LAFC broadcaster and FOX 11 sports anchor Mark Rogondino sat down with LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo in the middle of his first ever training camp. In a wide-ranging discussion, Cherundolo talks about the challenge ahead in his first MLS coaching job and his excitement about returning to his Southern California roots. Read the rest of the interview below:
MARK ROGONDINO: Steve, thanks for sitting down and taking time with us. You know, this is a big club here in Major League Soccer. They have done some really good things so far, and now the Club chooses you to come in and be the second ever head coach. But why is it a good fit for Steve Cherundolo to come to the Black and Gold?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: Well, you mentioned it is a big club and it is. An ambitious one as well. But I also feel it is large but very tight knit. It has a nice family feeling to it, which is something important to me. Being able to communicate with everybody in the club is certainly one of my goals and is important to me as a priority. At the same time, I love a good challenge and I understand ambitions. I love pressure. That is right around my wheelhouse, so I am excited to get going.
MR: You spent nearly over two decades in Germany as a player and a coach. So much success there playing in the Bundesliga that you are known as the ‘Mayor of Hannover’. Most of that time as a player but that’s also where you got your start in the coaching ranks, more at the youth level for both club and country over there. How much of that experience and being a part of that culture for such a long period of time will you be able to translate to what you can bring here for LAFC?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: Well, I think being involved in the European game for such a long time, there’s something to be said about the intensities and pressure. Week in and week out, you have to be performing at a certain level in order to survive in those leagues. It is a combination of mental toughness, ability, fitness, and also tactical awareness. So, I think I bring that good and unique mix that I have, but also understanding our sport here in America and how we do things in the American mentality but also - how players from South and Central America react. I think that unique mix is what makes me a good fit for this club.
MR: Obviously, that is one facet that you would be able to bring is what you have done over there in Europe as both a coach and as a player, but you have experience with the Men’s National Team here in the United States. You grew up playing in the youth movement here in United States, especially here in California. When you put all those things together, can share some specific influences, whether is it coaches, certain experiences that you think are really going to help you what it brings to the table?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: I think some of the influence I had is obviously from Bruce Arena, being my first National Team coach was excellent and did a fantastic job of managing the players, managing the staff. The overall atmosphere amongst the national team was excellent and it continued afterwards. Bob was my next national team coach. He is somebody who is unbelievably a student of the game and is so dedicated, who I learned a lot from on the field but off the field as well. And then, my time here at LAFC as well before I was named the head coach. Those were two of the American influences for sure, but then moving to my other coaches in Germany. Coaches by the name of Ralf Rangnick, who is now a Manchester United coach, very influential in my career as a player but later as a coach as well. He has his strong points really in transition and understanding how to be effective in this game.
MR: Let’s talk about expectations for LAFC, especially in 2022. Because of the club’s success early on in Major League Soccer despite having a down year in 2021, I think the standard is still set really high when you talk about what the fans want to see from this club. What are your expectations for LAFC in 2022?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: My expectation is for any group I am involved with either as a player or just as a piece or even as a coach or leader of the group is to always maximize our potential. It is very frustrating for me for us not to be performing at our top performance or our peak performance. Now, my goal with this group is not necessarily putting a number on that or telling you that is our tangible goal, I am not sure that is the smartest way to do it - but I’m really focusing on getting the most out of each individual player and also the group on a daily basis. I think if we do that, then the fans will be really happy with the end product on the field. They will see an attacking mindset and exciting style of football that we all have grown to love and expect to see.
MR: Let’s continue that thought in terms of what we expect to see on the field. Obviously, you lose some really big pieces from last season when you talk about Eduard Atuesta, Diego Rossi and then of course, Carlos Vela - he has missed a lot of time, but you look to have him back in the fold. What can we expect with the pieces that you know about now? What can we expect in terms of the style of play in the field?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: It’ll be a continuation of what we had been doing with a few additions. I think last season we could’ve done a better job in transition. Some moments of the game we could’ve defended a little better. Obviously, the finishing was a little disappointing last year. We created many chances. Our expected goals was very high up and our ratio was positive so there was a lot of good and we want to continue on that. I think that is an important piece moving forward, but maybe just adding a few more pieces to the puzzle. I think players will be adding to this mix as well. You’ll find that it will help our offense and defense gel a little more and be a little better balanced.
MR: Can you share a little bit about formation because out of necessity, whether it was international call ups or a ton of injuries in 2021, the club had to morph the formation into a number of different things that we had not seen from LAFC in the past.
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: I don’t get too caught up with formations. I think occupying certain spaces and ideas of how we want to attack and score goals is more important than the actual formation. But, I can say it will look a lot like the LAFC of old. And we will try to find a formation, in other words, starting points that will suit our players and get their special qualities on the field more often.
MR: When you talk about special players, as I mentioned earlier Carlos Vela, everyone wants to see him return to that 2019 MVP form. What kind of conversations have you had so far with Carlos in your short time here?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: Very open and direct, encouraging conversations. He’s excited about the new season and new challenge. He is committed to doing everything in his power to make this team better as am I. I am very excited to get to work with him and the very first days have been very positive, so we hope for a lot more.
MR: What are you looking for in the short term but also in the long term for this team, because we have preseason getting going now. You’re going to get this group together and get a chance to see what you really have but also long term maybe share one or two of the goals that you are setting for yourself and this team?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: We are here to win and long term we want to win, and we want to compete to win the entire thing as much as possible. Short term: first and foremost, we have some objectives in the preseason that we want to take care of and that is getting to know each other, understand each other. And then finding out how we can beat teams. What are our strengths how can we impose those on opponents?
MR: Because you have spent so much time over in Germany and I know you also spent time at the youth national team level here in the United States. How much do you have to do in terms of homework to get ready for a season in MLS? It is a big league, a lot of teams. Much more probably when you were first looking at the league back in the early 2000s. How much research do you have to do to prepare yourself for the upcoming season?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: I think there is a lot of football watching going on, but this is a league I followed my entire career. A league I always anticipated and wanted to play in as a player. Due to injury, I was not able to fulfill that, but I am more than happy now to be here as a coach to experience the league firsthand. Our coaching staff and staff around the club has a lot of MLS knowledge and experience. That is something that we do not lack and obviously something I have done my whole life.
MR: There have been some media critics that have pointed to how things went last year Las Vegas, the USL team that feeds in to LAFC but I am going to pose it to you a different way because those types of experiences can teach you a lot about yourself but also about your style and the guys that you are coaching. How will you take that experience and use it to help propel LAFC in 2022?
STEVE CHERUNDOLO: The year was extremely valuable for myself but also for the players we had last year at Las Vegas Lights. We were able to give them experiences that at that stage of their career they’ve never had. It was a huge plus for everybody. The Lights were valued by LAFC. I think we got a lot out of that relationship. We progressed the level of many players on that team and that was the objective. At the end of the season we can say that we achieved our goals.
