Armindo Sieb wasted no time scoring for the Los Angeles Football Club, and the German forward expects his stoppage-time banger Wednesday against Red Bull New York to be the first of many for LAFC after arriving during the summer transfer window.
“I think I’m multi-talented,” Sieb, 23, said through a German interpreter Friday. “I can play in a lot of different positions. And if the coach puts me in different positions, I want to be able to show that I can do it.”
Regardless of where Sieb lines up, becoming a consistent scorer would be immense for his new teammates, many of whom have not been clinical enough throughout the season, leading to months like August when Marc Dos Santos’ group saw an onslaught of chances produce five goals in eight games.
Arriving in L.A. midway through that difficult stretch, Sieb worked on his fitness while acclimating to the locker room and surroundings. Sieb spoke with fellow Bayern Munich academy product Timothy Tillman prior to agreeing to the transfer, and has relied on the currently injured midfielder to show him around, even to sample a taste of Korean barbecue.
“It was really good,” said Sieb, who was also glad to learn that his South Korean teammate, Son Heung-min, speaks fluent German, a byproduct of his early years at Bayer Leverkusen.
“Yes, it certainly makes it easier to know that there are a couple of people who speak my language,” Sieb said.
How well they communicate and connect on the field could go a long way in determining whether LAFC (11-7-7, 40 points) will head into the MLS Cup playoffs with momentum.
Nine regular-season games remain, including the next three on the road.
Visiting bottom-of-the-table Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Sieb and his teammates should have chances to boost their scoring totals.
Conceding 58 goals through 23 regular-season games, Kansas City (4-16-3, 15 points) is on pace to get scored on more than any Major League Soccer team in the 30-year history of the league and top the 78 allowed by the 2024 San Jose Earthquakes.
Sporting Kansas City, 1-7-1 since the World Cup, had a full week to prepare for LAFC, and Dos Santos said his team will respect them “like we were playing the first team in the league.”
On July 25, Son, Denis Bouanga and David Martínez each scored for LAFC, which exploited SKC 4-0 at BMO Stadium.
Prior to Martínez’s departure to FC Midtjylland of the Danish Superliga, the trio accounted for nearly two-thirds of LAFC’s regular-season goals. That was true despite Son’s inability to deliver in 15 regular-season games prior to the World Cup break.
Through 10 MLS games since action resumed, Son found his scoring boots. Connecting in half of those matches, Son helped the Black & Gold snatch 11 of 15 possible points. During the handful of games without a Son goal or assist, LAFC accumulated five of 15 points.
It isn’t particularly insightful to say that when Son contributes to a goal, LAFC is much better off. This year, they are 7-2-2 in MLS when something Son did directly led to an updated scoreboard.
Conversely, Wednesday marked the fourth time in 13 games that LAFC managed to earn full points when Son did not make the scoresheet.
Son looked totally gassed after his fourth straight 90-minute performance Wednesday, but Dos Santos said he will play as usual on the weekend. There will, however, be noticeable rotations as LAFC plays its third match in eight days.
Despite relying on Son and Bouanga to spark the offense even before the departure of Martínez to Europe, Dos Santos said he would like to avoid being overly reliant on his designated players.
“It’s very important that we get contributions from other guys,” the coach said.
After scoring against New York, 17-year-old midfielder Jude Terry ranks among seven LAFC players in 2026 with multiple regular-season goals. Joining Bouanga (12), Martínez (6) and Son (5), Mark Delgado, Mathieu Choinière and the traded Nathan Ordaz are tied with Terry at two.
Meanwhile, forwards Jacob Shaffelburg, Tyler Boyd and Jeremy Ebobisse have combined for one goal over 1,818 minutes.
Bagging his lone strike in 37 minutes, Sieb is looking to surpass Boyd, Stephan Eustáquio, Sergi Palencia, Ryan Hollingshead and his pal Tillman in short order.
“To get that goal, it took a load off my shoulders,” Sieb said. “I was happy about it, but I definitely plan on shooting a lot more goals in the future.”
LAFC (11-7-7, 40 points) AT SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-16-3, 15 points)
When: 5:30 p.m. PT Saturday
Where: Sporting Park, Kansas City, Kansas
TV/Radio: Apple TV/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM