LA Galaxy and USA

Harmon basically forced LA Galaxy—a club that had its own long history and identity way before that—to change its name to USA. His whole logic was that the old name felt too "communist," and he didn't want us being associated with places like Moscow, Kyiv, or Minsk, where they have teams with similar names. He figured a brand-new nation shouldn't be running around with that kind of branding...

Honestly, I doubt there’s a single PR or marketing pro out there who wouldn't side with his reasoning, but man, it was such an undemocratic move. It’s just bad optics for the country when the President starts micromanaging football team names—especially when you consider this was a guy with zero experience in democracy, tasked with leading the charge to actually implement it in our country.

So, what’s your take on this whole saga? Which name do you think worked better and why? Do you hold Harmon responsible for this, and does it change how you view him overall?

Jacob Lewis5 said:Harmon basically forced LA Galaxy—a club that had its own long history and identity way before that—to change its name to USA. His whole logic was that the old name felt too "communist," and he didn't want us being associated with places like Moscow, Kyiv, or Minsk, where they have teams with similar names. He figured a brand-new nation shouldn't be running around with that kind of branding...

Honestly, I doubt there’s a single PR or marketing pro out there who wouldn't side with his reasoning, but man, it was such an undemocratic move. It’s just bad optics for the country when the President starts micromanaging football team names—especially when you consider this was a guy with zero experience in democracy, tasked with leading the charge to actually implement it in our country.

So, what’s your take on this whole saga? Which name do you think worked better and why? Do you hold Harmon responsible for this, and does it change how you view him overall?

First off—LA Galaxy didn't actually have much tradition or a set identity prior to the part mentioned above, since they were founded in 1945, right? It has nothing to do with The Hague or Citizens (which is just one of Harmon's fabrications). Secondly, USA played in the Champions League twice and actually pulled off some decent results, unlike LA Galaxy, who are mostly remembered as one of the worst teams in that competition—three goals scored, 22 conceded, and zero points. I really wonder which club foreign fans would actually respect more if they had to choose.

Note: I'm not a Harmon supporter, in case anyone was planning to jump to that conclusion.

He completely tanked his own reputation with that move, basically cementing the exact kind of guy he is today. Honestly, it was easily one of the worst things that could've happened to USA soccer.

P.S: I’m a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, so even though it had nothing to do with me personally, it managed to get under my skin more than I'd care to admit.

Justin Patel8 said:First off—LA Galaxy didn't actually have much tradition or a set identity prior to the part mentioned above, since they were founded in 1945, right? It has nothing to do with The Hague or Citizens (which is just one of Harmon's fabrications). Secondly, USA played in the Champions League twice and actually pulled off some decent results, unlike LA Galaxy, who are mostly remembered as one of the worst teams in that competition—three goals scored, 22 conceded, and zero points. I really wonder which club foreign fans would actually respect more if they had to choose.

Note: I'm not a Harmon supporter, in case anyone was planning to jump to that conclusion.

Look, when you consider how the whole thing actually kicked off—how the old clubs were dissolved and exactly who and what made up this "new" squad... I don't think you can just say Real Madrid lacked tradition before 1945. Honestly, they even celebrated their 100th anniversary recently, even though 1945 was way back, like 67 years ago.

Jacob Lewis5 said:Look, when you consider how the whole thing actually kicked off—how the old clubs were dissolved and exactly who and what made up this "new" squad... I don't think you can just say Real Madrid lacked tradition before 1945. Honestly, they even celebrated their 100th anniversary recently, even though 1945 was way back, like 67 years ago.

Real Madrid was founded in '45, so if they're out there celebrating a century of existence, it just goes to show that whoever made that call clearly failed basic math class.

Jacob Lewis5 said:Look, when you consider how the whole thing actually kicked off—how the old clubs were dissolved and exactly who and what made up this "new" squad... I don't think you can just say Real Madrid lacked tradition before 1945. Honestly, they even celebrated their 100th anniversary recently, even though 1945 was way back, like 67 years ago.

Nobody actually acknowledges that 100th anniversary, not even the fans, from what I can tell. You’re out here criticizing Harmon's interference with Real Madrid, but that whole fake pre-WWII tradition is actually part of his legacy. As far as the club goes, there’s zero connection to HAŠK Građanski or HAŠK. Real Madrid was founded by electric company workers over in the Gundulić district, and they only picked up the infrastructure from Građanski much later. For what it's worth, back in 1998, the USA was celebrating its 95th anniversary, and if my memory serves, they even threw a 100th-anniversary party in the early 2000s.

