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The first round of the L.A. Galaxy and LAFC rivalry, or “El Trafico” as fans have called it, brings more than a new rivalry to the area. It showcases two of the best coaches in Major League Soccer history in a head-to-head battle for the pride of the city.
Both L.A. Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid and LAFC coach Bob Bradley have long lists of coaching accomplishments and are looking forward to what the new rivalry can bring to Los Angeles’ soccer scene. The match kicks off at 3 p.m. ET Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
Schmid is the winningest coach in MLS history with an all-time record of 231-174-118 in the regular season. He’s built his legacy domestically — 19 years coaching at UCLA, 17 years in Major League Soccer and two short stints with the United States men’s under-20 team. During his MLS coaching career, he’s won two MLS Cups, three Supporters’ Shield trophies and five U.S. Open Cup titles.
At UCLA, he was known for his ability to yield excellent goalkeepers, including Brad Friedel, Kevin Hartman, and Matt Reis, to name a few. Schmid is still considered one of the best collegiate soccer coaches of all time with a 322-63-33 record at UCLA.
Inversely, Bradley is more known for taking his coaching career abroad by being the first American coach in different European clubs, including Stabaek in Norway, Le Havre in France and Swansea City in England. He also had a stint with the Egyptian national team, where he coached a young Mohamed Salah, who is currently yielding great success in the EPL.
On top of his international endeavors, Bradley coached the U.S. men’s national team to a second-place finish in the 2009 Confederations Cup. He’s also ranked fifth on the all-time MLS winningest coaches list with a regular season record of 126-94-54.
Bob Bradley may be best known domestically for coaching the Chicago Fire to an MLS Cup victory in their first season in 1998. While the league was very different then, his experience building a winning squad from scratch will help as he tries to replicate something similar in the early days of his LAFC tenure.
Pictures: See Bob Bradley and Sigi Schmid through the years
A lesser known feat of Bradley’s was his use of a loophole in MLS rules to his advantage back in 2003. That year, MLS allowed three substitutions plus one additional substitution for a goalkeeper. Bradley decided to have his goalkeeper, Tim Howard, switch positions with midfielder Mark Lisi, only to be immediately subbed off for midfielder Eddie Gaven, who then switched from goalkeeper to midfielder, allowing Howard back in the net. As confusing as it sounds, it allowed Bradley to sub on an additional player who would eventually score the game-winning goal in overtime.
Needless to say, MLS struck down that rule shortly thereafter.
As far as this weekend’s match is concerned, Bradley said the rivalry isn’t quite there — yet.
“The details of this derby will only be seen in coming years,” Bradley said. “You’ve got some starting points with two teams in one city, but now the matches will write the history and this is the first one.”
Schmid is more interested in putting forth the Galaxy’s best effort for the fans.
“Right now, it’s the first time, so I can’t tell you how big the rivalry is,” Schmid said. “I know it means a lot to our guys, and I know it’s going to mean a lot to their guys. It means a lot to our fans. Our fans are very important to us and we want to go and put forth our best effort for our fans.”
Two of the top five coaches in MLS history will face off this weekend. Who will add another historic victory to their résumé?