LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney expressed disappointment following the team's 2023 MLS Cup playoff contention after their 5-2 defeat to Minnesota United, "everyone feels the weight of the moment and the loss."
Injuries have clearly taken their toll on the LA squad, with key figures Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez, Martin Caceres and Calegari out, but calls for Vanney to depart the club have only grown louder. The Galaxy missed the playoffs in 2021 on goal difference, Vanney's first year in charge, and he guided them to a fourth place finish in 2022.
"I think everyone feels the weight of the moment and the loss. The loss, running away. A lot of that is … there’s a portion of that when you start chasing the game and you start to get really stretched out, and that’s that," Vanney said after the game.
"For me, honestly, I feel like the group, with everything that it’s endured, through injuries, off the field stuff, whatever things just going on around, things that none of these guys had anything to do with, and the unfortunate big injuries that came that ... It’s difficult.
"And this group has fought every single game. Not always clearly, not always to the perfect result or to the perfect performance. But they battled. And tonight this one got away from us. We battled a lot of games. We’ve kept them tight. We’ve been in there fighting. And the guys who have joined us have helped give us a lift, and the guys who have been grinding all year continue to grind."
The Galaxy were unable to make any permanent signings in the summer transfer window due to a transfer ban for violating roster guidelines in 2019, which limited their ability to improve the team with the injuries they had. However, Billy Sharp and Maya Yoshida both joined LA as free agents and have slotted right into Vanney's starting lineup.
"The season is a journey. This season felt like five seasons left of challenges inside of one season, and we couldn’t manage all of it and get ourselves to the playoffs and the final stages. I don’t know any other way to put it right now," Vanney said.
"But I just think that we have to see this out in a very, very professional manner for our fans, for our club, for also the character that the group has shown during the season. We have to do that. I think there will be some opportunities for guys inside of this as well to gain some experience here at the end of the year that can hopefully serve them well in preparation for a new season.
"But there’s also going to be some guys that have an opportunity to continue to help the team be stable and perform and play well down the stretch. If we can play spoilers a little bit in the last two games then that’s a role we can play. But I think we really want to perform at our best level and go into the offseason on some good performances."
Almost all coaches are criticized when things aren't going well for their team, but Vanney has had no control over the summer transfer window ban as well as the unprecedented injury situation the Galaxy went through. However, the saying goes 'it's a business,' and it woudn't be a total shock if Vanney is dismissed from his coaching duties following the conclusion of the regular season.
Sign up now for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to watch all the action from the 2023 Major League Soccer season. Click here to subscribe!
This article was originally published on 90min as Greg Vanney: 'everyone is disappointed' after LA Galaxy eliminated from playoff contention.
