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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Galaxy give multi-year contract extension to coach Greg Vanney while mired in historic winless skid
FILE - Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney looks on from the bench before the MLS Cup championship soccer match against the New York Red Bulls, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, file) Head coach Greg Vanney has been given a multi-year contract extension by the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy despite their historic 13-game winless skid to start the new season. The Galaxy announced the deal Friday for Vanney even though the club has 10 losses and three draws in the worst start to a season by any team in MLS history. Advertisement Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said the decision to keep Vanney for the long term was made last year. Vanney, a two-time MLS Cup champion coach, was previously under contract only through the current season. "Greg is one of the most respected and successful coaches in MLS history, and we are excited to be continuing under his leadership,' Kuntz said in a statement. 'While this season's results haven't reflected our standards, this was a decision made following our 2024 MLS Cup victory, and we remain confident in the project we are building with Greg and we have a clear path forward to returning to an MLS champion level. Greg's commitment to development, culture, and high standards is unwavering.' Vanney led the Galaxy to their MLS-record sixth league title last season in a stunning turnaround for a team that had almost no success in the previous decade since winning the 2014 title. LA finished second in the Western Conference before streaking through the playoffs and beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 at home in the MLS Cup Final. Vanney also won the MLS Cup and reached three MLS Cup Finals during his lengthy tenure with Toronto before the former Galaxy defender returned to his native Southern California in 2021. The Galaxy made the playoffs in two of Vanney's first four seasons in charge. Advertisement But the new season has been horrific for the Galaxy without star midfielder Riqui Puig, who led MLS in touches last season by a wide margin before he tore a knee ligament in the conference final. Forward Dejan Joveljic, midfielder Mark Delgado and MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman were among the contributors who had to be moved in the offseason due to the salary cap constraints annually created for MLS champions. Designated players Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus all returned for the new season, but all have struggled with injuries — and the Galaxy are foundering with just three points from 13 games. The Galaxy have earned one victory this season, beating Herediano 4-1 in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match in March. The Galaxy lost 1-0 to Sporting Kansas City earlier this month despite not giving up a shot, falling on an own-goal by Maya Yoshida. LA then matched the worst margin of defeat in MLS history during a 7-0 drubbing from the Red Bulls. The Galaxy lost 3-2 to Philadelphia on Wednesday. They host Los Angeles FC on Sunday night in the El Tráfico rivalry game. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Galaxy don't have an excuse for winless start: 'They shouldn't be this bad'
Galaxy don't have an excuse for winless start: 'They shouldn't be this bad' Minnesota United midfielder Will Trapp, left, and Galaxy midfielder Elijah Wynder battle for the ball on March 22. The Galaxy are winless through their first eight MLS matches. (Abbie Parr / Associated Press) Maybe it's a jinx. Or a curse. Or simply just bad luck. However you describe it, it's clear that winning the MLS Cup hasn't brought the Galaxy the momentum they had hoped for because they haven't won an MLS game since then. Advertisement With three points through eight games the Galaxy (0-5-3) are off to the worst start in franchise history and the worst start ever by a reigning MLS champion, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They've led just once this season, have the worst goal differential in the league and are already eight points out of a playoff spot. Coming off a golden season, everything they touch turns to bronze. On Saturday the team tried to celebrate its title by giving away replicas of their MLS championship rings but even that gesture was jinxed — the team only had 10,000 rings for a crowd of nearly 24,000. Predictably, fans were not happy. Read more: Diego Fagúndez helps short-handed Galaxy tie Dynamo as winless streak hits eight games Advertisement Things didn't get much better when the game started, with the Galaxy going down a goal in the 14th minute and down a man in the 28th minute when Zanka drew a well-deserved red card. They eventually rallied to earn a 1-1 draw with the hapless, one-win Houston Dynamo. 'No excuses,' coach Greg Vanney said. 'We have to stop putting ourselves in holes and then trying to figure our way out. It's got to get cleaned up. It's got to get fixed.' But even with no wins, Vanney's team has reason to hope. The only other defending MLS champion to go winless through eight games, the 2003 Galaxy, won its ninth game and went on to make the playoffs. Alexi Lalas, who played on that 2003 team, said this year's Galaxy need to put last season behind them. Advertisement 'Obviously there is an inevitable hangover after a championship season. You find yourself trying to recapture the magic but the dynamic inevitably has changed,' he said. 'Trades, sales, injuries can all contribute to the new and unfamiliar reality. 'This Galaxy team needs to stop worrying about being another version of what they were and be the best version of what they are.' All the factors Lalas mentioned have certainly influenced the team's dreadful start. Over the winter the team sold Dejan Joveljic, its leading scorer in the playoffs, and traded midfielders Mark Delgado and Gastón Brugman, the MLS Cup MVP. It started without midfielder Riqui Puig, the team's most important player, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the postseason, then lost six other starters for multiple games to injury. None of that can be used as an excuse, though, since other teams have dealt with similar setbacks without imploding. Advertisement Winning also brings additional challenges in terms of bonuses and other payments that forced the team to rebuild a roster that didn't need to be rebuilt just to squeeze it under the league's salary cap. But others have managed to overcome that too: Three teams in the last eight seasons have won the MLS Cup one season and made it back to the final the next year. 