After a decade at the helm, one MLS cup, three playoff appearances in seven seasons and a wooden spoon, Chris Klein has been fired by the LA Galaxy after a decade as club president.
Though the continued growth in revenue has been consistently impressive, as crowds dwindled at the Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy’s home stadium, and results failed to pick up, it was inevitable that Klein’s head would eventually be put on the chopping block.
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Under the former president, the Galaxy went from the league’s most dominant franchise, winning three MLS Cups, two Supporters’ Shields and finishing as MLS Cup runner-up between 2009 to 2014, to bottom of the league table with nine points from 14 matches — already seven points outside the play-offs.
Who is Chris Klein?
Klein’s history with the Galaxy goes beyond his time as president. After a long playing career in MLS, where he made 200 appearances for the Kansas City Wizards and won 22 caps for the United States, scoring five goals, Klein joined the Galaxy as a player in 2007. Though he never won the MLS Cup as a player in Southern California, he played alongside David Beckham and Landon Donovan in Galaxy sides that won the Supporters’ Shield in 2010 and the Western Conference Championship in 2009 before losing to Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup final on penalties.
After retiring as a professional in 2010, Klein shifted into the front office, initially serving as the senior director of the Galaxy Academy before being promoted to vice president of soccer operations in 2012. In his first season at the boardroom level, the Galaxy won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double with an attacking trio of Beckham, Donovan and Robbie Keane – one of the best and most iconic trios in league history. They repeated the feat the following season, defeating Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup final for the second season running. That side remains the most recent team to defend the league’s premier trophy. At the time, Klein, who had helped assemble one of the best teams the league had seen alongside head coach and general manager Bruce Arena, was considered among MLS’ emerging executives.
In 2013, Klein was appointed president, helping oversee business and soccer operations. In his second season in this role, the Galaxy won their fifth and latest MLS Cup. In the nine years since, the league’s most decorated franchise has not reached the championship game again, the longest drought in club history.
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How did the LA Galaxy go from a league power to sustained mediocrity?
For much of the past two decades, the Galaxy were viewed as the flag-bearers for American club soccer. Sustained success, as measured by consistent winning across the regular season and play-offs, as well as star names that drew attention from all corners of the globe, they were MLS’ dominant franchise. But since Arena left to coach the U.S. national team in 2016, the Galaxy’s success has taken a significant hit. Despite the individual brilliance of Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 52 goals across 56 regular season matches in MLS, and several eye-catching designated players who arrived before and since, the Galaxy have only reached the play-offs twice since 2017. In their first season without Arena, they had the worst regular season record in the league under head coaches Curt Onalfo and Sigi Schmid, Klein’s first hires as president.
The Galaxy have not since recovered and are on track to suffer a similar fate as in 2017; they currently sit second to last in the table, with the worst goal difference in MLS. Star striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez has scored one league goal, and the divide between fans and players was evident after Saturday’s home loss to Charlotte when players and coaches were angrily confronted at the final whistle. And while the Galaxy suffer on the pitch, the attendance averages have dipped significantly, falling from 22,841 last campaign to 20,531 so far this season, with fans staying away from the stadium to protest against Klein’s position, making his role as president untenable.
The sanctions against the club
In December last year, MLS suspended Klein through the end of the 2023 winter window for violating salary budget and roster guidelines during the 2019 season.
This was due to the Galaxy, under Klein and former general manager Dennis Te Kloese’s leadership, entering into undisclosed agreements. These included payments that were not accounted for in the calculation of winger Cristian Pavón’s salary budget and roster category. This resulted in the improper classification of Pavón as a targeted allocation money (TAM) player in 2019 when he should have held a designated player slot.
For this, the Galaxy were handed a transfer ban for the 2023 summer window. They are prohibited from registering a player who requires the receipt of an international transfer certificate (ITC) from outside of the United States and Canada, barring them from signing a player outside of MLS. With the club’s struggles this season, the secondary window would have been the opportune time to build towards a late-season resurgence. While intra-league exchanges may still make a difference, a club of Galaxy’s profile is losing a significant opportunity to profit from the summer window, where it is typically easier to attract players from Europe’s top-five leagues.
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The supporters’ group protests
It was not just the poor on-field performances driving supporters away from Dignity Health Sports Park, but a united effort across supporters’ groups to avoid attending home matches until Klein was removed from his role.
After it was confirmed that AEG had extended Klein’s contract in January, the five primary Galaxy supporters’ groups – LA Riot Squad, Angel City Brigade, Galaxy Outlawz, the Galaxians and Ghost Ultras Galaxy – published a statement across their respective social media channels demonstrating their unanimous intention not to attend until “change is made at the highest level.” Angel City brigade returned to the home stadium on May 6, prompting some discontent between them and the other supporters’ groups. Still, the holdout groups reiterated their intention to see the president removed from post at the game with “Klein Out” chants.
They are all set to return on June 21, when Galaxy will face Sporting Kansas City.
What does this mean for Greg Vanney?
Vanney, head coach and sporting director, will continue to lead all soccer operations, reporting directly to Dan Beckerman, president and chief executive of AEG, Galaxy’s parent company.
Though Vanney has failed to arrest the Galaxy’s slide this season, his history in transforming Toronto from also-rans to a league power has bought him time. Upon arrival, Vanney desired to transform the club into one with sustainable and modern practises that would survive when he leaves, from sport science to the academy and scouting infrastructure. The Galaxy have progressed in these areas during his tenure: hiring a head of scouting, a new director of sports medicine, a director of high performance and innovation, a director of cognitive performance, an assistant of high performance and a director of methodology and development.
Ultimately, however, for a club with the second-highest salary spend in the league, results speak for themselves, and the Galaxy are on a run of three consecutive league defeats. If Vanney cannot shift the momentum, pressure will mount on whether he is the right person for the job moving forward.
(Photo: Shaun Clark/Getty Images)
