Vanney completed yet another strong rebuild with Galaxy after previously bringing Toronto FC to summit
CARSON, Calif. — Prior to Saturday's MLS Cup final, there had been just three league coaches who had led multiple clubs to titles: Bruce Arena, Caleb Porter and Sigi Schmid. Greg Vanney can now add his name to that list.
Vanney guided the LA Galaxy to a dramatic 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls Saturday, cementing the team's MLS-record sixth title. Equally as impressive is in the manner in which LA secured it. The scored a record 18 goals en route to their postseason success. This all came one year removed from the Galaxy being the second-worst team in the Western Conference, due to injuries and a transfer ban.
If it sounds familiar, it should.
Vanney experienced similar success with Toronto FC as their head coach, lifting another ambitious team with middling results to the top of the league. And the playoff record of goals scored was previously held by none other than the Vanney's Reds in 2016, which had 17 before bowing out in the MLS Cup final that year on penalties. The coach, who was then on his first lead job, would deliver Toronto FC its first title in 2017.
"This is also why I do it, to try to win championships, try to continue to push this league forward in any way I can," Vanney said about his second title.
While Vanney isn't often mentioned among the elite American soccer coaches, his track record would suggest otherwise. Here's a look at how he was able to turn around two struggling franchises with deep pockets.
Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportFinding the right pieces
The past decade for the LA Galaxy was unprecedented, for all of the wrong reasons. The team missed the playoffs three times and recorded its two of its lowest point totals during that period: 22 in a COVID-shortened 2020 season, 36 last season. This was despite having big name players such as Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Christian Pavon.
To put that into perspective, in the 18 years of the Galaxy's existence prior, LA had won five titles and missed the playoffs just three times – a dark patch between 2006-09. Otherwise, this was a team defined by its excellence.
Vanney arrival came following the disappointing 2020 season after the franchise fired Guillermo Barros Schelotto. A former LA Galaxy player from 1996-01, Vanney insisted he wanted to take a holistic approach towards getting the team back to its best.
“It felt for years, from an outside perspective, as a former Galaxy player who always watched the club, that the club was sort of chasing that next championship one year at a time instead of building that infrastructure” said Vanney when he was hired by the club. “I felt like that was one of the things that we needed to do as well. We need to lay the groundwork.”
Due to injuries to Hernandez in 2021 and 2023, along with a transfer ban in the latter year, the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs in both of those years. However, with a healthy roster in 2022, the team finished fourth in the Western Conference and made a run to the quarterfinals.
Instead of focusing on the threadbare years, the organization decided to seek the managers' input on the types of players he needed to be successful.
"We didn't necessarily go look for guys with big names and huge careers already and that are kind of behind them," Vanney said. "We went for guys that are hungry and super talented and athletic and fit our style of play."
As a result, the Galaxy became the first team in MLS history to feature four players who all scored 10 or more goals in a single season in Gabriel Pec, Dejan Joveljić, Riqui Puig and Joseph Paintsil – with Pec and Paintsil's arrivals this season spurring that change.
AdvertisementImagnAnother gamble that pays off
Vanney's approach on the pitch is all about attacking and being proactive, risks be damned. He has also shown a willingness to make bold decisions in lining up his team.
After a week of speculation over who would replaced the injured Puig, which was partially fueled by the coach naming Diego Fagundez and Marco Reus as potential options, Vanney pulled the ultimate poker move by handing Puig's significant playmaking to Gaston Brugman.
Brugman set the tone for the Saturday's win early on with a masterful assist to Paintsil in the 10th minute. The Uruguayan midfielder also put in a shift in midfield, winning tackles and continuing to make sure that the Galaxy got into dangerous positions throughout the game. In match that featured European internationals in Emil Forsberg and Dante Vanzeir for the Red Bulls and LA's well-known stars, it was Brugman who would be the final's best player – taking home MVP honors.
"For me, it was, it was coming down to the battles in the midfield, the competitive side, the ability to, again, just win the middle of the park against a team like that – especially early in the game, when they usually like to have it really like fast and pressing and disruptive," Vanney said of the decision. "Gaston was able to step in win balls. He played an incredible pass through the lines. I mean, he was a warrior in both directions, and I'm happy for him."
The roster construction and making bold decisions on the biggest stages are all traits that Vanney showed during his success in Toronto as well.
Getty Images SportThe Toronto FC blueprint
Vanney was thrust into his first coaching job during a nightmare season for Toronto FC. The team went on a $100 million spending spree that included bringing in England international Jermain Defoe, U.S. international Michael Bradley, Brazil No. 1 keeper Julio Cesar and local Canadian legend Dwayne De Rosario. Despite all of the buzz, Toronto slugged to a 9-9-6 record under previous coach Ryan Nelsen.
Vanney, who was previously the club's academy director, was promoted and although the team would not make the playoffs this season. He outlined what needed to change.
“I think we need to change the energy, be more aggressive, be potentially less careful about making mistakes and looking to be more aggressive," he said. “Over the last several games, we’ve looked energy-less. I think our team is at its best when we’re out and we’re sprinting and we’re running and we’re getting after other teams.”
In the 2015 season, working in tandem with the front office, Vanney got players who better fit his approach — finding stars who fit his athletic and energetic style of play in Jozy Altidore and a player who has some similarities to Pec in then-star Sebastian Giovinco.
And then the attacking brand of football Vanney has become known for started to take shape. Toronto was among the top five teams in scoring during his first four years as manager, with the 2017's 74 goals the fourth-most in MLS history. Similar to his time in LA, he also made bold calls.
He drafted Marky Delgado and made him a key figure in Toronto's midfield. After failing to use the then-young player in the 2016 playoffs, Vanney rectified the mistake in 2017 – making the midfielder a vital cog of a team headlined by Bradley, Giovinco and Altidore.
Toronto FC was a consistent contender under Vanney, before the coach stepped down in 2020. They have not been to the playoffs since his exit and have had several seasons near the bottom of the league.
"My decision to leave Toronto was not an easy one," Vanney said in his pre MLS Cup press conference Friday. "I mean, even the season I left, we were competing for the Supporters' Shield to the last year, right? I love those guys, and I love the people there….I learned, I think, a lot of things, but really the challenge [of] those things, is to do it again somewhere else and have to rebuild it."
Future is bright in LA
When he compares Toronto and LA, he can also see some of the similarities.
"I don't think it's that different," Vanney said Friday. "I mean, again, what I would say is the group of players is different, and the group of players in Toronto was more experienced in the grand scheme of things."
Now, reflecting on this title in LA, Vanney doesn't shy away from what this all means.
"This is kind of the stamp that we're back," Vanney proclaimed following LA's win. "At the Galaxy, it's about winning championships. And I think that was going into this week, that was the thing – like, we've proven, I think, that we're back as an organization, and now it's to prove that we're back as champions, and we're on top again. And these guys did it, and they sent them, cemented their legacy. A club with incredible history and legacy And I'm proud of them."
Vanney can count himself as one of the league's best title-team builders. He's earned it.