MLS Cup Victory With LAFC Puts Him Back On The Bundesliga Radar

It has been a long way to success for Los Angeles FC head coach Steven Cherundolo. The 43-year-old American coached LAFC to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory in the MLS Cup final against the Philadelphia Union.

Cherundolo spent his entire playing career at Hannover 96. A former right-back, he played 415 games for Hannover 96 (eight goals and 23 assists), and it is not an exaggeration to describe Cherundolo as a club legend.

Naturally, there was always an understanding that Cherundolo would also coach in Germany. But even though he coached within the youth setup at the North German club, the American never got an opportunity to coach the first team in Hannover.

Stints at Stuttgart and the German football federation (DFB) also led to no Bundesliga job. And you could tell that Cherundolo would have loved the opportunity.

“Definitely, I am always interested,” Cherundolo said in the fall of 2019 in the bowls of the Waldstadion. At the time, Cherundolo was part of a DFL media visit and acted as a Bundesliga legend. That November, several positions in the Bundesliga became available, but Cherundolo was not able to jump on the coaching carousel.

“The business as a coach or player is not plannable,” Cherundolo said in the press conference following the MLS Cup final (cited via Transfermarkt). “You need to be ready for them because the worst thing you can do as a coach is to step into a situation you are not prepared for, and when you are looking for a job, it’s about preparing yourself for the opportunity and being ready for it. I think the title speaks for itself.”

That opportunity would finally arrive in the most unlikely of places. Las Vegas the city of lights, casinos, and gangster movies. And even though Vegas might soon have an MLS franchise, at the time, the city was an unlikely landing spot for Cherundolo.

“I am excited about the new opportunity,” Cherundolo said to Bild at the time. “I am looking forward to working with the boys and to pass on what I learned throughout my career as a player and a coach.”

In retrospect, it might have all made sense. Playing in the USL Championship (2nd division) the Las Vegas Lights are the farm team for LAFC. In other words, the club provided a clear pathway to one of the best-run teams in the United States.

And an opportunity to coach in MLS would arrive quickly. At the end of the 2021 season, long-term head coach Bob Bradley opted to leave the club and join Toronto FC. Bradley had overseen the club’s expansion era and won the Supporters’ Shield in 2019 but could never get the club to the later stages of the MLS Cup Playoffs to win a national championship.

That task to finally win a major trophy now fell to Cherundolo. On the surface, an inexperienced coach who at times struggled with the Light in the USL.

“I have coached developmental, which is a different way to coach players; they have a different goal,” Cherundolo said when asked about replacing Bradley. But the 43-year-old was quick to point out that he did not change much once he took over LAFC ahead of the season. “What is working, you shouldn’t change because that takes a lot of energy and effort and resources; what’s working, hold onto, and what isn’t working change. And that was my process during the interview process, and it convinced the right people.”

That does not mean that Cherundolo was not open to change. But some of his decisions go back to the Bradley era. For example, the club added former Bradley assistant coach Marc Dos Santos. Dos Santos had a stint with the Whitecaps, and even though the ‘Caps struggled at times, it was obvious that he is a talented coach.

With Dos Santos on his side, Cherundolo now had an experienced coach that would help him with many of the day-to-day operations. Another major change was to bring in talented players throughout the season to add to what was already a deep team.

Gareth Bale, for example, might have played just a limited role but his impact in the final was massive, as his goal sent the game to penalties. “He is very down to earth,” Bale said about Cherundolo. “He has the whole group working hard. I think that’s the main thing. … He has been very good as a coach this year and learned a lot still being a young coach, and he will just keep improving.”

What, then, about the future? Cherundolo is likely to continue the project at LAFC, but the success with the club this season was certainly noticed in Germany. The Bundesliga coaching carousel is always rotating quickly, and it is only a question of time until a club will come knocking on Cherundolo’s door, offering a return to his second home.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth