LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington recently joined Jason Davis on “The United States of Soccer” Show on Sirius XM Radio. In a wide-ranging discussion, Thorrington went in-depth on why Steve Cherundolo is the right man to lead LAFC, and what player moves the Club is still looking to make before the 2022 season kicks off. Below is the interview:
JASON DAVIS: I think I need to start with hiring Steve as your head coach and what he brings to the table and why ultimately you decided on somebody you knew very well rather than going outside the organization?
JOHN THORRINGTON: Certainly, we underwent an incredibly diligent and thorough process once we went a different direction at the conclusion of the season with Bob. That kickstarted a process. These succession plans and these things are always in the back of one’s mind but that process certainly accelerated immediately following our last match in Colorado, which left us with a bitter taste in our mouths. As an organization - the Board and other staff members went through an extensive and exhaustive process basically through the end of December in order to inform our decision. We spoke to a number of incredible candidates. We searched high, far and wide. As we went through the process, we identified the qualities we felt were most important. At the end of that process and based on those qualities and what he delivers, Steve won out.
DAVIS: I can ask you what those qualities are specifically, but you are clearly choosing a guy who has not yet coached at this level. He has a solid resume as an assistant coach in Germany, he coached in the USL championship. What makes you sure that he is ready to take on the challenge? Not just in MLS but coaching a high-profile team with lots of expectations.
THORRINGTON: Certainly, that is not lost on us. We are not naïve to those facts and I will go into a few of those qualities that helped inform the decision. The first priority was somebody who aligned with our playing philosophy and obviously Steve having been here knows LAFC, our players, our staff, our culture and our playing style. Having spent the year with us and certainly he is a part of who we are at LAFC and the development of our players and that is something that is a big part of Steve’s background, as well as what we saw this last year as he helped the progression of a number of our players - most notably Mamadou Fall, who started with Steve in Vegas and then progressed to becoming a starter for LAFC. The other thing that Steve offers is his ability to connect with players in ways that I know for us and our supporters, is important. What is asked of our players….we ask our players to give everything. I know that our players certainly will do that for Steve. It is not lost on us and we are not naïve to the fact that this is Steve’s first head coaching job in MLS and at this level, but certainly his background, qualities that I have mentioned, we think provides a great foundation and one that we are confident that will lead to success.
DAVIS: In terms of your roster, would you call it a rebuild? Is that a dirty word in your world?
THORRINGTON: It is not a dirty word. I think at times that is what is needed. What I would say is, while I don’t think it is a dirty word, I don’t think it is an accurate description of what we are doing here. I see this as the evolution of this team. It’s not a revolution but rather an evolution. We have had a largely successful four years and laid the foundation on which we can build. My job and our staff’s job here is to give Steve the right players, infrastructure, and support he needs to be successful and I think we have started that process already with some of the additions we’ve made. We certainly have a core group of players that we are excited about, whether that is [Christian] Arango, [Jesus] Murillo, [Jose] Cifuentes, or [Brian] Rodriguez. I think we have added some key pieces with the departure of Eduard [Atuesta] as an example. We bring in [Ilie] Sanchez and [Kellyn] Acosta. Those are two guys we have long admired and wanted to sign. We are able to do so as part of our focus on adding more MLS experience and in addition to those two you add [Franco] Escobar. We are adding two MLS champions to the mix so we do feel good about the additions we have made. I am also excited about those that are still to come.
DAVIS: The Acosta trade specifically, there was a little bit of some hard feelings on Kellyn’s part as per his relationship with the Rapids and his departure. Clearly this is a new start for him in Los Angeles. You are spending a lot of money in MLS terms for this player. What kind of role is he going to have in this team?
THORRINGTON: He is going to have a critical one. As you mentioned, it is a significant outlay of resources. We do not think it is a reckless one. We know Kellyn very well from his time in the league as well as the national team. In Kellyn, we were able to find an opportunity with some of the moves we have made and the way we have managed our budget, we were able to get him despite a lot of competition for his services both within the league and abroad. We feel Kellyn will be a big part of LAFC’s future and the opportunity to sign a player of Kellyn’s age, experience as a US National team player was one that was too good to pass up.
DAVIS: Mentioning the purchase of Kellyn and sale of Atuesta, are you done? Or are there more things in the works here? Should expect to hear extra things coming for LAFC this season?
THORRINGTON: We will certainly be making an addition or two in the coming weeks before we start, and then the exciting aspect of where we are and where our roster lays. We have an open DP spot that we are actively looking to fill, and if that opportunity presents itself in this window then we are in a position to make that signing. The goal here will always be to make sure we get the right player when he is available. We have some great options in that regard, and we’ll be looking to strengthen the team in every aspect to additional roster players and adding a Designated Player.
DAVIS: That was intriguingly non-specific, John. Can you tell us what area of the field we’re talking about with this DP signing? Are you going attack?
THORRINGTON: Sometimes I give intentionally non-specific answers, but that was unintentional, and I am happy to do be more specific. We have historically spent DP funds and slots on attacking pieces. I would still say that is the most likely area we add. Having said that, I think we do have a player in Arango, who produces at a DP level but is not a DP, and that affords us a rare luxury to say maybe for the first time in a while we are potentially open to the idea of adding a DP in another part of the field. Obviously, we want maximum impact for that signing. Part of that calculus is seeing what you already have. We feel really good with our attack already with Brian, Carlos [Vela], and Mahala [Opoku] coming back from an injury. We had Arango, through his play here with us, selected to be a part of the Colombian National Team. With all that said, we feel really good about the attack and if the right attacker presents itself that we think will give us maximum benefit for that DP spot, that is still the most likely area on the field we will bolster, but I do think we are afforded the luxury of looking elsewhere given the strength in our attack already.
DAVIS: You mentioned Brian Rodriguez, and we have seen rumors throughout the preseason with links for him and a potential move to South America, is there anything to that?
THORRINGTON: There is certainly interest for Brian. Not just in South America but everywhere, and we are constantly evaluating those options for the player and for the Club to see what makes sense. That is a situation that happens not just for Brian, but we have other players in that category as well. Those discussions are ongoing. As we look at it, we have to think about what the best move is for LAFC and our commitment is to winning and winning now.
