the keeper. In a 3-3 draw with Philadelphia, he hit a perfect free kick over the wall and in. The final one was on Decision Day against the Portland Timbers. LAFC qualified for the postseason again, but once again the Sounders beat them 3-1 there. In the CONCACAF Champions League, LAFC marched to the final against Tigres. It was a great run from Vela and crew to the cup, but they lost the final. He made the Team of the Tournament.
Vela missed another 14 games in 2021, ending with a stat line of 5 goals and 6 assists. His first goal of the year did not come until June, where he scored one versus FC Dallas. Vela found his scoring momentum in July, with goals in four straight games. The last goal of that stretch, which was one against Minnesota United in a 2-2 draw, was also his last of the season. LAFC faltered and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in club history.
In 2022, it was a return to success for LAFC and Carlos Vela. He posted another solid return of 12 goals and 11 assists. On the opening day of the season in February, he scored a hat trick against Colorado for the second time in his career. He scored on the break before planting the third in with a curled effort. Despite a fairly slow start to the year otherwise, Vela made the 2022 All-Star Team and played one half and scored a goal against the league from his home country. In the very next match after the break, he scored as a part of a 5-0 win over Charlotte FC. He put two past the Houston Dynamo late in the campaign. It ended up as a Supporters' Shield winning season for LAFC. They beat the Galaxy, Vela assisted a goal. They knocked down Austin, Vela assisted a goal. In the MLS Cup Final against the Philadelphia Union, he assisted one more. LAFC finished it off for an MLS Cup victory in penalty kicks. Vela won the ESPY for the Best MLS Player. He returned to the Best XI as well.
Carlos Vela was again solid in 2023. He scored 9 times, while assisting 12. He scored against the Portland Timbers in the first match of the Apple TV era. In El Trafico, he scored a brace to claim a 3-2 victory, scoring another one of those curlers. LAFC made it back to the final of the CCL, but for the second time in as many tries, a Liga MX side, this time Leon, beat them in the final. Vela made the Team of the Tournament. In Leagues Cup, he contributed 2 goals to the 7-1 bulldozing of FC Juarez, including a top corner screamer. His most recent goal took place in August, where he scored against the Colorado Rapids. Since then, he has sprinkled some assists in, but it has been the Denis Bouanga show in Los Angeles as of late. LAFC finished as the third-placed team in the Western Conference. Vela assisted a goal in game one against the Vancouver Whitecaps, then his team got the job done without him starting in game two. A 1-0 win over Seattle and a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo in the WCF on Saturday night sends LAFC back to MLS Cup. Vela hit the crossbar early in the match, which would have been his first goal in 102 days, 15 matches ago. The Columbus Crew will host Carlos Vela and LAFC in MLS Cup 2023 next Saturday.
Carlos Vela's legacy will always be his 2019 season in Major League Soccer. His 34 goals were so absurd that he never came closer than 20 goals away from that tally in any other season. What may be even crazier is the fact that he also assisted 15 goals whilst scoring those 34, which marks the highest mark of his career as well. In total, he has accumulated 78 goals and 58 assists in his MLS career. Vela added an MLS Cup to his resume in 2022, and he will look to double his number of Philip F. Anschutz trophies at Lower.com Field on the weekend. Carlos Vela's unmatched playmaking ability and attacking prowess ranks him at #6.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | LAFC | 2,071 | 9 | 12 |
2022 | LAFC | 2,333 | 12 | 11 |
2021 | LAFC | 1,267 | 5 | 6 |
2020 | LAFC | 422 | 4 | 1 |
2019 | LAFC | 2,726 | 34 | 15 |
2018 | LAFC | 2,378 | 14 | 13 |
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