LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo believes that roster rules and regulations in Major League Soccer must take another step if teams are to compete across multiple competitions in a season.
While most soccer fans in the United States were watching the US Open Cup final between Inter Miami (without Lionel Messi) and Houston Dynamo, another final was taking place on the west coast — the Campeones Cup featuring LAFC and Liga MX’s Tigres.
The 2022 MLS Cup champions, who were down to 10 men in the second 45, battled it out and Cherundolo’s side thought they had found a late winner through Denis Bouanga, until the goal was disallowed in a controversial turn of events at BMO Stadium.
LAFC eventually fell to the Concacaf giants in penalties, 4-2, but Cherundolo was proud of how his squad fought in the midweek contest.
“There’s nothing we’re doing wrong,” Cherundolo said after the game. “There’s actually a hell of a lot of things we’re doing right, we’re in finals and we deserve to be there. It’s only a matter of time before we start winning them. We move on, we try to gather as many points as we can in MLS.”
The former Bundesliga player also had plenty to say about the officiating during the contest.
“I’m not going to sit here and discuss what is and what isn’t,” he said. “My only concern with referees and my only ask is that they are consistent. If he pulls yellows in the first minute he’s got to pull them the entire 90 minutes.I do have a problem when referees are now consistent and I think Drew [Fischer, the head referee] was not consistent…
“… my worst fears came true with CONCACAF referees, when referees change the results of games, which is what they’re not supposed to do. Sure enough, Drew and his crew came out tonight big and decided the game, which is a shame for fans and players because we didn’t deserve that.”
It was the second time that the Black and Gold went for glory in 2023. Earlier in the campaign, LAFC fell against Liga MX outfit Club Leon 3-1 on aggregate in the Concacaf Champions League (now rebranded to Concacaf Champions Cup).
LAFC competed in the continental tournament while also competing in league play, and Cherundolo made it clear that’s difficult do to so while under MLS’ current roster rules.
“Throughout all the competitions we’ve been in this year, for any teams that are going to this next year, I can tell you the rules and regulations of MLS rosters are not ample enough and we are not equipped enough for all these competitions,” he said.
“We have done an incredible job to stay in all comps very late but our guys are depleted. Our stadium officer is tired, everyone is tired. Maybe it’s too many games or maybe we don’t have enough players and I think moving forward to create a competitive advantage for MLS I think the owners and commissioners need to sit down and come up with solutions.
“The status quo does not work and I can tell you that is the opinion of other coaches as well,” he stated.
LAFC, in second place in the Western Conference table with 45 points, looks to get back on track to qualify for the postseason when they take on Real Salt Lake on October 1.
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