'The narrative of blaming the league rules and framing it as inevitable, something the Galaxy at times seems to be promoting themselves, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,' said Lalas, who served as the Galaxy's president before becoming soccer analyst for Fox Sports. 'There is enough talent and experience on this Galaxy team to be at least competitive. 'They may not recapture the magic from last year but they shouldn't be this bad.' The Galaxy proved that in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating Costa Rican champion Herediano before narrowly losing to Tigres UANL, the Liga MX runner-up. And they did despite the trades, sales, injuries and salary-cap issues. Advertisement Read more: Denis Bouanga and Sergi Palencia score, lifting LAFC past San Jose Diego Fagúndez, who captained the Galaxy against Houston and scored the team's only goal Saturday in his 400th MLS appearance, agrees the team needs to stop looking for scapegoats and start looking for solutions. 'I think it's details,' he said. 'I've been saying this now for the past two weeks: Pay attention to details. Because those are what's killing us.' The season isn't over for the Galaxy. In 2009 the Columbus Crew went winless through seven games yet would end up finishing atop the Eastern Conference. The year before Houston was winless through six games and rallied to win the Western Conference. Such a climb might be a bit too steep for the Galaxy but with 18 of the 30 MLS teams making the playoffs, a postseason berth shouldn't be out of the question. Advertisement And Fagúndez says there's a simple way for the Galaxy to achieve even that modest goal. 'We need to start winning games.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Galaxy don't have an excuse for winless start: ‘They shouldn't be this bad'
Maybe it's a jinx. Or a curse. Or simply just bad luck. However you describe it, it's clear that winning the MLS Cup hasn't brought the Galaxy the momentum they had hoped for because they haven't won an MLS game since then. With three points through eight games the Galaxy (0-5-3) are off to the worst start in franchise history and the worst start ever by a reigning MLS champion, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They've led just once this season, have the worst goal differential in the league and are already eight points out of a playoff spot. Coming off a golden season, everything they touch turns to bronze. On Saturday the team tried to celebrate its title by giving away replicas of their MLS championship rings but even that gesture was jinxed — the team only had 10,000 rings for a crowd of nearly 24,000. Predictably, fans were not happy. Things didn't get much better when the game started, with the Galaxy going down a goal in the 14th minute and down a man in the 28th minute when Zanka drew a well-deserved red card. They eventually rallied to earn a 1-1 draw with the hapless, one-win Houston Dynamo. 'No excuses,' coach Greg Vanney said. 'We have to stop putting ourselves in holes and then trying to figure our way out. It's got to get cleaned up. It's got to get fixed.' But even with no wins, Vanney's team has reason to hope. The only other defending MLS champion to go winless through eight games, the 2003 Galaxy, won its ninth game and went on to make the playoffs. Alexi Lalas, who played on that 2003 team, said this year's Galaxy need to put last season behind them. 'Obviously there is an inevitable hangover after a championship season. You find yourself trying to recapture the magic but the dynamic inevitably has changed,' he said. 'Trades, sales, injuries can all contribute to the new and unfamiliar reality. 'This Galaxy team needs to stop worrying about being another version of what they were and be the best version of what they are.' All the factors Lalas mentioned have certainly influenced the team's dreadful start. Over the winter the team sold Dejan Joveljic, its leading scorer in the playoffs, and traded midfielders Mark Delgado and Gastón Brugman, the MLS Cup MVP. It started without midfielder Riqui Puig, the team's most important player, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the postseason, then lost six other starters for multiple games to injury. None of that can be used as an excuse, though, since other teams have dealt with similar setbacks without imploding. Winning also brings additional challenges in terms of bonuses and other payments that forced the team to rebuild a roster that didn't need to be rebuilt just to squeeze it under the league's salary cap. But others have managed to overcome that too: Three teams in the last eight seasons have won the MLS Cup one season and made it back to the final the next year. 'The narrative of blaming the league rules and framing it as inevitable, something the Galaxy at times seems to be promoting themselves, can become a self-fulfilling prophecy,' said Lalas, who served as the Galaxy's president before becoming soccer analyst for Fox Sports. 'There is enough talent and experience on this Galaxy team to be at least competitive. 'They may not recapture the magic from last year but they shouldn't be this bad.' The Galaxy proved that in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, beating Costa Rican champion Herediano before narrowly losing to Tigres UANL, the Liga MX runner-up. And they did despite the trades, sales, injuries and salary-cap issues. Diego Fagúndez, who captained the Galaxy against Houston and scored the team's only goal Saturday in his 400th MLS appearance, agrees the team needs to stop looking for scapegoats and start looking for solutions. 'I think it's details,' he said. 'I've been saying this now for the past two weeks: Pay attention to details. Because those are what's killing us.' The season isn't over for the Galaxy. In 2009 the Columbus Crew went winless through seven games yet would end up finishing atop the Eastern Conference. The year before Houston was winless through six games and rallied to win the Western Conference. Such a climb might be a bit too steep for the Galaxy but with 18 of the 30 MLS teams making the playoffs, a postseason berth shouldn't be out of the question. And Fagúndez says there's a simple way for the Galaxy to achieve even that modest goal. 'We need to start winning games.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast.
