Preseason | Important LAFC Dates, Camp Invitees & More

The wait is over.

It might have only seemed like an eternity. Three months without LAFC on the pitch is just too long. But all of that is behind us now, as we can officially say: Welcome to the preseason!

On Monday, the LAFC squad - sans a few players, more on that later - arrived at the LAFC Performance Center for the first day of preseason training. Bob Bradley's squad gets a head start on preseason camp as one of five MLS teams in the 2020 Concacaf Champions Leauge - LAFC's first competitive match is Feb. 18 in Léon, while the MLS season kicks off on March 1 at home to Inter Miami FC.

"The period without football is always a little bit weird," Bradley said on the team's first day back in training. "There's a lot of work to be done and there's travel in terms of going to look at players. There are good discussions. But, man, we miss getting on the field every day and the attitude and commitment of the players. It drives us all.

"It's that passion and that love of what we're doing that is special. As soon as we get started, you can tell everybody is fired up and ready for a new season."

Who's In Camp

As in previous seasons, in addition to the players already under contract, LAFC has invited a group of players as trialists to preseason camp. These players join LAFC's 2020 SuperDraft picks as players looking to make the roster ahead of the season. They are not currently under contract and would need to be signed to compete in competitive matches like the Concacaf Champions League and MLS regular season.

LAFC's preseason roster as of the start of camp on Jan. 13 is below:

Aside from the new faces in camp, there is one group of players to note that are away as things kick off.

Diego Rossi (Uruguay), Francisco Ginella (Uruguay), Eduard Atuesta (Colombia), Eddie Segura (Colombia) and new signing José Cifuentes (Ecuador) are with their respective countries' U23s in preparation for the CONMEBOL Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The eight-team South American tournament starts on Jan. 18 in Colombia and concludes on Feb. 9. The tournament's two finalists qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo this summer.

Let The Games Begin

To prepare players for competitive matches starting in the middle of February, LAFC will take part in a handful of friendlies in Los Angeles.

The 2020 preseason friendly schedule kicks off with an international event between LAFC and Uruguayan powerhouse Peñarol. The two clubs have close ties with LAFC signing Diego Rossi and Brian Rodríguez from the 50-time champions of Uruguay. 

LAFC vs Peñarol - 1/25/20

Purchase Tickets

In addition to the Peñarol friendly, LAFC will host three preseason matches, the final of which will be open to the public - fans purchasing a ticket to the Peñarol match will receive a free ticket to the final preseason match against Toronto FC.

Football is back. LAFC is back. After a record-breaking second season, LAFC is aiming for even more trophies in 2020. Here's Bob Bradley once again to sum up his and his staff's excitement ahead of the new season: 

"We're all excited to begin our third season. Talking with the staff, there's been a lot of discussion from the loss against Seattle until now. We're constantly thinking about the way we work and the way we train and how we can continue to evolve on the field.

"We're committed to the football that we play and we just look for all the little things we can do better so that we continue to be a team that competes at the top of MLS and, obviously, this year in Champions League."