It took three league games with his new club for Olivier Giroud to show that his influence can outweigh his attacking output.

While celebrating LAFC’s opening goal in a derby against LA Galaxy, Giroud made a quick point to a teammate standing next to him, a young midfielder who trailed the play. As his teammates tell it, that leadership is already the norm for a player who officially swapped Milan for Los Angeles just two months ago.

“What an amazing locker room addition he has been,” LAFC defender Aaron Long says. “The way he takes care of his body, the way he approaches training, approaches games, talks to his teammates in training, the way he coaches guys and things he sees tactically, asks questions in video sessions.”

LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo appreciates what he calls Giroud’s “soft skills in and around the locker room, around the training facility and in talking to younger players. These things you don’t maybe expect if you just watch him play on TV.”

Giroud’s leadership becomes paramount as he tries to connect with his fellow forwards and deals with lingering knee pain while adjusting to a new club, league and culture.

The forward will receive another test on Wednesday night, as Giroud’s LAFC host Sporting Kansas City in the final of the US Open Cup, the oldest continuous soccer competition in the US.

Despite Giroud’s early struggles with his new club, management has faith in him.

“What is different about Olivier is his physicality, his presence, his size,” said John Thorrington, LAFC’S general manager and co-president. “I think what is unique and holds up is his ability not just to score goals but also to combine and create goals. That was a unique combination of skills. Most strikers have either-or. We found a rare package that would suit us very well.”

Giroud, who will turn 38 on 30 September, arrives in MLS with a resume that includes stints at Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan. He is also France’s all-time record scorer, with 57 goals, and helped his country win the 2018 World Cup. Giroud’s clubs also won four FA Cups, one championship apiece in Ligue 1 and Serie A and the 2020-21 Champions League.

But after 20 seasons in Europe, Giroud wanted to end his career in Los Angeles. He signed a contract that runs through 2026 and joins goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his close friend and former teammate with France, in Los Angeles.

“There’s so much different here but I love the lifestyle,” Giroud said. “My kids have the opportunity to play football and go swimming after school. I’m lucky enough to have a swimming pool at home, and I put together some goals so they can play football. They really enjoy their life and so do I. I’m very sociable. I like to meet people. I already have a few friends living in LA, so therefore the adaptation was quite quick. Plus, I have some ‘Frenchies,’ some guys who can speak French.”

Giroud received positive reviews about MLS from Zlatan Ibrahimović, his former Milan teammate who scored 52 goals in two seasons for the Galaxy and comes from “the wrong side of LA,” as Giroud teasingly said in reference to the crosstown rivalry.

“When I told him that I wanted to play for LAFC,” Giroud said, “he told me, ‘In MLS, you will enjoy it.’ It’s a good championship for the strikers, because sometimes there are more open spaces, and you can have more chances to score goals. He was happy for me because he really enjoyed his years in MLS.”

Ibrahimović’s review reflects the league’s more energetic, attacking approach.

“To be honest with you, I’ve been impressed by the intensity in the game,” Giroud said. “There’s a difference with Europe tactically because the teams are playing for scoring goals. There is really this desire to always go forward and score goals. It’s nice for strikers and for the fans. And there’s quality. There are great players.”

But travel challenges that intensity. When Giroud played in Europe, he rarely had to leave one time zone. MLS, however, includes four time zones spanning a footprint that extends from Los Angeles to Montreal to Miami to Vancouver.

“Travel is massive,” Giroud said. “In Europe when you travel in Champions League, for example, the longest flight would be one hour and a half or two hours – apart from playing in Baku for the Europa League final. Here, I’ve already done 20 hours of flight in a month. So it’s important to be even more professional in your recovery, sleeping well, eating well and doing the treatments you need to be fit.”

Since joining from Milan, Giroud has struggled to reach complete match fitness. In his nine games with LAFC, including four in a midseason competition against clubs from Mexico’s Liga MX, the veteran has played 90 minutes just once and scored only one goal. Both accomplishments came in the final of the Leagues Cup, which LAFC lost 3-1 to Columbus Crew. But during that game, Giroud sustained a minor knee injury that kept him from playing an MLS match three nights later in Seattle.

Managing that injury, though, has hampered Giroud’s attempt to build chemistry on the field. Before Giroud arrived, Polish international Mateusz Bogusz played at center forward, with Uruguayan international Cristian Olivera on Bogusz’s right and Gabon’s Denis Bouanga – who won the MLS Golden Boot last year – on the left. When Giroud arrived as the new center forward, Bogusz moved to Giroud’s right. The new trio have combined for two goals in MLS play, with Giroud yet to tally an assist.

“There was so much interchange when Matty Bogusz was playing at the top in the nine position – the understanding of the freedom of the movement of vacated space and pushing through, underlapping, overlapping, switching spots,” said TV commentator Brian Dunseth, a former MLS defender. “Now it’s a little bit different. There are more identifiable roles, with the necessity to be in certain spaces with Olivier Giroud playing in that nine position.”

Nevertheless, France’s all-time leading scorer has had chances to score his first MLS goal. Against the Galaxy, Giroud hit the post. Against Austin FC four nights later, Giroud forced goalkeeper Brad Stuver to make a leaping deflection of Giroud’s rising 19-yard shot. Frustration, however, has not interfered with Giroud’s temperament.

“We love his personality,” Long said. “He brings a ton of energy. He brings a ton of fire, and not only in the locker room, but in training and in games. He’s a guy that we can really look to. He’s very engaged.”

That engagement impressed Bogusz.

“Since the first day, he was very open to me, asking me a lot of questions,” Bogusz said. “Me too. I asked him lots of questions. He can always speak with you. He can joke. He always gives some small tip on the field. He will tell you what was good, what was bad. He’s a very good teammate.”

Lloris, Giroud’s former and current teammate, has seen how the forward responds to pressure.

“There were a lot of question marks many times in his career but he always proved to others they were wrong,” Lloris said. “Sometimes even in the national team, he always scored important goals when people started to lose a bit of faith in him. He’s got a huge mentality. He’s ready to fight every time. He loves the competition. It’s a great example for young players.”

As a result, Lloris believes Giroud ultimately will find success in MLS.

“A career is never a straight line,” Lloris said. “It doesn’t matter what your level is, what your experience is, what is on your CV. You always need to adapt to a new environment. Sometimes you face difficulties and it’s hard to get back to the top. I’ve seen a lot of players giving up. But what Olivier proved during all of his career is this facility to always bounce back, and that’s amazing. I think it’s great to have him here.”

• This article was amended on 25 September 2024. An earlier version of the piece incorrectly said that a midfielder touched the ball in the buildup to a goal.