Los Angeles Times
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Galaxy beat Herediano to reach quarterfinals of CONCACAF Champions Cup
The Galaxy made history last season, winning a record sixth MLS Cup, going unbeaten in 21 matches at Dignity Health Sports Park and becoming the first team to have four players reach double digits in both goals and assists. Less a month into the new season the team made history of a different sort by becoming the first reigning MLS champion to lose its first four games. Which brings us to Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions Cup game with Herediano. The Galaxy's dominant 4-1 win won't count in the MLS standings, but it certainly counts everywhere else. By reversing a one-goal loss to Herediano last week in Costa Rica, Wednesday's result gave the Galaxy a 4-2 aggregate-goal victory in the two-leg CONCACAF round-of-16 playoff, lifting the team into the quarterfinals of the confederation's most prestigious club competition for the first time in a decade. The team will face Mexican club Tigres, the 2020 tournament champion, in a two-game series next month. But more importantly, the win showed the Galaxy may be ready to reverse the curse that has plagued them this season. And it was midfielders Isaiah Parente and Harbor Miller, who spent most of last season playing for Ventura County FC, who provided the spark, combining for three assists. The Galaxy's start this year was as dismal as last season was brilliant. Nor only did they fail to win a game, they didn't even lead in one. They lost on turf and natural grass. They lost at home and on the road. They lost in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica, scoring just once and getting shut out three times. Three of the losses came in MLS play, equaling the team's longest losing streak in five seasons. Galaxy coach Greg Vanney made no excuses for his team's abysmal start, but there were explanations. Five starters, including midfield motor Riqui Puig and winger Joseph Paintstil, two of last year's leading scorers, are injured. Four others, including MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman and forward Dejan Joveljc, who scored a playoff-high six goals, had to be traded to get the team under the league's tight salary cap. Vanney can't replace all of that offense, but in Parente and Miller he appears to have found two players who can at help pick up the slack. Neither played more than 15 minutes in the first two losses but both have started the Galaxy's last two games and the difference had been dramatic, with the team dominating both matches in times of possession, shots and shots on goal and showing signs it is about to wake from its slumber. Julian Aude gave the Galaxy their first lead of the season in he 30th minute Wednesday, one-timing a soft one-bounce cross from Parente off the left post. The assist was Parente's first with the Galaxy but he would get another before the first half ended, with Miguel Berry doubling the lead in the 38th minute after Parente set him up by playing a far-post cross from Tucker Lepley back into the center of the box. That gave the Galaxy a 2-1 lead in aggregate goals in the two-game playoff but they didn't stop there. Gabriel Pec, the Galaxy's only healthy designated player, made it 3-0 eight minutes after the intermission, this time off an assist from the teenaged Miller. And with a frustrated Herediano pushing for an away goal to get back in the playoff, Christian Ramirez closed out the scoring with a goal against the run of play in the 76th minute. The Galaxy also got a big game out of goalkeeper John McCarthy. McCarthy was the team's starter last season, winning his second MLS Cup in three seasons. But Vanney went with Novak Micovic in the first three regular-season games this year and Micovic was beaten a conference-worst seven times.
USA Today
23-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
USMNT great Tony Meola recovering after suffering heart attack
USMNT great Tony Meola recovering after suffering heart attack Former United States Men's National Team and MLS goalkeeper Tony Meola is recovering after suffering a heart attack on Thursday. The incident happened one day prior to Meola's 56th birthday. Meola underwent an unspecified procedure following the heart attack. He told Front Row Soccer that he ran four miles last Saturday and had the heart attack five days later. "If I get one of you to go to the doctor and get a checkup, this was all worth it for me," Meola said, according to Front Row Soccer. "I'm going to be fine in a week, but I should have been smarter." Meola was the USMNT's starting goalie in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and was a backup in 2002. He made 101 appearances for the national team and had 35 shutouts. Meola was a four-time All-Star in 11 MLS seasons with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996-98), Kansas City Wizards (1999-2004) and New York Red Bulls (2005-06). Meola was the regular season MVP and MLS Cup MVP in 2000 when Kansas City won the title. He had 16 regular-season shutouts and added five more in the postseason. Overall, he had 62 clean sheets in 250 MLS starts. In 23 playoff matches, he had eight shutouts.
