Gareth Bale: What can Wales forward expect at LAFC?

Efrain says that LAFC fans 'bleed black and gold' for the team and players

Gareth Bale might not have played in the Los Angeles derby on Friday night, but he made his mark with fans on either side of a pulsating game as the sun set over the Hollywood hills.

Roared on by their fevered support, Bale's new team LAFC beat David Beckham's former franchise LA Galaxy 3-2 and signalled their growing intent to put their city-rivals in the shade.

But after being introduced before kick-off to the supporters who made the match feel like a carnival with their non-stop singing and drumming, Bale was then sucked in by their passion and took to the pitch afterwards to join in.

Helped by LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau in front of the north end of the stadium, the Welsh international took part in the post-match ritual for the players where they dance and then silence the crowd before punching the air while singing "L-A-F-C".

The excited fans, who are still coming to terms with being able to sign their own Galactico from Real Madrid and former Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, lapped it up.

There may be those who question whether Bale going to Major League Soccer is the best preparation for Wales' World Cup campaign in November, but with the season already in full swing and concluding before teams travel to Qatar, the scheduling is perfect.

And if he can help deliver a first MLS title to LAFC, who are again top of the Western Conference this season, his name could go down in legend.

The 32-year-old said at half-time that the place already "feels like home".

"He will love LA. Who doesn't?" says Betsy, an LAFC fan since the team began five seasons ago. "But he will also feel the great camaraderie between the players and fans and it was amazing to see him trying the chant after the game.

"To get a name like Bale is a big deal for us and MLS fans in general, it will put our name on the international map.

"We now need to win the MLS Cup. [Former Arsenal and LAFC forward] Carlos Vela needs it and hopefully with Bale and Chiellini here, we can do it."

LAFC fans did not let up for the whole game on Friday night, creating a carnival atmosphere

Will MLS help or hinder Bale?

With the team's fans letting off black smoke flares prior to kick-off and downtown LA making a stunning backdrop to the new Banc of California stadium, the benefits of Bale moving to the United States are perhaps obvious.

And from a performance perspective, the Welsh captain should have no trouble making his mark in matches such as Friday's derby where Vela and former Manchester United and LA Galaxy forward Javier Hernandez showed flashes of their quality.

But are games like this the best warm-up for Qatar, where Bale is keen to have an impact after leading the country to its first World Cup since 1958?

While the MLS is an undoubted drop in quality from La Liga and the Premier League, Friday's match showed there was no shortage of endeavour with sparks of brilliance, even if both teams exchanged possession on a frustratingly regular basis.

Justin, who prefers LAFC for its "grassroots" feel compared to LA Galaxy, says: "Some of the play out from the defence is really poor, and some MLS games in mid-week can be unwatchable, but when you have a premier game like this, everyone gets up for it and it's fun to watch."

There will be no shortage of chances for Bale if he wants to tune up his shooting, and while he may be keen to avoid some of the physical tackling seen on Friday, he has shown that even when games were hard to come by at Real Madrid, he can still rise to the big occasion as seen in Wales' World-Cup play-off win over Ukraine.

Efrain, an LAFC fan who is wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words: "LAFC, Wales, Golf" to signal what he hopes Bale's new priorities will be, says: "He will have a lot of opportunities to play and the level here is improving.

"It's not up to European standards, but he will be joining a club and a league already in its rhythm so he won't need to wait until pre-season is over."

Bale joined in with other LAFC players for a post-match dance and song in front of the team's passionate fans

'Bleeding black and gold until the end'

Signing for LAFC has given Bale and others multiple opportunities.

As Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have already shown, it can be a great way to engage with new audiences, help grow an existing team, and even offer future investments with Beckham now an MLS franchise owner himself.

Bale has said that the club is "attractive" and that he wants to help a young and developing team.

Compared to LA Galaxy's five MLS titles, LAFC have always been playing catch-up, but the club has worked hard to market itself differently, and large swathes of the support are drawn from the city's Hispanic and South American communities.

By recruiting Bale, the club have also been smart in being able to take their support and slick branding to a European and United Kingdom audience. There were already a couple of Welsh flags in the crowd on Friday night. The club's band of supporters known as "the 3252", based on how many seats there are in the stadium's north stand, are social media gold.

"When they first started, they did a really good job of bringing in and welcoming LA's subcultures together," adds Justin. "I'm from Southern California and never really got into the Galaxy, I don't know why. But LAFC was different, it's more of a grassroots club."

Efrain says: "We are a fresh team, the new kids on the block but I think LA Galaxy are afraid because we are growing faster than them. You can see the passion in the stands, the cheering is from the first minute until the last and that shows how we feel about the players and the team.

"We bleed black and gold, and we will support any player like Bale until the end."

For Bale, who described his reception as "incredible", the feeling seems mutual. Already an icon in Wales, could he become one in LA too?