New-look LAFC ready to launch into 2025 season – Orange County Register

None of Major League Soccer’s 29 other teams can claim they manage roster churn better than the Los Angeles Football Club.

Two years removed from its first MLS Cup, the vast majority of the names who contributed to LAFC’s dominant 2022 have moved on or hung up their cleats. Ahead of 2025, a grand total of four remain from the club’s double-championship season that made Steve Cherundolo’s debut as head coach a massive success.

Defenders Eddie Segura and Ryan Hollingshead plus attackers Nathan Ordaz and Denis Bouanga are the only ones on the current 30-man roster who were around for the thrilling cup victory against Philadelphia. Half the squad changed leading into 2023, about the same for 2024, and once more prior to LAFC’s eighth year, which begins Tuesday outside Denver with the first of two legs in the CONCACAF Champions Cup against Colorado.

A result of MLS roster rules that are supposed to inspire “competitive balance,” by, practically speaking, making it nearly impossible for winning teams to stay together, repeated on-field changes have not managed to hinder LAFC’s ability to reach for higher stakes and take deep runs in various competitions.

Facing the strain of record-setting back-to-back 50-match seasons is considered a reward for success, so their intention is to make it three straight.

A continuity of ideas between the technical staff, the front office and ownership set the tone since LAFC’s expansion season (except for 2021, Bob Bradley’s fourth and final at the helm, when the team finished under the playoff line for the only time in its existence). The roster changeover from Bradley to Cherundolo brought in a ton of MLS experience and elite European credentials, delivering grit and depth without which LAFC could not have won the title in 2022.

During his three years in charge, Cherundolo built on and raised the standards established by Bradley while taking a more pragmatic approach across his duties with the hope that players would use the tools and freedom at their disposal to make better decisions on the field.

“You always have new players coming in so every new player brings their own flair, their own kind of distinct style,” Hollingshead said. “So adapting that style into the way LAFC wants to play is always going to change how the group plays, and the way that we want to maximize what each player brings.”

For the 33-year-old American fullback, now in his fourth year with LAFC, that means taking on a new vocal leadership position within the team, especially during games.

“That’s been a personal goal of mine this preseason,” Hollingshead said. “I want to be so much better. The DNA has been built into me the last three years so deeply that I know what Steve is thinking, I know what he wants, and if I see it not happening I want to be better than waiting until halftime, the end of the game, to make those changes. Make them on the fly, in real time, and that way help the team get the most out of what we can get.”

Switching formations in the midst of a contest, potentially moving between three, four or five defenders at the back to unlock spacing and channels against whatever the opposition throws their way, are ways this could come to pass.

“From what we can tell in preseason our team feels very comfortable slipping right inside both formations,” Cherundolo said. “So it’s something we worked on all [last] year. I think we’ve solidified to do both now, feeling comfortable and having the ability at any moment in the game to change if that gives us an advantage.”

They’ll need to overcome the departures of goal-creating machine Mateusz Bogusz, super sub Kei Kamara and hard working Cristian Olivera in the attack; Ilie Sánchez, Lewis O’Brien, Erik Dueñas and Eduard Atuesta at midfield; swift fullback Omar Campos and stalwart Jesus Murillo along the backline.

When Murillo left as a free agent for FC Juarez in Liga MX, Segura became the longest-tenured active player in black and gold since 2019. The 28-year-old Colombian started much of this preseason in the center of the LAFC defense next to American Aaron Long, who re-signed in the offseason. They are among a strong contingent of center backs joining Brazil’s Marlon, New York’s Nkosi Tafari, Luxembourg’s Maxime Chanot and Italy’s Lorenzo Dellavale.

At fullback (or wingback depending on the formation), LAFC added Ghanian Yaw Yeboah and Ukrainian Artem Smolyakov to Hollingshead and Sergi Palencia, also embracing a leadership role coming off an impressive 2024.

Outside of Timothy Tillman, LAFC totally reworked the center of the park. Young Norwegian attacking midfielder Odin Holm arrived on loan from Celtic hoping for a fresh start. He ruptured a ligament in his ankle during the preseason and could miss up to eight weeks. Meanwhile, Mark Delgado and Igor Jesus are set to be significant contributors.