LAFC is waiting in the final
Julian Gressel is reaching for his second championship title in the MLS. The 29-year-old won with Columbus Crew in the playoff semi-finals against the favorite main round winner FC Cincinnati 3:2 (2:2, 0:2) after extra time.
The Bavarian-born Gressel, who has also had US citizenship for several years and has played six international matches for the US national team, came on as a substitute after 65 minutes and forced the own goal with a cross to make it 1-2, which initiated the turnaround. He had already won the title in 2018 – back then with Atlanta United. The midfielder has been active in the MLS since 2017, where Columbus is his fourth stop. The team from Ohio brought him from Vancouver last summer for a fee of 495,000 euros.
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In the final of the MLS Cup, Columbus, as winners of the Eastern Conference, will face defending champions Los Angeles FC next Saturday (10 p.m. CET). The Californians beat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 (1-0) at home in the duel for the title in the Western Conference.
Since Columbus performed better in the main round, the final will be played in their home stadium. In addition to the German, the most well-known players in the squad of Gressel’s team are the Colombian striker Cucho Hernández (24), who came from Watford FC in 2022 for 9.55 million euros, and the Uruguayan left winger Diego Rossi (25), whom Columbus signed for last August Fetched 5.15 million euros from Fenerbahce.
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