Minister of Defense: Emiro Garces on his journey to be a LA Galaxy starter
The 23-year-old defender talks about his journey to becoming a starter for the LA Galaxy in his first season with the club
Emiro Garces’ first game since joining the LA Galaxy wasn’t how he envisioned it.
In early June, the young Colombian Center back played for the Galaxy’s MLS Next Pro affiliate, Ventura County FC, in Providence Park before he played for LA Galaxy in MLS.
Garces played a poor pass from the outside of his own penalty box that was intercepted and led to the start of Portland Timbers II’s comeback from two goals down.
His head went down, and he visibly regretted the decision to play that pass. It wasn’t the best way to debut for an organization so confident in his abilities that it rushed to make his loan a permanent move. This was a big moment in his career - Garces left his homeland by himself and needed to get used to a new language and culture different than South America to establish himself in a high-flying LA Galaxy team.
Fast forward to November 1st, and Garces’ emergence for the LA Galaxy could be what elevates the SoCal side to legitimate MLS Cup contenders.
The club is looking to sweep its MLS Cup Playoffs Round One matchup against the Colorado Rapids on Friday night following the best defensive performance of the season in Game 1. Garces and the LA Galaxy defense limited the Rapids to just one shot (none on target) during G’s 5-0 win at home.
With the Rapids ready to fight to the death to keep their season alive, Garces will be key in keeping a solid defensive performance on the road to close out this series.
Garces got on the LA Galaxy radar for his excellent showings with Deportivo Pereira in Colombia. He built a reputation for being the fastest central defender in Colombia and being a physical force for strikers to deal with.
The LA Galaxy needed a player like Garces in order to improve the backline.
Veterans Maya Yoshida and Martin Caceres lacked the athleticism they had in their primes and were susceptible to getting caught on the counter to faster forwards. Jalen Neal had been recovering from injury before beginning the campaign and also struggled to establish the defensive presence needed to body around attackers.
The Galaxy announced the signing of Garces in early April but didn’t trot him out for first-team action until late June. He mostly played “garbage time” minutes in Galaxy wins or during the club’s losses.
“When I first arrived, the team was already formed, the tournament had already started, and everybody was going through the adaptation process,” Garces told reporters following Wednesday's training.
“I received a lot of support from the coaching staff ever since I arrived here. When they welcomed me the way that they did. They told me this was going to be a long term project, and they asked me to be patient, and that's something that I respected,” added Garces. “I said that I was going to be here, and I was going to work here, and I was going to earn everything.”
It wasn’t until his start in Leagues Cup that everyone saw the talent and upside that LA’s saw when scouting him. He shined in LA’s penalty shootout victory over Chivas de Guadalajara, covering ground everywhere and making it difficult for the Mexican side to get good looks on goal.
“I said during the course of the season, if we could really get him up to speed, he has such different qualities that to the rest of our group, to complement the rest of our group,” said Vanney on Wednesday.
“The athleticism, the confidence on his side, to defend one on one and to defend an open space and, you know, he's grown, I think, in the in his ball usage, in terms of finding his solutions and all those kinds of things.”
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Since the LA Galaxy 4-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in September, Garces has earned the role of a starter next to Yoshida to close the regular season. It wasn’t an easy journey for Garces to get here, but the combination of his talent and ethic made him fit in with the LA Galaxy at the business end of the season.
“I think it's about understanding and getting to know my teammates. It's also about the language barrier. But little by little, everybody has helped me a lot, and I think I'm getting there,” said Garces.
He credits Riqui Puig, Martin Cáceres, and Edwin Cerrillo as the teammates who have helped him feel at home with the Galaxy. The Latino culture of the club and the city of Los Angeles are a big help to Garces’ transition to the U.S. while he’s away from his family and friends in Colombia.
Garces will be a key part of the LA Galaxy for years to come. The Colombian defender has the talent to become regarded as one of the best center backs in this league as he enters his prime. With Yoshida and Cáceres in contract years and on the wrong side of 30, the keys to the backline will soon be handed to the young Colombian.
“I feel very excited about this project. I’m really happy to be here. I believe this is a team with quality, and it's nothing that anybody should be surprised about because this is what Galaxy really is,” said Garces.
“This is a very, very big team, and this is something that I'm looking forward to staying and being part of in the foreseeable future.”
It’s safe to say the LA Galaxy has its new Minister of Defense for this new era of LA Galaxy soccer.