LOS ANGELES (AP) — Olivier Giroud admits his brief tenure at Los Angeles FC was disappointing, although he will cherish the friendships and the trophy he gathered during his year in Major League Soccer.
The 38-year-old striker is eager to play once again in France after 13 years away, and he confirmed Sunday night that he will join Lille to take on one more challenge in his storied career.
The top goal-scorer in the history of the French national team said farewell to LAFC by going scoreless and coming off with what he called tendon pain after 60 minutes in a 1-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Giroud had a golden opportunity to score in front of goal early in the second half, but volleyed a pass from Denis Bouanga over the bar.
Giroud was still given a standing ovation by the BMO Stadium fans who stayed firmly behind him while he scored just five goals in 38 matches for their club.
“I wish I could have had a bigger impact on the team, on the results,” Giroud said. “At the end, it was a good experience. Obviously I can’t stay longer, so I need a new chapter. I need to challenge myself one more time, and when I had the opportunity to come back (to) France, I just grabbed it. I wish nothing but the best for the club. I tried hard. I tried my best.”
Giroud was under contract until the end of the current MLS season, but LAFC and Giroud mutually agreed to part ways so he could leave on a free transfer. He confirmed he will soon join Lille, which finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season to earn a Europa League place.
“I think the French people are happy that Paul Pogba, myself are coming back in the French league,” Giroud said of his Monaco-bound friend and teammate on France's World Cup-winning team in 2018.
“If you would have asked me a few years before, I would have answered you that was not the plan to come back, but you never know, and never say no,” Giroud added. “I think this club ticked a lot of boxes for me and for my family. (I) hope that I can be helpful for the team, being a leader and a link-up player on the field, but (also) off the pitch between the youngsters and the staff. I’m excited because we also play Europa League. It’s very positive. It’s a big club in France, Lille. Top five.”
Giroud hasn't played in Ligue 1 since 2012, when he left Montpellier for the start of his famed six-year tenure at Arsenal. He subsequently won the Champions League and the Europa League with Chelsea before winning Serie A with AC Milan.
Giroud moved to LAFC in July 2024, but he now acknowledges he never fit into the system played by LAFC and its championship-winning coach, Steve Cherundolo — who is also leaving the club this fall.
“If you know football, you understand that in one sense, yeah, I didn’t really fit to maybe the game style, I would say,” Giroud said. “Just being honest. I try to adapt. I try my best one more time, but I can’t do something I’m not used to (doing) and I don’t know how to do.”
Cherundolo favors a transition game emphasizing counterattacks and play up the sides, which doesn't mesh with Giroud's 38-year-old pace up the middle. In a scenario familiar across MLS, LAFC struggled to find a playmaker capable of providing service to an elite goal-scorer like Giroud, who excels on crosses in the box.
Giroud was relegated to a substitute role in most matches despite wearing the No. 9 shirt, and he made a major impact in only a handful of outings — most memorably his goal in LAFC’s victory in the U.S. Open Cup final last year.
“We did not use the cross a lot, which is my main strength in the box,” Giroud said. “And yeah, I had the feeling that we would play a lot in transition, so it’s not the best for me. ... I know what I can bring to the team, but I know what I can’t do also. I think it’s time to say goodbye now, and one more time to wish all the best to the boys because I love them. I will miss LA, but on the other hand, I’m really excited to have another challenge.”
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Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud (9) shoots during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud, center right top, exits during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud controls the ball during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Los Angeles, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Attallah Tarazi recently received Christmas presents that included socks and a scarf to shield him against the Gaza winter, and he joined some fellow Palestinian Christians in a round of hymns.
“Christ is born,” the group sang in Arabic. “Hallelujah.”
The presents and hymns offered the 76-year-old a taste of the holiday in a devastated Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire has provided some relief, but the losses of the Israel-Hamas war and the ongoing struggles of displaced people are dampening many traditional festivities.
Tarazi and much of the rest of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community are trying to capture some of the season’s spirit despite the destruction and uncertainty that surround them. He clings to hope and the faith that he said has seen him through the war.
“I feel like our joy over Christ's birth must surpass all the bitterness that we’ve been through," he said. He's been sheltering for more than two years at the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza, where a church group including choir members toured among displaced people this Christmas season, he said.
