Our Player Postmortem series continues on as we get ever closer to the new season kicking off for LAFC. Today, we start our look at the middle of the pitch with a glance at the 2024 season had by midfielder Cristian Olivera. The Uruguayan had a huge leap in year two from his first season in 2023, and that leap helped propel the team to some much needed results when some of the other options weren’t at their peak. The 22-year-old came into his own this past season with sparkling performances and finishes when it mattered most.
This build-up 🤌
Cristian Olivera smashes it home 🚀#LAFCvVAN 2-0 pic.twitter.com/ecQefeJEqN
— LAFC (@LAFC) October 28, 2024
In his second year with the club Olivera more than doubled his appearances, starts and minutes played with the club this past season. He made 21 appearances, all starts, and tallied just over 1700 minutes for the club. While he wasn’t the midfielder pulling all the strings for the team, he was a solid distributor of the ball for his teammates this year. He finished with 71% successful pass percentage with 362 passes, coming away with one assist this year. He did rack up 25 key passes in attack, getting a fair amount of assists before the assist in build-ups for the team.
In attack, the Uruguayan really come into his own as one of the many options the team could rely on in front of goal. While he didn’t fill up the scoresheet, he vastly improved from his first year in 2023, and seemed to always come up big when some of the more household names weren’t at their best. He finished the season with a 50% accurate shot percentage, with 30 of his 60 shots finding their target. He had six goals this past season for the club.
Back in the lineup. Back on the scoresheet. 💥
🇺🇾 Cristian Olivera scores 5 minutes into his return from Copa America!#LAFCvRSL 1-0 pic.twitter.com/c6cHT7KdRC
— LAFC (@LAFC) July 18, 2024
The breakout season last year opened plenty of eyes around the world with the rumor mill churning about a possible deal for the young midfielder. If he does stay in Los Angeles for the 2025 season, expect him to have a big impact on the side. He is primed for more responsibility, and with several players having already officially left, he should be in line for more playing time. Whatever the future holds for the Uruguayan, it looks to be a bright one after what we saw from him this past season.
Thoughts on Olivera? Leave a comment below!