Even though LA Galaxy president Chris Klein promised a possible exit from the club in a letter to LA Galaxy season ticket members on Tuesday, supporters who are boycotting Klein's continued tenure at the club will stay away from its crucial El Trafico matchup hosting LAFC on Sunday.
On Tuesday afternoon, Klein's open letter was emailed to LA Galaxy season ticket members. It highlighted Klein’s trust in Vanney’s plan to strengthen the club's soccer operations as well at his future as president of the Galaxy. He noted, “When we hired Greg Vanney at the end of the 2020 season, he had a plan to build out the soccer operations for our club, and he laid out a five-year plan to build the LA Galaxy into a club that competes for championships year in and year out. This plan included making the playoffs in 2022 and advancing in the playoffs in 2023.”
He then added, “If we fall short of our goals this year, I will step aside as the President of the club that I so dearly love,” he said. Klein also adds in the email, “This was my commitment to Dan Beckerman and AEG when I agreed to my extension, and I stand behind that promise.”
In an email to season ticket holders, Chris Klein says “if we fall short of our goals this year, I will step aside as the President of the club that I so dearly love. This was my commitment to Dan Beckerman and AEG when I agreed to my extension, and I stand behind that promise.… pic.twitter.com/iV3be5LMzN
— Alex Ruiz (@AlxRuiz15) April 11, 2023
The letter follows from last week’s meeting with the supporters' group presidents, and creates a quandary for Galaxy fans.
If supporters want to see Klein out of his position as president, they must hope the LA Galaxy “tanks” and falls short of making the MLS Cup playoffs or exit early. If the club can turn this poor start to the season around, make the playoffs, and win a few games, Klein would presumably remain in his current post.
With nine out of 14 teams making the playoffs in the Western Conference this season, it's not as difficult as previous years when it took a top-seven finish. Klein did not outline the specific goal that would cause him to step aside, but considering the Galaxy made it to the Western Conference semifinals last year, that is likely the benchmark for this campaign.
A different feel
Whenever El Trafico comes to Dignity Health Sports Park, Galaxy supporters make the pride, history, and prestige of the club come to life. But this upcoming edition will have a different aura than previous matches.
LAFC, in just its sixth season in MLS, has become the LA Galaxy’s main rival and produced many marquee matches already. For both fanbases, is city pride on the line each time the rivals meet.
LA Riot Squad President Andrew Alesana was present at the first game where Zlatan Ibrahimović led LA to victory from a 3-0 deficit. He’s been present at every home game, as well as all the LAFC-hosted matches since the first. On Sunday, with the boycott still on, he'll be watching the game on a screen instead.
“To save the club in the future, I'd be willing to miss the game," he said. "I think that's what most of us would if it means going into this game and then being mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years. I'd rather miss one game."
All five LA Galaxy supporters groups — Angel City Brigade, LA Riot Squad, Galaxy Outlawz, Galaxians, and Galaxy Ghost Ultras — will leave their sections of the stadium empty and quiet, likely allowing the visiting LAFC supporters to be heard.
“It's a bigger statement than then the front office realizes,” stated Alesana. “The fact that we're willing to cede ground, our seat, our home, to people that are our rivals — we're willing to do that in the name to save our club.”
In eight games played between the two clubs at Dignity Health Sports Park, LAFC is yet to win on the road. The Galaxy beat LAFC 2-1 in their regular season matchup at home and won 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
“I'd love it if the stadium was empty, that would be more of a success," he added. "But obviously, if Galaxy fans are staying away that sends a strong message to the front office. It would be a statement to have 80% LAFC fans at our home game.”
The game will be on national TV on Fox and streaming on Apple TV in a standalone Sunday afternoon time slot, so the atmosphere at the stadium will be on display for all to see.
“This hurts to do and you never want to give up control of your own stadium to a hostile rival, stated Alesana. "If it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good, I hope that we can accomplish that.”
What happened in last week's meeting
Last Thursday, the supporters' groups presidents and LA Galaxy front office reps met for the second time since the supporters boycott was announced in January. Galaxy president Chris Klein attended along with newly-announced Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Will Kuntz.
According to Alesana, the meeting lasted close to two hours; the team presented the club's organizational chart to take the lion's share of the meeting. The chart showed the club operates under head coach Greg Vanney’s vision, with Klein the only person above Vanney. Klein explained that his role is to support Vanney in anything that he needs.
Vanney was unable to attend the meeting as he was traveling with the team for its match in Houston that week. Klein assured an inquiring supporter that Vanney would remain with the organization even if results remained negative in 2023.
Kuntz primarily discussed the Galaxy's roster building. The club has a history of bringing big names like David Beckham, Ibrahimović, Robbie Keane, Chicharito, and most recently Riqui Puig. But in recent years, that's mixed with big-name flops like Steven Gerrard, Giovani and Jonathan Dos Santos, and (though the jury's still out) Douglas Costa.
Kuntz explained that he wants the Galaxy to move away from big-name players at the tail end of their careers and transition towards younger players, as well as maximizing the talent in the Galaxy Academy. With MLS evolving in its transfer strategies, Kuntz provides a fresh perspective with his addition to the front office staff.
The hiring of Kuntz shows LA is looking to improve its club infrastructure, but fans aren't necessarily convinced.
“He does move the needle a little bit and is step in the right direction, but at the same time we've brought in people to handle personnel before,” said Alesana. "Dennis te Kloese was brought in to handle the whole soccer operation side and obviously, that didn't work out so it's more of the same until we see different honestly.”
Supporters have also called for Technical Director Jovan Kirovski to be ousted along with Klein. Kirovski has not been included in supporters' meetings with the Galaxy.
At multiple times during the meeting, Klein stated that he knew that session itself would not bring the supporters back into the stands. The leadership of the supporter groups remains firm on their decision to not come back to the grounds until Klein is out of the organization — even if that doesn't happen for the rest of the season, as Tuesday's letter indicated.