MLS Cup: Bale: "Always nice to score in finals" - Cherundolo: "It is pretty wild"

LAFC have won their first MLS Cup title on Saturday afternoon, beating the Philadelphia Union 6-3 after penalties (to the match report). The mastermind behind the MLS Cup victory? Former Bundesliga star Cherundolo. Cherundolo came in last winter to replace Bob Bradley, who, up to this point, had been the only coach in LAFC history.

Bradley has been a towering figure in the club's history, winning a Supporters' Shield in 2019. But Bradley could never win an MLS Cup; that honor of being the first coach in LAFC history to win a national trophy now belongs to a man who, up until getting the LAFC job, struggled to get an opportunity in coaching. Cherundolo played 15 years in Germany for Hannover 96 and then continued at the club as a youth coach. But whether it was there or later at the DFB or VfB Stuttgart, Cherundolo never got the chance as a first-team coach. 

Instead, that opportunity arrived with the Las Vegas Lights, a USL Championship side that also doubles as LAFC's farm team. "The business as a coach or player is not plannable," Cherundolo said in the press conference following the MLS Cup final. "You need to be ready for them because the worst thing you can do as a coach is to step into a situation you are not prepared for, and when you are looking for a job, it's about preparing yourself for the opportunity and being ready for it. I think the title speaks for itself." 

Cherundolo on replacing Bradley: "You shouldn't change what is working" 

"I have coached developmental, which is a different way to coach players; they have a different goal," Cherundolo said when asked about replacing Bradley. But the 43-year-old was quick to point out that he did not change much once he took over LAFC ahead of the season. "What is working, you shouldn't change because that takes a lot of energy and effort and resources; what's working, hold onto, and what isn't working change. And that was my process during the interview process, and it convinced the right people." 

What followed next was a 67-point season and a second Supporters' Shield for LAFC. But unlike his predecessor Bradley, Cherundolo could now get the job done in the playoffs leading his side to the final and then winning the game in penalties. Interestingly enough, the victory would not have been possible without a major change in extra-time when Cherundolo brought on Garth Bale in the 97th minute of extra-time. 

"It is a piece that we have on our roster that I have that maybe Philly didn't have," Cherundolo said when asked about bringing on Bale. And Bale would have an impact scoring the 3-3 equalizer in the 128th minute to send the game to a penalty shootout. "It was pretty wild," Cherundolo said when asked about the up and downs of the match. 

MLS Cup hero Gareth Bale: "It is always nice to score in finals" 

In Bale, Cherundolo has a player capable of coming off the bench and scoring in clutch moments. The 33-year-old, after all, has done it on the greatest stage in the Champions League finals for Real Madrid. It was, therefore, written in the stars that Bale would also score a key goal in this game. "Everybody has been able to chip in, and it was nice to be able to do that," Bale said after the game. 

With that goal, Bale has done exactly what LAFC wanted to accomplish with the transfer. For the most part, the Welsh national team player was a part-time player, and at some point, there was doubt whether the deal had made sense at all. "It has been a difficult transition coming in without a preseason," Bale said. "I been trying to catch up, and also, relocating the family wasn't easy, but I have tried to keep as fit as possible and help the team as much as I can." 

But with that goal, all the doubters have been silenced as he was the all-important puzzle piece to secure the title. "The reason I came here was to help the club win a trophy," Bale said. "They have come close in the past but never got to a final and won it." Thanks to Bale and Cherundolo, they did exactly that in the most dramatic fashion.