Former Galaxy midfielder Edwin Cerrillo was back at Dignity Health Sports Park last week, but with Club America in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Cerrillo, who left the Galaxy this summer, is back again for the tournament semifinals Wednesday when Club America faces fellow Liga MX opponent Monterrey.<\/p>\n
He played his last game with the Galaxy on July 25. The move to Club America was finalized in just under two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cFairly quickly,\u201d Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said when asked how quick the move happened. \u201cTigres had a ton interest in the offseason, but when we looked at our roster, it was like, that\u2019s great, but you can\u2019t use that money to get a replacement. And then the timing wasn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known that Edwin\u2019s got a lot of interest from Mexico and then it got sort of toward the close of the Mexico (transfer) window and a few teams reached out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Galaxy and Club America played a friendly July 11. Three weeks later, Cerrillo\u2019s time with the Galaxy was done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the total time between the first talks and when I moved, probably, a week and a half,\u201d Cerrillo said after the Leagues Cup quarterfinal win against Columbus. \u201cI want to play at a big team and America was my team. We had scrimmaged them, I think, like five days before, so it didn\u2019t come as too much of a shock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cerrillo was 22 when he was traded to the Galaxy in the summer of 2023 after growing up in the FC Dallas organization. The Texas native signed with FC Dallas at 14 and made his MLS debut at 18 in 2019.<\/p>\n
The move to the Galaxy afforded him a bigger role, something that had been lacking in Dallas. He helped the team win the 2024 MLS Cup and last year started 32 games. Both seasons were the first in which he played in more than 2,000 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt (the trade to the Galaxy) put me in an environment with a lot of pressure and the pressure to win and I think that ultimately, it just made me grow,\u201d Cerrillo said. \u201cI think the next step is for me to be where I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cerrillo made his Club America debut Aug. 13 in a Leagues Cup game against Austin FC. His first Liga MX action came Aug. 21, as a substitute against FC Juarez.<\/p>\n
Cerrillo made his first Liga MX start Saturday in a 2-0 win over Puebla. Club America has been on a whirlwind summer, from Leagues Cup and back to Liga MX play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been travelling a lot,\u201d Cerrillo said. \u201cSo I haven\u2019t really settled in, but I\u2019m looking forward to it.<\/p>\n