For all the peaks and valleys Greg Vanney has weathered in his first two years in charge of the LA Galaxy, as his third season dawns, he’s not shying away from the expectations that almost always accompany the league’s only five-time MLS Cup-winning club, even in the down periods.
“I'd like to see us in \[Concacaf\] Champions League next year. I think we're a club that should be present inside Champions League year in and year out, that should be an objective for us,” Vanney told reporters last week in the leadup to LA’s weather-postponed El Trafico fixture at the Rose Bowl, which has turned this weekend’s visit to FC Dallas into the 2023 opener for the Galaxy.
“And I think we should be ultimately closer to the Supporters’ Shield race, if not at the top,” he added. “That shows the consistency that we want to get out of our group over the course of 34 games in a season, is to have less up and down, to have more consistency.”
"Fight for LA"
It was a fairly stormy offseason in Carson, even before the historic torrents of rain that forced their prominent Matchday 1 showdown with LAFC to be rescheduled to July 4. In December, the club was sanctioned for 2019 violations of MLS salary budget and roster guidelines. That prompted a half-year suspension of president Chris Klein, a $1 million fine, a $1 million loss of future general allocation money and a ban on international signings during the summer transfer window.
All that, plus only two playoff trips in the last six seasons, in turn fueled an ongoing dispute with several supporters’ groups. A hamstring injury has sidelined star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez for a least a few weeks to come. And capping it all off was their crosstown rivals’ march to a Shield and MLS Cup double that included a highly dramatic Conference Semifinal victory over the Galaxy in last year’s playoffs.
That’s just life at FC Hollywood – or so goes the general outlook among the Gs, whose hot run of form at the end of the ‘22 campaign has boosted their belief they can still reclaim a place in the league’s elite.
“This happens to any big club, whether it's supporters protests\] or not getting silverware. That's the expectation that comes with a big club. So guys understand that,” said wide man [Raheem Edwards. “The squad understands that and there's big pressure upon us, obviously, with LAFC doing so well, to keep up with them and fight for LA. So guys know the responsibility that comes with playing for this team. There's no excuses.”
Early-season gauntlet
Starting the campaign against LAFC in a packed Rose Bowl would have been quite the early close-up, possibly the unforgiving kind, but very much the sort that players get hyped for. Now, back-to-back road games against FCD and Sporting Kansas City will pose a different psychological task for the Galaxy.
“There was a lot of disappointment and it's a group that has put in a lot of work for the eight weeks,” Vanney said of the postponed opener on Thursday. “They were prepared, they were focused on the game that was coming up, they were looking forward to it. I felt the energy during the course of the week leading up to the game, felt like the playoffs to me a little bit.
“Dallas has one match under their belt and has felt that,” he added, “and for us it's now coming off of what essentially is a bye week and trying to get ourselves right up to speed immediately on the road against a team that has one game under their belt. So I think our guys are more than eager to play because nine weeks of preseason just is too long.”
Vanney’s players are arguably leaning in even further than he is. Goalkeeper Jonathan Bond spoke ruefully of “the tight, tight margins” of last year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs loss to LAFC, musing about how the Gs could have been the ones hoisting MLS Cup instead. Star playmaker Riqui Puig declared his intent to become a league MVP contender and charm the wider SoCal sports audience as he officially took up the Designated Player mantle this week.
The Galaxy truly seem to believe they’re close to where they want to be, that they can get back on course for the league’s upper echelon. They’ll try to provide proof of that in Frisco on Saturday (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
“There's a lot going on. But at the end of the day we're focused on what we want to do,” said veteran midfielder Mark Delgado. “Because the product on the field is what betters everything around the club, with the fans. And we want to make everyone proud, right? So we’ve got to be focused on our jobs and progressing as a group and getting results, and representing the club as best as possible.”
