stadiums and see matches where there’s an
incredible atmosphere. LAFC has an amazing
advantage with the location of the stadium right
next to the Coliseum, right in the city. I love when
clubs have a stadium that’s right in the heart of
a city. That is still something that sets it apart
from other clubs. Most importantly for me, the
playing surface is fantastic. Instead of using the
half-time to just do sponsorship things, we water
the field so that the second half has fast field
where the football can be excellent.
LAFC has quite a Hollywood ownership. How
often does someone like Will Ferrell come
into the dressing room?
We are lucky that occasionally some will pop
their heads in the locker room before the game.
But they also are very quiet in the way they
support the team. Will’s amazing because the
Will Ferrell that we see on the big screen [is
different]. First and foremost he loves the game,
and he’s very clever with the way he handles
things. He’s funny, but in a very subtle way.
When you started at LAFC, was there one
player you wanted in particular?
It was Carlos Vela, because we felt that the
first player would make a statement about
everything. Of course, Los Angeles has an
incredible Mexican-American community,
but we also knew that bringing Carlos was a
statement. He is still at a good age, when he
got here he was 28. He was an attacking player
that could score
goals, he could go
by people, dribble,
create, hit free-
kicks. And I think
when we signed
Carlos it was a
statement that the
connection with our fans, with the city, was
important and that it made it very clear what
kind of football we want to play.
You haven’t gone for the big names, like LA
Galaxy who’ve got Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Was
that a conscious decision?
We’ve had discussions about all kinds of players
and certainly there might be a time when the
right experienced player joins us. But we also
were very committed to finding young talent and
trying to scout and find players that would come
to LA and become stars. Los Angeles is a city of
stars. The one example I use over and over is
that when Kobe Bryant came to the Lakers he
was 18-years old and he wasn’t a star. But he
became a star right in front of everybody’s eyes.In 2016 you managed Swansea City in the
Premier League for just 11 games. Do you
look back on that as a worthwhile experience
where you learned something or are you still
disappointed at how it worked out?
I learned a lot. I’m disappointed at how it worked
out. Like anybody, I think of things that maybe
I might have done different. But I knew that
type of opportunity and challenge wouldn’t
happen all the time. I understand football. It’s
all about points and results. And in the short
run sometimes you just need the points in order
to have a platform to grow. But you can do
everything right and not get points, and you
can do everything wrong and get points. When I
talk about mistakes, perhaps in the short run, if
we had gone in and focused more on defensiveshape and set-pieces, maybe we would have
taken more points in the short run. But I didn’t
feel that in the long run that was the way to play
football. Maybe that group of players, after they
had already played seven or eight games, maybe
it wasn’t conducive to that. I’ve had people who
told me that I made a mistake to go there. But
look, I enjoyed the challenge. I’m disappointed.
You know, I’m always honest. If you don’t get
the points then you fail.Do you think you broke a barrier for other
American coaches or reinforced a prejudice
that many may have about American
coaches and players?
Whether I helped future American coaches or
hurt them, I’m not sure. I’d like to think I helped.
But, having said that, the media is difficult. And
there are a lot of things written. But I must say,
wherever you go, there’s media that you never
see. There’s media that turns up headlines and
writes stories from the basements and what not.
I just decided I was going to try to be as honest
as I could all the time. When I got there very
quickly I couldn’t get my arms around everything
and get results. And then the results are down toBOB BRADLEY
“When we signed Carlos [Vela] it was a
statement that the connection with our
fans, with the city, was important”
Important...Carlos Vela
set a new MLS record
this season with 34 goals
in the regular seasonCreation... surveying
his work as LAFC (in
black) take on New
England Revolution