Ilie Sánchez played the full 120 minutes, then converted the game-winning penalty kick, to give LAFC its only MLS Cup championship.
That was just two years ago, a season in which Sánchez, who wore the captain’s armband in that MLS Cup final, led all outfield players in starts and minutes and made his second All-Star roster. Yet when LAFC meets the visiting Seattle Sounders on Saturday in the Western Conference playoff semifinals, Sánchez is unlikely to be in the starting lineup.
In fact, he probably won’t play at all. And in that he’s not alone.
Six starters and all four substitutes who appeared in that championship game are no longer with the team while another, forward Carlos Vela, has played just four minutes this season. So while LAFC is the only team to reach the conference semifinals in each of the last three seasons, it’s done so while completely overhauling its roster with just two players — Sánchez and defender Ryan Hollingshead — starting at least 20 games both years.
“It’s not normal,” said Sánchez, who has started just once in the last 10 games. “In any league in the world you cannot find a team, a winning team, that after two seasons only has four or five players remaining and still with all the options to win.”
The massive turnover is by design, not chance. To induce parity and keep MLS competitive, the league’s payroll cap rose less than $500,000, to $5.47 million, from 2022 to 2024. And though there are designated-player contracts and allocation money that can help fund larger contracts, those mechanisms are limited in both number and scope.
As a result when players succeed and merit raises, it becomes difficult to squeeze them under the cap.
“The hardest thing to do in this league is to be competitive in a sustainable way year over year,” said LAFC general manager John Thorrington, whose team has won more games and lifted more trophies than any other in MLS since entering the league in 2018. “It is a challenge and we don’t shy away from it. We go for everything every year. That’s our model.
“And we need to manage our budget, our rosters, our finances in such a way that help us accomplish that.”
Thorrington has managed to do that by reloading, not rebuilding. The 2022 championship team was led by Cristian Arango and Vela, who combined for 28 goals and 13 assists. Yet the MLS Cup final was the last game in black and gold for Arango, who was sold to Pachuca for a $6-million transfer fee, money that eventually went to fund raises for Denis Bouanga, the MLS scoring leader last year, Hollingshead and Vela.
After last December’s MLS Cup final, which LAFC lost to Columbus, Thorrington got rid of 13 more players, clearing roster and salary-cap space that allowed him to add goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, attackers Olivier Giroud and David Martínez and midfielders Lewis O’Brien and Eduard Atuesta.
But if the names have changed, the goals and playing philosophy have not — which is why the success has continued as well.
“A lot has to do, obviously, with scouting and management and coaching staff all working toward a common goal. And that common goal will always stem from our game model and our player profiles,” coach Steve Cherundolo said. “If you stay within those guidelines, then you’re going to, not maybe replicate success, but at least the type of football we present should look and feel the same.
“I think we’ve been able to do that.”
Hollingshead, an 11-year MLS veteran who came to LAFC less than three weeks before the 2022 season, said the roster churn isn’t unusual. But the continued success is.
“It’s hard to retain players on a good team. It’s impossible,” he said. “What the club here has done really well is they’ve always filled those holes with a good mixture of young guys coming in that are hungry and want to prove themselves and veteran guys. They’ve done a phenomenal job here.
“It is really special. We can’t take this for granted and think, ‘Oh, we’re here again. Whatever happens, happens.’ No. We have an unbelievable opportunity. Things don’t always set up that way.”
Indeed, if LAFC wins Saturday, it will move to within a win of a third straight MLS Cup final, something no team has done since 2007. Whether or not LAFC achieve thats, one thing seems certain: With the contracts of 17 players expiring at the end of the season, according to soccer site Transfermarkt, next year’s team once again will be different.
“The team, it’s making this long run and having this phenomenal success, probably a few of us won’t be here for next season. That’s part of the business,” said Sánchez, who turned 34 on Thursday with six weeks left on his contract. “I expect to be back. But we never have the final word.
“It is very difficult to maintain a group of players season after season. Especially when you win.”