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CARSON, Calif. – The Angel City Brigade unfurled a stunning tifo entitled “Heart in L.A. Mind on Japan” before last weeks CONCACAF Champions League first leg with Santos Laguna, and ahead of the rematch on Tuesday, several dozen members are taking those words into action.
More than 50 members of the ACB will be making a two-day nearly 1,500 mile-long trip to Torreón, Mexico for the Galaxy’s decisive CCL second leg at the Estadio Corona. Members of the ACB have been incredibly vocal on social media about their desire for the Galaxy to become the first MLS team to win the CCL title, making a trip to Mexico a must.
“Our main goal is to follow the Galaxy in any way that we can, and while sometimes that isn’t possible, we looked at Torreon as a trip that we needed to make,” Arturo Acosta told LAGalaxy.com. “We figured we had to be there. Once the final group stage match ended, we looked at flights so that we could take the largest number of people. Our main goal is to fly with the team to Japan. That’s what we want.
“What we’re focused on isn’t the reputation on the league; we want to see the Galaxy make it where no team in MLS ever has. We want to see this team keep growing, and we want to be there whenever we can. Since the tournament changed formats, we had an asterisk around our Champions Cup title, so we want to be there when we get to Club World Cup.”
The journey itself sounds incredibly arduous: a series of carpools will live various cities in Los Angeles early Monday morning to head to Tijuana. From Tijuana, the group will fly to Monterrey before arriving in Torreón by bus on Tuesday morning.
“I’ve been to many away games nationally, but this will be my first international trip. Being able to experience a Mexican stadium while supporting the team that I love is all that I’m looking forward to,” Rudy Quevedo said. “Knowing that we’ll be outnumbered at the Estadio Corona is something that I’m looking forward to very much. If we get a win there, it’ll be chaos.”
The Galaxy’s match with Santos will not be the only benefit of the trip to Torreón for the members of the Angel City Brigade. Members have also donated over $200 worth of toys that they intend to distribute to needy children in the city before Tuesday’s game.
“We donated 100 dollars’ worth of toys in Guatemala, and so we decided to do that in Mexico,” Miguel Cabrera, who was part of the ACB contingent who traveled for LA’s CCL defeat to Tijuana two years ago, said. “We just want to help the children any way we can.”
Although the travel will undoubtedly be a difficult endeavor, Acosta and the rest of his group are excited for Tuesday's match to arrive.
“We’re just excited to get there and support the team. We’ve been looking forward to this for months already and the fact nothing was decided at home makes it an even bigger game.”
