Turnaround in Tinseltown
Marco D’Onofrio takes a deep dive into how Greg Vanney and Will Kuntz have managed to turn the Los Angeles Galaxy into a championship contender again.
When Greg Vanney decided to leave Toronto FC and head back to the club where he spent seven seasons as a player, Los Angeles Galaxy fans were immediately optimistic. After all, Vanney had worked miracles in Toronto taking the laughingstock of the league and turning them into MLS Cup champions, leading them to the MLS Cup Final in three of four years between 2016 and 2019.
The Galaxy organization was confident that Vanney would be able to lead the team back to the glory days after some disappointing campaigns. He had taken over in January 2021, after they had missed out on the Major League Soccer play-offs in three of the previous four years.
“We are thrilled that Greg is returning to the LA Galaxy as our Head Coach,” said former club President Chris Klein at the time of Vanney’s appointment. “Greg is focused on building a culture that will serve as the foundation of this club. He is detail-oriented, a fierce competitor and has a deep understanding of our league and what it takes to succeed on and off the field. He will be an outstanding ambassador for the LA Galaxy, our supporters and Los Angeles.”
Success wouldn’t happen immediately though, despite having Mexican superstars Javier Hernandez and Jonathan dos Santos in the squad. The team finished level on points with Real Salt Lake for the final play-off spot in 2021 but missed out due to a tiebreaker. It had not been a great start to Vanney’s time in Los Angeles and fans were starting to question the decision to appoint him as the team’s head coach.
In fact, the Galaxy would only make the play-offs once in Vanney’s first three seasons in LA. The frustration was evident following the 2023 campaign with the club going 8-14-12, which was Vanney’s worst season ever as a manager. When other clubs may have been pressed into making a change, the Galaxy still decided to stick with their man. “This is important because we’ve got to show real progress next season,” Vanney said following the 2023 MLS campaign. “We need to put ourselves back into the discussion about being a capable championship-winning franchise.”
“There’s nothing more that hurts me than the team losing and the team not performing. If there’s a point when I thought I wasn’t the guy, I wouldn’t be here. On my own accord because I care about the club. It’s not a job for me, this is my life, and I won’t stop until we get there. Unless somebody else makes that decision for me.”
Vanney kept true to his words and has managed to turn the Galaxy into a championship contender once again. They find themselves competing for top spot in the Western Conference, despite decreasing their payroll. They went from the third-highest spending team in the league in 2023 to the eighth-highest spending team in 2024, proving you don’t necessarily need to spend the most to win. Even though the team has spent less, they are a much deeper squad in 2024 than they were in previous seasons of the Vanney era. Will Kuntz was appointed the Galaxy’s General Manager in December 2023 and ever since has spent his time molding the team into Vanney’s vision.
“There is no opportunity in Major League Soccer more exciting to me than the chance to help lead this club to reclaim its place as the top club in the league,” said Kuntz in a press release announcing his arrival. “I want to thank Greg Vanney for being my strongest advocate in bringing me into the Club last winter, and I am thrilled with how our partnership has developed since I came on board. I look forward to collaborating with Greg towards achieving our shared vision and building on the foundation that has been created over the past several years.” The club signed talented Brazilian Gabriel Pec from Vasco da Gama as a Young Designated Player and it has paid off immensely. The 23-year-old already scored 10 goals and provided 10 assists in his first 25 games in MLS. He fits perfectly into Vanney’s system and has been a huge help to the squad in 2024.
Aside from his goals and assists, Pec is a workhorse on the pitch who never seems to run out of energy. He is exactly the type of player Vanney had been looking for to elevate the squad. The MLS rookie was even named to the MLS All-Star team in his debut season.
“Gabriel has been a key contributor for one of the biggest clubs in Brazil’s Série A and we are beyond excited that he is choosing to join the Galaxy as the next step in his burgeoning career,” Kuntz said in a press release announcing his signing.
“In addition to his work rate and attacking prowess, he will also be bringing the experience of representing his native Brazil in the qualification tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics when he joins our group. We are thrilled to announce Gabriel as the newest member of the LA Galaxy.”
Pec represented a shift way from the household names that had previously taken up Designated Player spots in Los Angeles. Big stars like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Steven Gerrard, and Robbie Keane have all represented the Galaxy in the past, but the club was now focused on signing younger players in the prime of their careers. The Brazilian wasn’t the only player the Galaxy brought in though as Joseph Paintsil was also signed to help turn things around. Paintsil has been a revelation in Los Angeles during his first season and can play either as a winger or striker.
Joining the Galaxy in February 2024, Paintsil wasn’t a familiar face to most fans despite the club paying a $9m transfer fee to Belgian side Genk for the 26-year-old’s services. Much like Pec though, Paintsil settled in immediately with his new team.
“Joseph has been a key member of one of the best clubs in Belgium’s top-flight and one of Africa’s most prominent national teams over the past few years and we are thrilled to announce that he is joining the LA Galaxy,” Kuntz said in a release at the time.“We are looking forward to adding such a dynamic attacker in the prime of his career to our group and for him to be a key figure in our pursuit of our next trophies.” While Pec and Paintsil weren’t the two most recognizable names, they were exactly the type of players Vanney was looking for to implement his style of play. “We are pleased to add a player of Joseph’s quality to the LA Galaxy,” said Vanney at the time of Paintsil’s acquisition. “Joseph is a dynamic winger with and without the ball who possesses the capacity to change games instantly.”
Although teams like Inter Miami and Toronto FC may possess bigger international superstars than the Galaxy currently do, the five-time MLS Cup winners seem like they are on the brink of something special again. Through their first 26 games of the season in all competitions, the Galaxy hit 50 goals and looked like they could have had 50 more at times. Kuntz and Vanney have put together a lethal attack that is the envy of most teams across the league. It may have taken a little longer than anticipated, but the Galaxy are certainly back as a championship contender.
Only time will tell though if the Galaxy ultimately goes on to lift the league’s most prestigious trophy for a historic sixth time, but fans are certainly much more optimistic these days than they were even a few short months ago.
