After 10 years in charge, 1 MLS Cup, 3 of 7 playoff appearances and a wooden spoon, Chris Klein fired From the Los Angeles Galaxy after ten years as club president.
Although it continued Increased revenue Declining crowds and sluggish performances at Galaxy’s home stadium, Dignity Health Sports Park, meant that Klein’s head would eventually be put on the chopping board, but the match was unavoidable. was consistently impressive.
Under the previous president, the Galaxy won 3 MLS Cups, 2 Supporters Shield titles and won the Supporters Shield twice from 2009 to 2014, with 9 points in 14 games from the league’s most dominant team. fell to the bottom of the league. They are already seven points behind outside the playoffs.
Who is Chris Klein?
Mr. Klein’s history with the Galaxy is timeless as president. After a long MLS career, he played 200 games for the Kansas City Wizards, earned 22 caps and scored five goals for the United States national team before joining the Galaxy as a player in 2007. As a Southern California player, he played for the Galaxy team alongside David Beckham and Landon Donovan, winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2010 and the Western Conference Championship in 2009 before going on penalties in the MLS Cup final. Lost to Real Salt Lake.
After retiring as a professional in 2010, Klein moved to the front office, initially as senior director of the Galaxy Academy before being promoted to vice president of football operations in 2012. In his first season at board level, the Galaxy won. MLS Cup and Supporters His Shield doubles with his offensive trio of Beckham, Donovan and Robbie Keane, one of the greatest and most iconic trios in league history. The following season, they repeated that feat, defeating the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final for the second straight season. That team remains the most recent team to defend the league’s premier trophy. At the time, Klein was considered one of MLS’ newest executives, having helped build one of the greatest teams in league history alongside head coach and general manager Bruce Arena.
In 2013 Mr. Klein was appointed President and helped oversee the business and football operations. In his second season in this role, the Galaxy won its fifth and most recent MLS Cup. In the nine years since, the league’s most crowned team has failed to qualify for the championship game again, in the longest drought in the club’s history.
How did the LA Galaxy go from league powerhouse to mediocre record?
For most of the last 20 years, the Galaxy was considered the flag-bearer of American club football. With consistent wins in the regular season and playoffs, and sustained success measured by star names that attracted attention from around the world, they have become the dominant franchise in MLS. But since Arena left as coach of the US national team in 2016, the Galaxy’s success has taken a major hit. Despite the personal brilliance of Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 52 goals in 56 MLS regular-season games, and high-profile signings before and after him, the Galaxy have made the playoffs since 2017. I’ve only done it twice. In their first season without an arena, they had the league’s worst regular season performance under head coach Kurt Onalfo and Klein’s first hire as president, Sigi Schmidt.
The galaxy has not recovered since then and is expected to suffer a similar fate as in 2017. They are currently second from bottom with the worst goal difference in MLS. Star striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández has scored a goal in the league as players and coaches face each other in anger at the final whistle after Saturday’s home defeat to Charlotte. But the chasm between fans and players was clear. And while the Galaxy have struggled on the pitch, average attendance has fallen significantly, dropping from 22,841 last season to 20,531 so far this season., Fans turned away from stadiums to protest Mr Klein’s position, making him unable to maintain his role as president.
Sanctions against clubs
Last December, MLS suspended Klein until the end of the 2023 winter season. Violate payroll budget and roster guidelines during the 2019 season.
This was because Galaxy signed an undisclosed deal under the leadership of Klein and former general manager Dennis Te Klose. These included payments not taken into account in winger Christian Pavon’s salary budget or roster category calculations. As a result, Pavon was incorrectly classified as a Target Allocation Money (TAM) player, even though he should have retained his designated spot in 2019.
As a result, Galaxy has been handed a transfer ban for the summer of 2023. They are prohibited from registering players who require an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from outside the United States and Canada, and are prohibited from signing non-MLS players. Given the club’s struggles this season, Second Window should have been the perfect time to build for a comeback in the second half of the season. Intra-league exchanges could still make a difference, but Galaxy’s high-profile clubs are missing out on a key opportunity to profit from the summer months, when players are usually more likely to sign players from Europe’s top five leagues.
Supporters protest
Not only has poor on-field performance kept supporters away from Dignity Health Sports Park, but there has also been a concerted effort by the entire supporter group to avoid attending home games until Klein is removed from the post. was the cause.
Five major Galaxy supporter groups (LA Riot Squad, Angel City Brigade, Galaxy Outlawz, The Galaxians and Ghost Ultras Galaxy) announced their respective social Released statements through media channels to substantiate their claims. Unanimous intention not to attend until “changes occur at the highest levels”.The Angel City brigade returned to their home stadium on 6 May, but discontent arose between them and other groups of supporters.. Still, Remainers reaffirmed their intention to demand the president’s impeachment during the match, chanting “cline out”.
They are all scheduled to return on June 21, when the Galaxy take on Sporting Kansas City.
What does this mean for Greg Vanny?
Head coach and sporting director Vanny will continue to lead all football operations, reporting directly to Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of Galaxy’s parent company AEG.
Vanny hasn’t been able to stop the Galaxy from stalling this season, but his career has bought time as he transforms Toronto from a prestigious league to a league powerhouse. After his arrival, Vanny wanted to transform the club into one that embraced sustainable and modern practices, from sports science to academy to scouting infrastructure, that could survive after he left. Galaxy made progress in these areas during his tenure: Director of Scouting, new Director of Sports Medicine, Director of High Performance and Innovation, Director of Cognitive Performance, Assistant to High Performance, and Director of Methodology and Development. Hired.
Ultimately, though, the results speak for themselves for the league’s second-highest paying club, with the Galaxy now on a three-game losing streak. If Mr. Vanny fails to turn the momentum around, the pressure will mount as to whether he is the right person for the job ahead.
(Photo: Sean Clarke/Getty Images)
