Los Angeles FC suffered a heartbreaking end to the 2025 MLS season, but will look to retool before their 2026 season opener against Inter Miami on Feb. 21 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Headlining LAFC’s top priorities for the offseason was to find a new head coach.
Steve Cherundolo announced in April that the 2025 MLS season would be his last in the dugout for the Black and Gold. He joined the side back in 2022. In his first season with Los Angeles, he broke the record for most wins as a first-year head coach in the MLS with 21 wins. His tenure includes an MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double in 2022, and a 2024 U.S. Open Cup victory.
The club recently officially announced that their new coach for the upcoming season would be former assistant coach Marc Dos Santos. Dos Santos becomes the third coach in LAFC history, initially joining the coaching staff in 2022 after previously serving as head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps for over two seasons.
Los Angeles was also quick to resolve their brief goalkeeping issue at the very start of this MLS offseason.
Starting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was initially out of contract by the end of the 2025 season, with questions looming whether he would return to LAFC and the MLS entirely. However, it was recently announced that the 38-year-old Frenchman will sign a one-year contract extension through 2026 with an option for 2027.
Lloris originally joined the Black and Gold in December 2023, after a decorated tenure with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Since joining LAFC, he has made 91 appearances and recorded 33 clean sheets, while also captaining the squad in the latter half of the 2025 season.
Los Angeles will also look forward to having a full season of forward Son Heung-Min.
The South Korean international signed for LAFC back in August after spending a decade with Tottenham, and made an immediate impact for the squad. He registered 12 goals and three assists in 13 matches for the Black and Gold, including a valiant effort to keep LAFC’s 2025 playoff hopes alive. He scored a second-half brace and a stoppage-time free-kick to level the score at 2-2, in an eventual penalty shootout loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Conference Semifinals.
With a new era on the horizon, LAFC enters the 2026 season with plenty of questions regarding the team’s future, but just as much promise. If the pieces fall into place this offseason, including a full season with the star dynamic duo of Son and winger Denis Bouanga, Los Angeles could be primed for another strong push towards MLS Cup glory.