World Soccer - UK (2019-11)

the fact that I don’t think at that time there were

enough good players there. Now, I got in trouble

for saying that. I think there were people that

felt I didn’t believe in the team. Those behind-

the-scenes comments were only made as an

evaluation because I went in with the idea that

we would then have a chance to improve in the

transfer window. I had given some names that

I thought were positive for transfers but I didn’t

have the time.

What was the best example that illustrated

the kind of press you got?

The biggest one was when someone said behind

the scenes the players called me Ronald Reagan.

I don’t think there was a player at Swansea at

that time who even knew who Ronald Reagan

was. So that was an interesting creation.

Would you like to go back to Europe? Or

do you feel that maybe you’ve got a good

thing going on at LAFC because you built

something from scratch and want see it

through to its conclusion?

Hundred per cent. I love what’s going on at

LAFC. The opportunity to take your ideas and

your experiences and turn it into something

special. Look, we’re not there yet, but I love every

part of it. For me, the best coaches in all sports

are really good at challenging even experienced

players to see the game a little differently, to see

how they can maybe do things a little bit better.

And so I’ve done that throughout my career. I’ve

been really fortunate, I’ve coached some big

players. Hristo Stoichkov in Chicago [Fire], Youri

Djorkaeff in New York [Red Bulls], Claudio Suarez

at Chivas USA. [Former Egypt international

Mohamed] Aboutrika, one of the greatest guys

that I’ve had a chance to coach.

It doesn’t sound like you’ve given up on

one day going back to Europe...

Look, I love challenges. I love the game. I’m

not afraid of any challenge. You know, I’ve gone

places that other people wouldn’t have gone

near. I’m not afraid of failing. The game is there

every day to try to challenge players, to try

to go on the field, to try to play great football,

to try to get great results. And if you’re afraid of

that, if you fail and you don’t get off the ground,

you get nowhere. I love what’s going

on in LAFC. Who knows what the

future brings.

Interview by James Montague

Challenge...his job as Swansea boss lasted just 11 games

Fan...Will Ferrell
(in white cap) is a
part-owner of LAFC