In a few moments Mark Dos Santos was officially introduced as the third head coach in LAFC In history, he was ushered from the press conference onto the field at BMO Stadium to face the most important audience he would have to win in his new job.
Fans.
Since the club entered MLS in 2018, no team has won more games, scored more goals, earned more points or won more trophies than LAFC. However, while Dos Santos, the top assistant for five of those eight seasons, was hugging and mugging some of the men who would soon become his fiercest critics, another supporter approached the general manager. John Torrington with a question.
“How to separate [him] to be part of the coaching staff and tell the fans, “Listen, is it going to be different with this person?” he asked.
If Dos Santos had any doubts about the job description, this question made it clear: being the best is no longer enough. He'll have to get better than that.
And dos Santos is not only happy with this, he accepts it.
“I was aware of the pressure,” he said. “You only live once. You live in fear of getting a Doberman or something, right? It's a great opportunity. But I think it's a privilege when you coach a team in Los Angeles.”
“Every sport here is pressure. Every team here is about winning, winning. This is a winning city and the culture of the city. So I understand that.”
Oh, did we also mention that just winning isn't enough? For LAFC's famously demanding fans, how you win is almost as important.
“We have to win and we have to entertain,” Torrington said. “We've done a lot over the years. But we need to go deeper into it.”
This means attacking, staying on the front lines, being aggressive, relentless and tireless. This is not a problem for Dos Santos either, because this is the kind of football he likes to play.
“My style is LAFC’s style,” he said. “What we want to be is consistency in our intensity. It's non-negotiable, our intensity.”
Dos Santos has said all the right words and hugged all the right people so far, but his first test on the pitch won't come until mid-February when LAFC kicks off CONCACAF Champions Cup play in Honduras, followed by the first MLS match at the Coliseum against Lionel Messi and league champion Inter Miami.
And dos Santos has some huge holes to fill.
For the first four seasons Bob BradleyLAFC made the playoffs three times, won the Supporters' Shield, played in the CONCACAF Champions League final and broke the MLS record for most points in a season. The team has been even better the last four seasons under Steve Cherundolowinning a second Supporters' Shield and US Open Cup, playing in a second Champions League final and reaching two MLS Cup finals, victory in one.
Dos Santos, 48, played a big role in all of this, helping Bradley set the tone on the coaching staff in LAFC's first season and then helping Cerundolo the last four years. Meanwhile, he spent two and a half seasons managing a Vancouver Whitecaps team that lost more games than it won.
Mark Dos Santos watches the match between Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto in April 2021.
(Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press)
However, there were extenuating circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the Whitecaps to split one season between sequesters in Canada and Portland, Oregon, and then begin the next season in quarantine in Utah. But dos Santos says the bruises he suffered there made him a better coach and a better person.
“If I were a grandmaster, I would never try to hire a coach who only wins. Because I want to know when he falls, can he get up?” – he said. “It shows individuality and character. I never felt, 'Oh, just because things went wrong at one club, I'll stay grounded.'
“No, you're going to have to stand up and strike back. That's what I want to do.”
Moreover, the years in Whitecap are only a small part of the experience mentioned in dos Santos' resume. He began his career in Montreal, where he was born, and over the past 18 years has coached 11 teams in three countries, winning everywhere he has gone. But Vancouver.
That made him a strong contender for the LAFC job when Cherundolo announced in April that he would return to his wife's native Germany at the end of the season. And while this gave Torrington plenty of time to find a replacement, allowing him to cast a wide net and review more than 100 requests, he ultimately settled on the guy who was right under his nose.
The same process took place four years ago when Torrington conducted a global search to replace Bradley before promoting Cherundolo, then coach of LAFC's USL second-division affiliate.
According to Torrington, one thing that worked in Dos Santos' favor was the number of players who came up and said how much they wanted to play for Dos Santos. He also had the advantage of continuity, understanding of LAFC's culture and loyalty to the organization. Not only is he back after being fired in Vancouver, but he said he turned down another MLS coaching job this fall to stay in Los Angeles.
“I could choose another club that might [had] more comfort, less pressure,” he said, “But when John opened the door to the interview process. I went in with everything I had.”
Now comes the hard part.
While dos Santos is planning changes to his roster—assistant Ante Razov, the only member of the technical staff who has been with LAFC all eight seasons, is unlikely to return after being passed over for a management job a second time—the core of the roster that led the team to 36 wins over the last two seasons will return. For hungry LAFC fans, there is only one way to go: up.
Dos Santos says he is ready for the challenge.
“It's hard work. Coaching is hard,” he said.
“There will be opinions. But it's also a privilege to be in a position where there's so much pressure. It's a pressure club that wants to win.”
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