LAFC today announced the Club’s assistant coaches for the 2022 season. Ante Razov, Marc Dos Santos and Oka Nikolov (Head of Goalkeeping) will join the club’s technical staff under the direction of Head Coach Steve Cherundolo, in his first season at the helm of LAFC.
“It was critical to the Club that we assemble a coaching staff that understands our club’s goals and culture, and we feel we did that to the fullest with this group,” said LAFC Co-President and General Manager John Thorrington. “We believe the wealth of knowledge and championship-level experience of this talented staff will help continue building the winning culture our fans both expect and deserve.”
LAFC’s assistant coaching staff possesses a deep understanding of leading major league soccer teams having a combined 30 years of experience coaching in MLS and internationally.
“The depth of knowledge and experience we have in our technical staff coupled with the talent on our roster puts us in a really good place going into preseason and I’m really excited to get things going,” said Head Coach Steve Cherundolo.
Razov enters his fifth season as a member of the LAFC coaching staff. Prior to joining LAFC in 2018, he served as an assistant coach with the Galaxy (2017) and Seattle Sounders (2015-2016). Razov, a 1998 MLS Cup Champion was a crucial member of the Chicago Fire registering an assist to give the Fire the 1-0 lead against D.C. United during the 98’ MLS Cup Final. In 1998, Razov also earned his first of three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles (1998, 2000 and 2003). During his 15-year professional playing career in MLS he was a member of MLS Best XI in 2003 and amassed 114 goals, which ranks seventh all-time in MLS scoring. A Southern California native, Razov earned 25 caps and scored six goals for the U.S. National Team.
Dos Santos was a member of the LAFC technical staff that lead the club during its inaugural season in 2018. He returns to LAFC after more than two years serving as the Head Coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps where he compiled a 22-37-18 record. Prior to becoming a coach in MLS, he was the North America Soccer League (NASL) Manager of the year in 2015 and 2017, and led the San Francisco Deltas to the 2017 NASL Championship. The Montreal native also had success at multiple coaching stops in Canada including Trois-Rivieres Attak FC (2007-2008), and the Montreal Impact (2009-2011) and Ottawa Fury FC (2014). He led the Impact to the inaugural Canadian Championship, the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the 2008-2009 Concacaf Champions League, as well as the USL First Division title in 2009. Dos Santos has also coached FC Primeira Camisa (U-20’s) and SE Palmeiras (U-15’s) in Brazil and was the first manager of the USL’s Swope Park Rangers.
Nikolov joins LAFC as an Assistant Coach and the Head of Goalkeeping with six years of experience coaching in MLS with Philadelphia Union (2016-17 and 2019-2020), the Galaxy (2018) and most recently D.C. United (2021). Nikolov also served as the goalkeeper coach for Germany’s U-19 squad and Macedonia’s National Team in 2014 and 2015. The German-born Macedonia International spent the majority of his 22-year professional career tending goal for Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt. Originally joining the club at the age of 17, Nikolov made 414 appearances across all competitions for the Eagles including 229 appearances over 19 years in the Bundesliga. Oka made a move to the U.S. when he signed with the Philadelphia Union in 2013 before joining the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL in 2014. Internationally, Nikolov appeared in five games for Macedonia.
