The Los Angeles Football Club has joined an affiliation partnership with the Las Vegas Lights of the USL.
LAFC also announced that former U.S. national team defender Steve Cherundolo will be the coach of the Lights team.
“Getting involved in a project like this, that’s already far, far along, with people I know and understand is a very interesting prospect for me,” Cherundolo said. “This is the complete package. LAFC has done an incredible job of building the club, deciding on what philosophy of the game they would like to represent. It’s one thing to do things on paper, but another thing to actually implement them and they’ve done a fantastic job.”
Cherundolo, 42, made 87 appearances with the national team from 1999-2012. He was a member of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup teams.
His professional career was spent in Germany with Hannover 96 (1999-2014), as has much of his coaching career, starting as an assistant with the Hannover 96 second team and youth team and as an assistant with VFB Stuttgart.
“Taking what I’ve learned over the past years in Germany as a player and coach, I’ll do my best to further this endeavor along,” Cherundolo said.
Cherundolo said he had a chance to meet with LAFC coach Bob Bradley and GM John Thorrington a couple of years ago, but it wasn’t about this job.
“It was fantastic to see what they’ve achieved,” Cherundolo said. “The product on the field speaks for itself.”
Now comes the task of making sure the Lights mimic LAFC’s playing style, which shouldn’t be too difficult since Cherundolo has played under Bradley.
“I’ve always enjoyed his style of coaching,” Cherundolo said of Bradley. “His passion for the job of coaching is second to none and that’s something that I appreciate and respect. Our conversations over the years have been very fulfilling about tactics and philosophy and that’s something I’m excited about diving into a little more.”
The USL season is scheduled to begin April 24. Las Vegas will compete in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference along with Phoenix Rising FC, Galaxy II, Oakland Roots SC, Orange County SC, Sacramento Republic FC, San Diego Loyal SC and the Tacoma Defiance.
As for the logistics, the players will train with LAFC in Los Angeles and travel to Las Vegas for home games. LAFC will cover all salaries, lodging and league dues, while the Las Vegas staff will handle the business operations.
The Las Vegas USL franchise was founded in 2017.
“To be the best, you strive to work with the best and LAFC is a world-class organization,” Lights FC Owner and CEO Brett Lashbrook said. “We’re incredibly proud of what Lights FC is building within the Las Vegas community and today’s announcement provides so many important new resources to accelerate our Club’s growth plan.”
LAFC had a short-affiliate partnership with Orange County SC in 2018, but the sides quickly went their different ways, with OCSC eventually partnering with Rangers of the Scottish Premier League.
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