Efraín Álvarez is still just 20 years old.
In the ever-changing world of Major League Soccer, he enters his fifth season with the Galaxy, the longest tenure of anybody on the roster.
With that, comes a lot of questions. First and foremost, is this finally the season Álvarez puts everything together?
The attacking midfielder played in a career-high games (28) and minutes (1,385) last season and finished with three goals and six assists, also career bests.
Despite that, it wouldn’t be unfair to think the East L.A. native is capable of more.
“You’ve seen over many stretches in his young career how talented he is,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “But it’s not about talent, it’s not about the one moment. It’s about the consistency inside of a game, it’s about the consistency from game to game, it’s about everything, lifestyle, to performance, to everything that you want to achieve out there.
“He’s been highly focused and dedicated through the course of preseason. I think he’s taken big steps forward even in preseason. He knows this is an important year for him because he can’t any longer really be the talented young player. That’s kind of over now and it’s now it’s the player that has to step in and have an impact on the team and help decide games, because he’s capable of it. He’s capable of getting goals and assists and changing the outcome of things.”
By now, many probably expected Álvarez to be somewhere in Europe. His name has been linked to European and Mexican clubs in the past, but no move has materialized. He made his Mexican senior national team debut in 2021 and also made appearance for Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup.
His two-year contract extension ends after this season. The Galaxy has a club option for 2024.
As a 17-year-old, Álvarez was labeled the “biggest talent” in MLS by then-teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“He goes on the field and you see when he plays, he’s all natural: the way he thinks, the way…
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