“In such a glorious moment, it’s our right to forget all that’s war, all that’s danger, all that's bombardment."
But for some, the toll is inescapable.
This will be the first Christmas for Shadi Abo Dowd since the death of his mother, who was among those killed in July when an Israeli attack hit the same Catholic church compound where Tarazi lives and which has been housing displaced people. Israel issued statements of regret and said it was an accident.
Abo Dowd said his son was wounded in the assault that also hurt the parish priest.
Ahead of Christmas, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, paid a visit to the Holy Family Parish. A patriarchate statement said the visit marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations in "a community that has lived and continues to live through dark and challenging times.”
Abo Dowd, an Orthodox Christian who observes Christmas on Jan. 7, said he does not plan to celebrate beyond religious rituals and prayers. “There’s no feast,” he said.
“Things are difficult. The wound is still there," he said. “The suffering and pain are still there.”
He added: "We’re still living in a state of no peace and no war."
Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect in October, but deadly attackshave not entirely ended. Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of breaking the truce and the more challenging second phase has yet to be implemented.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed nearly 71,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half the deaths were women and children.
The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has also caused widespread destruction and displaced the vast majority of the territory’s some 2 million residents. Highlighting some of the many struggles and needs of the enclave and its people was torrential rain that recently flooded displacement camps and collapsed already badly damaged buildings.
“I always tell my children, ‘God only gives the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers,’" Abo Dowd said. “We’re holding onto our Christian faith and onto our country, and we love our country."
He and others know of many Christians among those who fled Gaza during the war and more who hope to leave if given the opportunity. He worries about the effect on the Christian presence and on Gaza’s social fabric. “It's a tragedy,” he said.
His children would like to study abroad. “They're young. What will they stay to do? There's no future."
The departure of many relatives and friends means Christmas doesn’t feel the same for 23-year-old Wafa Emad ElSayegh.
He and family members gathered with others at Gaza’s Greek Orthodox church compound to put up decorations. But the absence of friends who escaped Gaza fueled his nostalgia.
“We used to be together in everything,” said ElSayegh, who’s now staying with his family at the home of an aunt who left Gaza during the war.
His favorite part of Christmas was the togetherness — the family gatherings, the celebratory events that he said drew Christians and some Muslims, and the excitement of children receiving gifts.
“There would be celebrations, songs and an indescribable joy that we, unfortunately, haven’t felt in a long time,” he said. And with many relatives away, he said the usual Christmas atmosphere cannot be recreated.
Elynour Amash, 35, is trying to bring some of that cheer to her children “through decorating and lighting the tree so they can feel that joy is possible despite all pain."
“My children feel a little bit of joy, like breathing after a long period of suffocation,” she said in written responses to The Associated Press. “They’re happy they’re celebrating without fear of a nearby explosion and because some chocolates and sweets have returned to their lives, in addition to foods that they had long been deprived of.”
She's thankful her home is still standing, but the scenes of displaced people in tents that cannot shield them from the cold and rain often drive her to tears.
“The sounds of explosions and gunfire can still be heard, and the fear hasn’t left the hearts. There’s continuous worry that the ceasefire won't last.” She sees the toll in her youngest, who trembles when he hears loud noises.
“It’s as if the war lives inside of him," she said. "As a mother, that pain is indescribable."
She also worries that someday Christians could disappear from Gaza. But, for now, “our presence, no matter how small, is a testimony of love, steadfastness and faith in this land,” she said.
Tarazi is determined to stay.
Early in the war, he lost a sister, who was among those killed when an Israeli airstrike hit the Orthodox church compound housing displaced people. The Israeli military said it had targeted a nearby Hamas command center. Tarazi said a brother also died after he could not get needed medical care due to the war.
He prays for peace and freedom for the Palestinian people. “Our faith and our joy over Christ's birth are stronger than all circumstances,” he said.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, second left, leads a mass ahead og Christmass celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians parishioners attend a mass led by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Children and nuns gather outside the Holy Family Catholic Church before attending a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, poses for the photos with Palestinian parishioners after leading a mass ahead of Christmas celebrations at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