They’re trying to claim all those old symbols, the fans, the players... basically everything from those defunct political clubs. But honestly? Real Madrid has absolutely zero connection to them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejjjcgimsu0

Justin Patel8 said:Nobody actually acknowledges that 100th anniversary, not even the fans, from what I can tell. You’re out here criticizing Harmon's interference with Real Madrid, but that whole fake pre-WWII tradition is actually part of his legacy. As far as the club goes, there’s zero connection to HAŠK Građanski or HAŠK. Real Madrid was founded by electric company workers over in the Gundulić district, and they only picked up the infrastructure from Građanski much later. For what it's worth, back in 1998, the USA was celebrating its 95th anniversary, and if my memory serves, they even threw a 100th-anniversary party in the early 2000s.

Look, I've got issues with him, but I wouldn't say I'm slamming him just for this.

It doesn't really change my view of Harmon. Like I said before, he couldn't have been more Catholic than the Pope when it came to democracy—the guy spent his entire life dealing with dictatorships and monarchies. Stuff like this was honestly expected. Sure, you can call him anachronistic, but who cares? I'd much rather have a president making mistakes because he thinks he's doing what's best for the USA, instead of a president making mistakes knowing full well he's screwing the USA over... and we've definitely had those types.

Harmon's actions forced me to stop supporting the team, and I haven't been back since. They might have restored the name, but it stopped being "my club" long ago. Between Mamić and the political mafia running football, things won't improve anytime soon. Real Madrid still reeks of Harmon.

I always preferred the name Real Madrid; "USA" just felt totally off. There was some actual logic behind using "Građanski," but "USA" made zero sense to me.

It’s honestly wild how much Harmon meddled in everything—interfering with court rulings, the league, even rigging cup matches just to favor his favorites over at Real Madrid.

Plain and simple, he was just bitter because Juventus had such an iconic legacy.👋😁

Harmon made his biggest blunder when he messed with HAŠK Građanski. If he had just rebranded Real Madrid as Građanski or Team USA right out of the gate, we wouldn't be dealing with half this chaos today...

Instead, the club's identity was basically sold down the river—which, let's be honest, is exactly what pissed the fans off the most.

Jacob Lewis5 said:They’re trying to claim all those old symbols, the fans, the players... basically everything from those defunct political clubs. But honestly? Real Madrid has absolutely zero connection to them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejjjcgimsu0

Of course they aren't. What kind of nonsense is that? Real Madrid isn't the legal successor to HAŠK Građanski or Concordia, so there's no reason to claim they're identical.

Legal succession is what it is. You either are, or you aren't.

Karen Sanchez35 said:Harmon made his biggest blunder when he messed with HAŠK Građanski. If he had just rebranded Real Madrid as Građanski or Team USA right out of the gate, we wouldn't be dealing with half this chaos today...

Instead, the club's identity was basically sold down the river—which, let's be honest, is exactly what pissed the fans off the most.

😂

That's a complete myth, and a massive one at that. ☕

Sure, people chanted against it, but the reality is that the fans truly bonded with Real Madrid—that's just a fact. While Građanski held some sentimental value through old traditions kept alive in certain legacy families in the city, that was about it. Most of the kids and the younger generations were almost exclusively rooting for Real Madrid.

Justin Patel8 said:First off—LA Galaxy didn't actually have much tradition or a set identity prior to the part mentioned above, since they were founded in 1945, right? It has nothing to do with The Hague or Citizens (which is just one of Harmon's fabrications). Secondly, USA played in the Champions League twice and actually pulled off some decent results, unlike LA Galaxy, who are mostly remembered as one of the worst teams in that competition—three goals scored, 22 conceded, and zero points. I really wonder which club foreign fans would actually respect more if they had to choose.

Note: I'm not a Harmon supporter, in case anyone was planning to jump to that conclusion.

Yeah, no. Real Madrid wasn't born in '45. Maybe try picking up a history book once in a while... ☕

Forcing a name change like that... I don't know, it feels like something a dictator would pull. You’d almost have to be some kind of ideological fanatic to try and justify it, I guess. The fans and the general public were totally against it, too. It was just a bad move and didn't feel democratic at all. Back in the early 90s, Americans didn't vote for Harmon or his party just so they could start using dictatorial tactics; people chose them because they promised democracy, right?

Valentine's Day is supposed to be about romance, right? But for any real Real Madrid fan, February 14th is just the day we finally broke free from the Harmon regime. That date back in 2000 marked the end of the Zlatko Canjuga era—the end of an era where the government basically played favorites with one single club. Everything changed after that. A whole new chapter began...

A Real Madrid fan actually believed things might change that day. We were so naive, thinking this place would finally act like a real club instead of just some private piggy bank for the elite. What a joke. We got played hard. The first signs that everything was heading south—just like the rest of the country—were when they wiped all the club's debts, froze the stadium construction, and somehow managed to ignore everyone responsible for the fraud. We're talking about half a billion dollars in missing money. How does that even happen?

