When Josef Martinez set the Major League Soccer scoring record last season with 31 goals, commentators described the feat with words like “remarkable” and “historic.”
And why not? After all, the previous record of 27 had stood since Roy Lassiter set it in 1996. It was tied by Chris Wondolowski in 2012 and Bradley Wright-Phillips in 2014, but never bettered until Martinez.
But on Sunday, just a season later, Carlos Vela of Los Angeles F.C. tied Martinez’s mark, and he has one game to break it, next Sunday at home against the Colorado Rapids.
Vela, of Mexico, played a little while for Arsenal as a youngster, but really made his mark at Real Sociedad in Spain, where he scored 54 goals. He moved on to the expansion L.A.F.C as its first designated player and thrived immediately, making the league’s best XI and being captain of the All-Star team in his first season in 2018.
But this year he has really poured it on, scoring his 31 goals in 30 games. He also has 15 assists, rating third in the league, an unusual combination of skills.
“You either get a Wondo or Josef Martinez that are pure finishers or you get the pure passers,” his L.A.F.C. teammate Steven Beitashour told The Athletic, referring to Wondolowski of the Earthquakes. “To have someone with their ability to put a ball on a dime for an assist or have the wherewithal to finish is rare.”
Vela is part of an electrifying offense at L.A.F.C. With a game to go, the team has 82 goals, 21 more than the next closest team, New York City F.C. That is the second highest total in league history, trailing the 85 by the L.A. Galaxy in 1998, so long ago that the team was led by Cobi Jones.
You score goals by shooting, of course, and Vela leads the league with 154 shots and 67 shots on goal. But it isn’t just volume that has him on top of the scoring list. Vela has astounding skill, as evidenced by his best goal against San Jose in August.
Vela picked up the ball on the run 25 yards from goal, eluded a tackle from behind, ran by another defender, beat the goalie and then shot it past another defender desperately trying to make a last-ditch save.
Coach Bob Bradley was caught on camera asking Vela to play like Lionel Messi in an ESPN documentary this year, a tall, tall order. But the goal against San Jose seemed to live up to the billing.
“To be clear on this, it’s 100 percent sure that Carlos isn’t playing this well because I told him to be like Messi,” Bradley told ESPN after Sunday’s game. “If it was that easy, I’d tell them all, or I’d tell some to be like Xavi to spread it out a little bit.”
Vela isn’t the only player to threaten Martinez’s record this season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is on 29 goals after scoring another Sunday. He was runner-up to Martinez last season with 22.
As for Martinez, his 26 goals this season would have led the league any year from 2015 to 2017 but are good for only third place this season.
At least one coach feels that the success of Vela and Ibrahimovic has occurred in part because of star treatment from referees.
Referring to his own scorer Shea Salinas, Earthquakes Coach Matias Almeyda told reporters Sunday: “If they foul Salinas, it should be judged in the same way as if they’ve fouled Vela. And if they foul Wondolowski, the player is judged as if he was Ibrahimovic.”
All three of the top scorers are headed for the playoffs, with Vela’s L.A.F.C. the top seed by a comfortable margin. We can expect the goals to keep going in.
