INDIAN WELLS —
Eduard Atuesta is the only player on the LAFC roster who was there for the franchise’s first game in 2018. But he hasn’t been with the team the whole time, and he need look no further than the shirt on his back to be reminded of what he missed.
There, above the crest on the left breast of the team’s warm-ups, is the bright white star LAFC earned by winning the MLS Cup 11 months after Atuesta left for Brazil. LAFC played in a second MLS Cup final last fall, two months before he came back.