LAFC will be going into the 2022 season with a new head coach.
On Thursday, it was announced that LAFC will part ways with the only coach it ever had, as the team announced that Bob Bradley will not be returning to the franchise. Bradley’s contract was set to expire at the end of the year.
“Bob has been fantastic as the first and only head coach for this Club,” LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington said. “He provided strong leadership and has been a great ambassador for LAFC. Bob helped us develop a winning culture and established a legacy that will always be a part of LAFC’s history.”
Bradley, the second winningest coach in MLS history, came to LAFC prior to its inaugural season after literally having managed across the world. LAFC’s first season in 2018 was a successful one. Led by Bradley’s stewardship and the play of Carlos Vela, the franchise’s high-profile acquisition, LAFC finished third in the Western Conference, becoming just the third expansion team in league history to qualify for the playoffs in its inaugural season.
The 2019 season was the apex for LAFC and Bob Bradley. LAFC won the supporters shield with a whopping 72 points, breaking the season-record for points that had been held by the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy. Vela himself also had a record-setting season, as his 34 goals shattered the single-season record and earned him league MVP honors, while Bradley himself won coach of the year honors. In the playoffs, LAFC overcame its cross-town rival LA Galaxy, beating them for the first time in any competition in a ruckus atmosphere at Banc of California Stadium, but could not finish the job, as the Seattle Sounders upset LAFC in the Western Conference final.
“It’s been incredible to have played a part in the early history of LAFC,” Bradley said. “From the beginning there was a real commitment to connect to the city and the fans and we shared some amazing experiences.”
LAFC had a mixed 2020 season, losing in the quarterfinals of the MLS is Back tournament, then when the regular season resumed, finished seventh in the West and losing in the first round of the playoffs to Seattle. While the MLS season was somewhat of a dissapointment, its participation in the CONCACAF Champions League was a success, as LAFC rallied from a two-goal deficit to upset Leon in the Round of 16, then when the tournament resumed in Orlando in December, upset two more Liga MX teams, Cruz Azul and vaunted Club America, to reach the final. In the final, LAFC took a one-goal lead against Tigres UNAL, but Tigres came back with two unanswered goals to win the CCL trophy.
Everything came crashing down for LAFC this past season. The opening match, while a win for LAFC, might have served as bad omen for how LAFC’s 2021 season would go. In the 20th minute, Vela pulled up lame and signaled to the bench, and Bradley decided to sub him out. Vela however was stunned to learn that he had been subbed out and wanted to continue, Bradley talked with Vela on the sideline and admitted after the match that he had misinterpreted Vela’s motion to the sideline as wanting to be subbed out. LAFC’s season was plagued by inconsistency, as a win streak would sometimes be followed by a prolonged pointless streak that would befuddle LAFC throughout the season. Injuries played a role, as Vela missed months due to a right quad injury, and key players such as Eduard Atuesta and Eddie Segura missed time, and roster turnover, such as the sale of Diego Rossi to Fenerbache in Turkey, also played a role. Only the goal-scoring prowess of Cristian Arango, who came over from Millonarios in Colombia mid-season, kept LAFC in the playoff hunt into the final week, but were eventually eliminated by the Colorado Rapids.
Bradley has seen success wherever he went. He took over the Chicago Fire for its first season in 1998 and led them to the MLS Cup title, upsetting the aforementioned ’98 Galaxy squad before ending DC United’s two-year reign atop MLS to win the title. Bradley then went back home to the New York-New Jersey area to coach the Metrostars, but could not replicate the success in the Jersey Turnpike, and was fired with three games left in the 2005 season. Bradley revived himself the following season, taking over Chivas USA and took them from an awful expansion season to the playoffs. Bradley parlayed that success into the head coaching position of the US National Team, and led them to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup Title, an appearance in the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they upset Spain in the semifinal, but could not hold off Brazil in the final. THe USMNT however would build off that run in the World Cup in 2010, where they advanced to the knockout stages by winning its group, but fell to Ghana in the Round of 16. Bradley was fired from the USMNT in July of 2011, after the US allowed Mexico to score four unanswered goals to win the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Title. From there, Bradley’s path took him across the globe, with coaching stints with the Egyptian National Team, followed by stints in Norway and France, before managing Swansea for 11 games in 2016 before being fired four days before the New Years weekend. Nevertheless, Bradley forever holds the distinction of being the first American to manage in the Premier League.
“We are grateful to Bob for his service to LAFC and the city of Los Angeles, “Thorrington said. “He helped lay a foundation for this Club that we will build on as we wish him well in his next chapter. I am confident in our Club and process that we will find the next head coach who will help lead us forward.”
