San Pedro FIFA gamer becomes LA Galaxy’s first eSport athlete

San Pedro native Giuseppe “the Godfather” Guastella, one of the world’s top EA Sports FIFA video game players, has become the Carson-based Los Angeles Galaxy’s first-ever eSports athlete.

The 32-year-old will represent the Major League Soccer team in the newly established eMLS, a competitive league with 19 eSports athletes who are affiliated with various franchises.

“I was really, really grateful because they were my hometown team from Day 1,” said the 2003 San Pedro High School graduate, who also supports Italian powerhouse Juventus, his Sicilian father’s favorite club. “It’s a great honor to be the first FIFA eSport player to represent the best club in MLS.”

Guastella started playing FIFA against his brother as an 8-year-old. Competitive even then, Guastella hated to lose so much that he just kept playing and playing.

By 2009, he knew he was pretty good and was invited to play in the 2009 FIFA Interactive North American Championship, where he beat seven of the best players in the region.

“Whatever I did, I always wanted to be No. 1, so I wasn’t surprised,” he said.

Since then, Guastella has traveled the world playing competitively and is a five-time FIFA Interactive World Championship finalist.

He won the 2009 FIFA Interactive North American Championship in New York and finished in the top four at the 2012 FIFA Interactive World Championship in Dubai. He won the North American championship at the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game and last year was crowned FIFA Ultimate Team Champion in Vancouver, taking home $30,000 and earning a qualifying spot at the world championships in Berlin.