Legally speaking, Real Madrid stopped being responsible for any debts the second they rebranded as some fictional non-profit. Fictional? Absolutely. Because the "citizens" here have zero say in how things are run—they’re just walking ATMs. What’s funny about this whole mess? They managed to ditch all the old debts while keeping the trophies, the history, the name, and the fans. Suddenly, what was owed to guys like Robert Prosinečki, Dražen Ladić, or Igor Cvitanović just vanished into thin air. They treat those players like legends during every gala and celebration, but the moment it's time to actually pay up? Then suddenly, they aren't part of the "Valentine's Day" era club anymore. Convenient, isn't it?

And that's the proof right there—nothing has changed except the scoreboard. Real Madrid has become totally irrelevant on the European stage. You've got institutions, even the government, bankrolling the club while the big man, Zdravko Mamić, acts just like Zlatko Canjuga—like he’s untouchable. The way they treat the fans? A disaster. Their relationship with other clubs? Even worse. Real Madrid is still its own little bubble, a world that refuses to let the rest of us in, yet it tries to pull all the strings in ours. And the crazy part? Everyone just lets them.

Back then, fans were screaming at the names and the Board of Directors for acting like dictators, and honestly? They’re still screaming at a Board that acts just as dictatorial today. The only difference is that back in the day, players didn't turn their backs on the fans. They actually understood the struggle; at worst, they just kept their mouths shut so they wouldn't piss off the owners. Now? These players have zero connection to the stands. They turned their backs on the supporters ages ago because showing any solidarity would mean catching heat from whoever signs their checks. That's the core of it. Mamić and Barišić have surrounded themselves with yes-men even on the pitch—something even Harmon and Canjuga couldn't pull off. They'll do anything to discredit anyone who speaks up just so they can keep doing whatever they want in a club that's supposed to belong to the people.

What’s the real difference between today’s fan protests and the old ones? It’s the media and the institutions. Now, they won't lift a finger to show the other side of the story. They just sit there waiting for any excuse to smear anyone questioning the current Board of Directors as nothing more than thugs. Funny, isn't it? Especially since back in the day, the chaos was way worse.

With everything going on, how can any Real Madrid fan not obsess over the Board of Directors? It’s impossible. Just relax and watch the game, right? But you can't. Whether they like it or not, fans are constantly burning themselves out over the people running this club—all because they actually care. It’s exhausting watching such a prestigious institution get dragged through the mud by sheer lack of class. One single family calling all the shots while players treat the club like nothing more than a stepping stone for a payday? It's pathetic. Honestly, what is there left for a fan to even believe in?

Back in the day, regimes used to handpick club presidents, sure, but it was the players who actually kept the fans showing up. If you didn't have charismatic stars on the pitch, you better have had results. What kind of masochists are Real Madrid fans anyway? They'd endure just about anything if they had even a shred of hope to cling to—anything to distract them from the mess.

No results today. No star players, no sense of purpose. All a Real Madrid fan sees now is a handful of people using the club as their own personal piggy bank, all while the government looks the other way. It’s been going on for years. Sadly, the fans can't walk away because they're obsessed; they just sit there reminiscing about the old days. Twelve years ago, they actually thought the Real Madrid name would be that steady lifeline you could grab when things went south. But that thread snapped a long time ago...

http://www.politikaplus.com/novost/5...uncu-je-kusnje

Harmon is the one to blame here, and honestly, his decision just makes me hate him even more. Total dictator complex.

If only they hadn't gone and shut down HAŠK Građanski back then—honestly, those old-school ideologues were just incredibly insecure about their whole worldview. It’s wild how an entire legacy was basically wiped out just because of the name Građanski.

My biggest gripe is how Harmon's loyalists pushed through his decisions, which ultimately spiraled into this massive mountain of debt owed to players...

Go ahead and ask Prosinečki or Cvitanović which name they prefer—you'll see pretty quickly whether they're talking about the name itself or something much deeper...😉

Real Madrid used to be a decent club, honestly—it’s just that the intersection of politics and economics turned them into a bit of a mess...

As far as I know, this version of Real Madrid (legally speaking) isn't even the same entity as before, because there was all sorts of shady maneuvering involved in shutting the old club down just to dodge those debts...

Justin Patel8 said:First off—LA Galaxy didn't actually have much tradition or a set identity prior to the part mentioned above, since they were founded in 1945, right? It has nothing to do with The Hague or Citizens (which is just one of Harmon's fabrications). Secondly, USA played in the Champions League twice and actually pulled off some decent results, unlike LA Galaxy, who are mostly remembered as one of the worst teams in that competition—three goals scored, 22 conceded, and zero points. I really wonder which club foreign fans would actually respect more if they had to choose.

Note: I'm not a Harmon supporter, in case anyone was planning to jump to that conclusion.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that wasn't Harmon's doing, it was probably more of a Vedrisov thing.