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Chicago. Toronto. Atlanta. The others. Take heart. If the Galaxy can do it, you can too.
For almost a decade, LA were stuck in big club purgatory. They still spent big. They still had the brand. They didn’t have the results.
A rotating cast of huge names couldn’t get the Galaxy back to the top. Steven Gerrard didn’t win a trophy. Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos didn’t either. And Zlatan Ibrahimović, Chicharito and Douglas Costa couldn’t change that trend. The Galaxy were still showing a level of commitment to being among the best in the league and coming up well short time and time again. They were living one of the most frustrating existences in MLS.
It’s hard to be sympathetic, though. Not just because of all the trophies they won before that era. But because so much of their efforts to get back to the top were surface-level. They had the resources to maintain success and were content to squander them. That sounds harsh, but, folks, the Galaxy barely, I mean barely had a scouting department before Greg Vanney arrived in 2021.
“It was a recommendation-based scouting plan,” Vanney told the LA Times in 2022. “Agents would recommend players who were available and if they fit a position, they were brought in.”
While Vanney and the club were busy trying to utilize their new scouting department to turn things around, the worst versions of the Galaxy continued to cause problems from the grave. The 2019 Galaxy — fifth place in the West, no trophies — committed multiple roster rules violations and earned a $1 million GAM reduction and a summer transfer window ban… in 2023.
Additionally, Chris Klein, the club president from 2013 until this point, received a suspension and even more ire from Galaxy supporters. Long story short, they protested Klein and the club’s near-decade-long run without success until the Galaxy dismissed Klein in May of 2023.
Enter Will Kuntz. Kuntz joined LA in April of 2023 after six seasons as LAFC’s assistant general manager. He started as the Galaxy’s “vice president of player personnel.” By the end of 2023 — 36 points, 13th place in the West, no trophies — the Galaxy named Kuntz as their general manager.
It’s not a coincidence in my mind that the Galaxy, now armed with a revamped scouting department and front-office leadership with a track record of success, immediately went out and had the kind of offseason they couldn’t figure out how to have since 2014.
In particular, LA went out and brought in two unknown wingers. They weren’t immediately recognizable by your kid brother who plays too much EAFC, but they were immediately impactful. Joseph Paintsil arrived from Genk and put up a 13-goal, 11-assist season. Gabriel Pec showed up from Vasco de Gama and scored 19 times while delivering 16 assists on his way to claiming the MLS Newcomer of the Year award. They were perfect compliments to an attack orchestrated by Riqui Puig. Now, they’re one win away from being back on top in MLS.
The Galaxy’s 2024 story is a reminder of a few things. First and foremost, effective roster-building is the single most critical aspect of a team’s success. Greg Vanney didn’t suddenly change from a bad coach to a good coach from 2023 to 2024. He did, however, have a vision for LA’s scouting department that didn’t exist before.
Second, effective roster-building is way easier when you have the resources of a big club and the draw of a city like LA. Investing money into scouting infrastructure and player acquisition goes a long, long way. If you can promise 70-degree weather every day, even better. But the money should be enough if you can’t.
And third, it’s a reminder that fans can have a tangible impact on their clubs in a way that just doesn’t happen in other sports. The Galaxy supporters forced the club’s hand, they made a major change, and now they’re reaping the reward.
Now, I’m not suggesting that every big club should take quite as volatile a route as LA. It’s been a weird one. But I am suggesting that the first two lessons are replicable for any club willing to spend to make it happen. The problem for those clubs now though is they have to compete with a version of the Galaxy that’s already figured it out.
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