Four years after he helped the Los Angeles Galaxy win their first Major League Soccer championship, former Galaxy defender Alexi Lalas returned to the club on Monday when he was named the club's president and general manager.
Lalas, who earlier Monday resigned from the same positions he held with Red Bull New York, replaced Doug Hamilton, who died on a flight to Los Angeles from Costa Rica on March 9.
One of the first things Lalas did as Galaxy president and general manager was to acknowledge his predecessor's accomplishments.
"This is a wonderful opportunity and also a heckuva challenge and I don't take it lightly," Lalas said. "I'm filling some incredibly big shoes of a gentleman who was not only a friend but a legend in terms of this job. What he was able to accomplish with the Galaxy is something we all hope to emulate."
Six months ago, Anschutz Entertainment Group had promoted Hamilton to chief operating officer of AEG Sports but Hamilton was to remain in charge of the Galaxy for one year, AEG Sports President Shawn Hunter said.
"We talked often about how to eventually replace his role as president of the Galaxy," Hunter said. "We talked about early on the possibility of Alexi but we never thought the opportunity would present itself given the importance of that market."
As recently as Thursday, however, Lalas had denied rumors of a move to the Galaxy, but in the end Lalas said the Galaxy is the best place for him.
"It comes down to gut and where you feel you need to go and where you feel your future is," Lalas said.
Lalas, who was a starter in the Galaxy's 1-0 win against the New England Revolution in MLS Cup 2002, joined his third MLS club in the past year. At the start of the 2005 campaign, Lalas was entering his second year as general manager of the San Jose Earthquakes, a post he left midseason to join the then-MetroStars.
Now, he joins the Galaxy and faces the task of maintaining past accomplishments while looking to the future as the Galaxy won both MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup in 2005.
But where the club can improve from a year ago is in its regular-season finish. Despite winning MLS Cup 2005, the Galaxy were very mediocre last season, finishing ninth overall in the league in points and fourth in the Western Conference.
Lalas said he understands the Galaxy have room for improvement.
"The challenge for the Galaxy is to be able to provide a team to our fans that is exciting, yes, but is also consistent from start to finish," Lalas said. "As wonderful as championships are, the fact is that we sell season tickets and we give people a year's worth of entertainment and they want to be entertained and they want to see a successful team that fights every single game from April all the way to November."
Ironically, Lalas will oversee a coach with whom he is very familiar. Lalas played under Galaxy coach Steve Sampson with the national team in the mid-1990s. At the 1998 World Cup, though, Lalas did not play a single minute as the USA lost all three of its games. A nasty player revolt followed, in which Lalas participated.
But none of that is in an issue any more, Lalas said.
"There are certain things that I look back on differently and 1998 would probably be one of them," Lalas said. "Any problems that Steve and I had in 1998 were long put to bed. Since then, we've had a relationship. I've followed his career and I was excited about him as anybody last year. What he did last year was pretty incredible ... for him to come in and win the double."
Sampson has unparalleled success among league coaches, Lalas said.
"We're talking about a coach who has had success at the collegiate level. He's had success at the international level. Now he's had success in Major League Soccer," Lalas said. "When you look around at Major League Soccer, there's no other coach that can boast that kind of success. He has my full support. I'm excited to work with him because the fact is that I can learn a tremendous amount from him. I look forward to that."
That Sampson joined the Galaxy in the first place was one of many high-return investments Hamilton made in his four-plus years as Galaxy president and general manager.
"If I'm able to do my job half as good as he did, the Galaxy will be in good shape," Lalas said. "I'd like to think that I'm just going to continue on doing what he did and try to live up to that standard that he set."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
