Chicharito, Carlos Vela look to get L.A. clubs back in MLS contention
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Editor's Note: MLS Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the league and across American soccer.
One of the most interesting and obvious storylines in MLS this season involves the league’s two Los Angeles-based clubs. The LA Galaxy and LAFC are as close to so-called Superclubs as it gets.
The Galaxy own a record five MLS Cups. LAFC, an instant hit when they debuted in 2018, claimed the Supporters' Shield in just their second season, shattering the record for regular-season points along the way. (New England set a new mark last year.)
Which makes it all the more remarkable that neither the Galaxy nor LAFC made the playoffs in 2021. Not surprisingly, both clubs are desperate to get back to the postseason.
"It’s one of our primary objectives," second-year Galaxy coach Greg Vanney told FOX Sports. "This year is about taking a big step forward. The key for me since I arrived is to build a foundation by which we can make the playoffs every single year."
Both L.A. teams won their season openers last weekend, with their stars stealing the show. LAFC routed the Colorado Rapids 3-0 on Carlos Vela’s hat trick. The Galaxy got a last-gasp goal from Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Vela’s teammate on Mexico’s 2010 and 2018 World Cup squads, to defeat defending champion New York City FC.
Still, the Galaxy’s next match feels like a trap game. On Saturday, they travel to expansion Charlotte FC (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports app), a club that by its own admission won’t be at full strength until the summer. On the other hand, an MLS-record crowd of more than 75,000 fans is expected for the first home match in Charlotte’s history.
"There’s going be a lot of emotion involved, both for their fans and for their team," Vanney said. "For us, it’s about managing that."
For LAFC, their opening victory was accompanied by a roller coaster of feelings for rookie coach Steve Cherundolo. "Relief, joy — a lot was going on emotionally," he said. "Some good football sprinkled in with some bad. We’re a new group, a new staff, a bunch of new additions to the roster, and this was our first crack at it. They found a way to win."
Next up for LAFC is Sunday’s nationally televised nightcap against the Portland Timbers (10 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports app).
MLS FOOTNOTES
1. The Galaxy’s brightest star
MLS is more relevant in the City of Angels than in any other major American market. Need proof? In the second week of the regular season, more than 70 media members participated in a Zoom call with Chicharito.
2. Patience the key for Costa …
The Galaxy added former Bayern Munich and Juventus winger Douglas Costa over the winter, and the Brazilian showed flashes of his pedigree in his debut.
But MLS is notoriously difficult to adjust to for foreign players, no matter their résumé; Manchester United and Real Madrid alum Chicharito struggled mightily in his first season before finding his feet last year.
His advice for Costa?
"Be patient. It takes time," Hernandez said. "That’s what he needs — more training, more games, more time, more rhythm. I’m going to help him so that he can bring his best, so he can help us."
3. … And for Cherundolo, too
As difficult a time as some high-profile imports have had adapting to regular cross-continent travel, varying climates and playing surfaces and uneven refereeing in MLS, the track record of foreign coaches in MLS is worse. For many, the salary cap and roster restrictions have proven problematic.
So it’s fair to wonder how San Diego native Cherundolo, who spent his entire 16-year playing career and five more as a youth/assistant coach in Germany, would adapt.
"Some would consider me a foreign coach, and in some ways that is true," he said. "But I’m also American, and I’ve followed MLS for a very long time. A lot of friends and colleagues have been involved in this league. There’s been a lot of conversations."
Steve Cherundolo's journey to LAFC
Cherundolo added that spending last year leading LAFC’s second division affiliate was a huge help. The Las Vegas Lights trained in Los Angeles and commuted to Nevada for home games, which meant Cherundolo spent lots of time around LAFC president/GM John Thorrington and then-coach Bob Bradley.
"That was very important in prepping me for this season," he said.
4. "The most underrated midfielder in MLS"
Costa was the Galaxy’s marquee signing for 2022, but they also quietly added three MLS Cup winners in Mark Delgado, Raheem Edwards and Kelvin Leerdam. Delgado and Leerdam were members of Vanney’s 2017 Toronto team. Leerdam hoisted the hardware with Seattle two years later.
In the opener, Delgado ran a staggering 8.7 miles against NYCFC.
"Marky is maybe the most underrated midfielder in MLS," Vanney said. "He covers so much ground, and he’s hyper aware. He makes the players around him better by giving the guys who get goals and assists more time on the ball. It was a steal to get him. One of these days, more people will realize his value."
5. Home sweet home
Delgado grew up 25 miles east of L.A. and watched the Galaxy. Now he’s back in Southern California after seven seasons north of the border.
"We have something really special here," he told FOX Sports this week. "Right away, you can tell all the guys click. We get along not just in the locker room but on the field, too. We have respect for each other. That goes a long way, and on top of that, you have a great coaching staff with a plan."
6. Houston snares Herrera
The Houston Dynamo made perhaps the biggest signing in their history Wednesday, inking Mexico captain Hector Herrera. The 31-year-old midfielder will arrive in Texas this summer after Atletico Madrid’s season is over.
7. Nashville makes noise
Maybe those worried about how Nashville SC might fare in the Western Conference after spending their first two MLS seasons in the East shouldn’t fret after all.
In their season opener last weekend, Nashville went to Seattle and shut out the MLS Cup co-favorite (per FOX Bet) Sounders 1-0 — a win Nashville thoroughly deserved.
8. Columbus back in contention?
The Crew won MLS in 2020, then failed to make the postseason last year. But like the two L.A. teams, they might be poised to return to contender status this season if their opener is an indication. Columbus pummeled Vancouver 4-0. The Crew could have scored 10 goals. They took 22 shots, but just seven were on target.
Looks like the Whitecaps will really miss Canadian national team keeper Maxime Crepeau this season.
9. More trouble for FC Cincinnati
For all their fan support, FC Cincinnati have been a big disappointment in their first few MLS seasons. There’s little indication that things will get better this year. FCC was on the wrong side of opening weekend’s most lopsided result, a 5-0 thrashing at second-year side Austin FC.
It will be interesting to see how Cincy responds back home Saturday against D.C. United.
10. Atlanta United hamstrung
After three drama-filled years, Atlanta finally has some stability under coach Gonzalo Pineda, who enters his first full season at the helm. But the Five Stripes will face some early adversity after forward Luiz Araujo pulled a hamstring in last week’s 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City.
11. Another Toronto-bound Italian?
TFC already signed Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne. Now it looks like the Reds are close to announcing a deal for Genoa skipper Domenico Criscito, too.
Unlike Insigne, the 35-year-old defender would apparently join Toronto now rather than when the Serie A season concludes.
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
