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    Galaxy take on Sporting Kansas City and former teammate Dejan Joveljić
    • May 3, 2025

    Dejan Joveljić joined the Galaxy late in the 2021 from Eintracht Frankfurt and, despite limited minutes, made the most of his scoring opportunities.

    In what would be his final year with the Galaxy, he capped it with a 20-plus goal season – 21 in all competitions, including one in December’s MLS Cup victory over the New York Red Bulls.

    “Dejan, from Day One, he is a single-minded, in many ways, goal scorer,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “That’s what he wants to do and that’s what he’s out there trying to establish. His thought process is to score goals. Period.

    “He could touch the ball three times, 15 times or 100 times, doesn’t matter for him, he’s just seeking that one, two or three opportunities where he can try to put things away. He gave us something at the top of our attack that, once the right pieces were around him, he was the benefactor of a lot of great chance creation and he could be single-minded about, ‘How do I get to these spots so these things could translate into goals?’”

    Joveljić, who once dubbed himself the “the future” of the Galaxy, is now an opponent. He was traded to Sporting Kansas City in the offseason for $4 million and signed to a new three-year contract. The teams meet Sunday in Kansas.

    “I had talks with L.A. about my new contract, we both knew that I deserved more and because of the MLS rules and restrictions, we couldn’t find a way,” the 25-year-old Joveljić said. “SKC approached, also Mexican teams were close, but SKC was faster and I decided to move. It was hard to leave L.A., especially after the year we had, but sometimes you need to move forward and take care of family.

    “I started the season good, but as a team we didn’t start as well.  I’m happy here and ready to make something new here.

    “(Last year) the group was special. We didn’t lose a single game at home, which is amazing. In playoffs you need a little bit of luck, but I think we didn’t need it in playoffs because we were killing everyone.”

    Joveljić joined the Galaxy as a U22 Initiative signing. To re-sign him, it would have taken a Designated Player slot, which the Galaxy didn’t have, and a lot more money. He had definitely outplayed his 2024 base salary ($683,750).

    “When everything was done, I don’t want to say I was shocked but I was like, ‘It’s really happening,’” he said. “It was a weird feeling.

    “It was an amazing journey. I came as a kid who said he deserved to play more than five minutes and then I said I was going to be the legend and the the future. At the end, everything paid off, I gave my best and everything to L.A. and of course L.A gave me back in return. I’m happy and I’m proud of my journey there and you don’t know what can happen, maybe one day can meet again. I miss the guys, very good friends of mine.”

    Joveljić has five goals, but the season hasn’t been smooth. SKC fired longtime coach Peter Vermes at the end of March and the club sits in 14th place in the Western Conference, ahead of the Galaxy, who are still on three points and in last place.

    “It was shocking for me,” Joveljić said of the coaching change. “Peter was the one who brought me here. When you say Sporting KC, one name pops on your mind and that’s Peter, but the club decided to open a new page.”

    Joveljić said he’s been following the Galaxy and is aware of the club’s slow start (0-7-3).

    “They’re struggling, maybe they miss me, but they brought in a very good experienced striker,” he said. “No one wants to see L.A. Galaxy losing, except when they play against me. They will bounce back.”

    Sporting Kansas City will be in L.A. later this month at BMO Stadium against LAFC on May 28. And on Sept. 27, Joveljić will make his return to Dignity Health Sports Park.

    “They (the Galaxy fans) pushed me every time, even when I was struggling and the team was down,” he said. “I respect them and I can’t wait to play and see them again in September.”

    GALAXY at SPORTING KANSAS CITY

    When: 4 p.m. Sunday

    Where: Children’s Mercy Park; Kansas City, Kansas

    How to watch: Apple TV+ (MLS Season Pass)

    ​ Orange County Register 

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