Six months ago, after winning the title of United States champion, you said: “I miss Europe. I think I still have the ability to play in a European team and show my strength. » Six months later, you are the top scorer of the regular season and qualified for the play-offs. Do you still miss Europe?
As long as I have my two feet, my two eyes and my two hands, I will always be 100% involved. I’m still hungry for titles, I’m still hungry for goals, I want to win every match… and with all that, I’ll show that I can still open the doors to European football. I came here with a lot of goals, including making MLS history. I have the slab, and here, I am focused on the play-offs so that the trophy stays at home. Let’s go to Vancouver to win (first leg this Sunday at 2 a.m. Paris time, Editor’s note), there is no further question to ask. I’m not thinking about what’s next yet, and we’ll do the math at the end. But yes, I always saw this league as a springboard.
???? 20 goals ????
Denis Bouanga is the 2023 MLS Golden Boot winner ????
(via @LAFC)pic.twitter.com/J305rRuzuo
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 22, 2023
For some, this league is a level a little below the major European championships. Which leads them to trivialize your big season…
(He cuts.) Yes, but it’s too easy to say that this championship sucks. I invite them to come here to make a real observation. A lot of talented players came here and didn’t do too well. I consider the level of MLS between that of Ligue 2 and Ligue 1. But the more the months, weeks and days pass, the more the level climbs. The organization of the World Cup has something to do with it, as does the arrival of great players like Messi. I let people think what they want, but MLS is no longer the championship that attracted players to put away their cleats.
Whether in the Los Angeles FC team or in the championship, have you been able to see this evolution in level over the past one or two seasons?
You have to see the potential of some of my teammates or other players that I have come across. It’s no joke. I came here because the club showed a lot of desire for me to join the project, and obviously because if you took 30 seconds to look at the names in the squad, you saw Bale, Tello, Chiellini, Vela …Obviously these guys are attractive. I was the first one who was excited to learn from them. Besides, I have always been very close to Gareth. We understood each other a lot on the pitch, whether in training or during matches. But the majority of the players in this championship are young people and it is because there is a good cocktail with more experienced players that MLS is a championship in the making. Lots of young people aspire to mark the championship and make a name for themselves before the World Cup. And then, Messi could have gone elsewhere and he decided to join Miami, right? One more proof.
When Messi came last September, I remember seeing Selena Gomez, American actor Owen Wilson, rapper Tyga and many other celebrities in the stands.
Bouanga
The play-offs will be done without Messi’s Inter Miami. But I imagine that you are in a hurry to face him at this level of competition?
Obviously. But since he arrived, whether he plays or not, whether Inter Miami plays or not, we have all noticed that he has attracted attention in MLS. When he came to Los Angeles last September (1-3 victory for Miami with two assists from Messi, Editor’s note), there were a lot of stars in the stands. I remember seeing Selena Gomez, the American actor Owen Wilson, the rapper Tyga and many other celebrities. Clearly, there is now a lot more light on MLS. And besides, having discussed with certain players: some think more about making their mark in a championship where Messi plays, rather than dreaming of making a name for themselves to join Europe.
Do you feel like you’ve changed dimensions and become a superstar?
A year and a half ago I was going through a difficult period with AS Saint-Étienne and a descent into Ligue 2. Today, everything has completely changed. And yet, nothing has changed in my life. Of course I sign more autographs, I receive a few more messages on the networks, when I turn my head in the stadiums, there are often signs with the flag of Gabon and « Bouanga give me your jersey please ? », but I haven’t changed my habits. I’m happy about all of this. Who wouldn’t be happy to see 100 fans waiting for you every time you leave the stadium? And Los Angeles is so big that not everyone necessarily recognizes me. You shouldn’t think that I’m a mega star and that, when I walk in the streets, I make as much noise as LeBron James. I have a normal life.
A normal life in Los Angeles is a change from a normal life in Saint-Étienne, right?
Yes! It’s always nice and warm. It rains very rarely. It’s a climate that reminds me of that of Gabon, even if in Africa, it is often ten times worse. And then if I’m hot, I jump in the pool. I didn’t have it in France, so I’m taking advantage of it now. This city is like Paris, but three times bigger. You have lots of stores. My children enjoy it wherever they go. My son doesn’t want to leave anymore, and yet the first weeks were a little complicated. Especially with the language barrier. My daughter doesn’t go to school yet, but everything is going well for her too. When my friends join me, they also have a good time in places that are a little more luxurious. I’m very happy to live in LA, and life is very good. And you can feel it on the ground, I think. It’s also this life that allows me to score 20 goals.
Relatively speaking, of course, Wembanyama’s story shows that when an athlete becomes a superstar, it’s his entire family that takes the spotlight. Do they know at school that young Bouanga is the son of the top scorer in MLS?
They try not to talk about it too much, but once his teacher pointed out to me that she had made the connection. She said “congratulations on your title of top scorer”when I went to pick up my son.
Baseball is super long. Sometimes you don’t know what’s going on. You wait ten minutes for a guy to kick a ball. If you don’t do anything else at that time and you miss it, you still have to wait ten minutes…
Bouanga, still top scorer of the season in MLS
In this continental country, travel is not too strenuous?
We can play matches five, six hours away by plane. Sometimes you stay a week because you play another team nearby the following weekend. For my wife and my children, each time, it’s a little ordeal, but we try to get used to it over time. And even for me it’s a new organization. It reminds us of the green classes that we could do when we were younger at school. You’re away from everything and you’re eager to get home, but you can’t because you have more important things to do.
When you are alone a little far from your family, do you take the time to discover the country and other sports? Many play baseball, basketball, golf…
Yes, we’ve gone golfing several times and it’s really nice. Obviously it’s a basketball town with the NBA, so I went to see the Lakers a few times. Now, baseball… (Laughs.) It’s super long. Sometimes you don’t know what’s going on. You wait ten minutes for a guy to kick a ball. If you don’t do anything else at that time and you miss it, you have to wait another ten minutes. I’m not criticizing this sport, but I wasn’t hooked. For me, football trumps baseball anyway because it’s the better sport.
Denis Bouanga: Golden.
With 20 goals, @LAFC’s star man collects the 2023 Golden Boot pres. by @Audi! pic.twitter.com/btHGWnVBke
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 22, 2023
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2023-10-28 05:46:41
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