LAFC's eighth season brought the end of one era (Cherundolo), the beginning of another (Son), the sustained dominance of its new top goal scorer (Bouanga), and other indelible memories, presented here in chronological order.
10. LA STRONG
After historic wildfires struck Los Angeles County in January 2025, LAFC made community relief its top priority, mobilizing players, staff, fans, and partners to serve a city in need. Portions of ticket proceeds from the Black & Gold’s February 11 friendly against Club América were donated to organizations supporting fire relief efforts. DoorDash and LAFC hosted a series of dinners for local firefighters, with Club Ambassador Carlos Vela and his family visiting LAFD Station 69 to restock their kitchen and share a meal with the crew.
The home opener against Minnesota was an on-field microcosm of the city’s resilient journey this year. Tied 0-0 against what would turn out to be one of the league’s top teams, LAFC found a winner through newcomer Jeremy Ebobisse in the 78th minute, sparking a celebration on behalf of the healing city.
9. ORDAZ BEATS MIAMI
LAFC mastered the art of the hard-fought 1-0 win early in 2025. One such victory came in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinal against Lionel Messi and future MLS Cup champions Inter Miami, courtesy of a 57th-minute goal from LAFC Academy product Nathan Ordaz.
8. FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP
The adventure arrived from out of nowhere, when LAFC was notified in mid-May that it would face Club América in a single-elimination Play-In match whose winner would compete in the FIFA Club World Cup 2026.
On a night that Co-President and GM John Thorrington called “the greatest setting for a club football match that I’ve ever seen in the U.S.,” LAFC battled América deep into extra time, where the Black & Gold’s efforts were rewarded with a 115th-minute strike from Denis Bouanga that vaulted the Black & Gold onto the world stage.
Hard-fought defeats to Chelsea and ES Tunis preceded the club’s final Club World Cup match against Brazilian champions Flamengo. Bouanga’s 84th-minute goal gave the club its first tally in the competition, and the 1-1 draw gave LAFC its first point, setting the stage for a potential return to the world’s foremost club competition in 2029.
7. CHIELLINI JOINS OWNERSHIP
When Giorgio Chiellini, one of the game's all-time great defenders, became an LAFC owner on July 8, the world's game noticed. The Italian legend and MLS Cup champion had understood and been aligned with the Black & Gold standard since he joined the club in the summer of 2022. Now he will help steer LAFC's course.
“Joining the LAFC ownership group is a great honor for me," Chiellini said with his trademark humility. "When I arrived here three years ago as a player, I immediately felt that there was something special about this club.”
6. SON SIGNS
On August 6, LAFC announced that the club had acquired star forward Son Heung-Min, “a global icon and one of the most dynamic and accomplished players in world football,” said Thorrington.
Son's impact was immediate. The captain of the South Korean National Team and the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot (2021–22), Son leapt right into MLS action, debuting in Chicago three days after the announcement, notching his first assist the following week, and his first goal a week after that. That inaugural strike against FC Dallas would later be named MLS Goal of the Year.
In all, Son recorded 12 goals and four assists in just 13 games in 2025 (including playoffs), making a goal contribution every 68.9 minutes, the second-best rate in all of MLS. His impact on Los Angeles and the LAFC community was even greater.
5. BOUANGA AND SON TAKE FLIGHT
Six weeks into their partnership at the top of LAFC’s attack, Son and Denis Bouanga had scored 17 straight goals for the Black & Gold, setting the MLS record for most consecutive goals scored by two players. (They would extend their record to 18 the following week.)
All told, the Black & Gold would go 9W-2L-4T after Son joined the club, with Son and Bouanga combining for 25 goals and eight assists in those 15 matches.
4. BOUANGA PASSES VELA
On a warm night in Utah, with LAFC leading Real Salt Lake in the 88th minute, Bouanga raced behind RSL’s back line and dribbled half the length of the pitch to score his 94th goal in an LAFC shirt, moving him past LAFC legend Vela and into first place on the club’s all-time scoring charts. Bouanga got there in only 144 games, besting Vela’s mark of 93 goals in 186 matches.
It was yet another milestone in a career year for Bouanga, who scored a career-best 24 goals in league play and became the first player in MLS history to record three straight seasons of at least 20 goals. The 2025 MLS Golden Boot runner-up, Bouanga also became the first player to score 100 goals in black and gold, and the only MLS player to earn Best XI honors in each of the last three seasons (2023, 2024, 2025).
3. CARLOS' NIGHT
One of the most decorated players in MLS history, and LAFC’s all-time leader in games played, minutes, and assists, Vela was honored on September 21 at Noche de Carlos Vela, an evening-long celebration of the recently retired forward and LAFC’s first ever Club Ambassador. Music and Mexican culture enveloped BMO Stadium before, during and after LAFC’s 4-1 home win over RSL, with Vela, the club’s first and most decorated player, at the center of it, surrounded by friends and family.
“This is a special moment for me, for my family,” Vela told the capacity crowd just prior to kickoff. “When I signed many years ago, I accepted the challenge to build a club, to build history for a club, to create a competitive team, a winning team. And after all these years I feel proud of where we are. I feel proud of all the memories we have.”
Son, who scored one goal and assisted on two of Bouanga’s three goals on the night, remarked afterward: “Carlos, even I was in Europe I was watching clips when he was playing for this club … Everybody was happy to see him. And one day I want to be like him as well, so when I'm retiring, when I come back to LA I hope everybody welcomes me like this.”
2. "SON DELIVERS!"
Forty-five minutes into LAFC’s Western Conference Semifinal matchup in Vancouver, the Black & Gold’s season appeared over. Trailing 2-0 to the Whitecaps, LAFC came out of halftime on fire, with Son breathing life into their title mission with a 60th minute goal that pulled LAFC to within 2-1. That score held until Son lined up for a free kick outside the penalty area in stoppage time, with a chance to equalize:
LAFC would go on to fall to the eventual Western Conference champions on penalty kicks, but Son’s improbable strike from distance represented a parting reminder to anyone who might have wondered about the club’s trajectory in 2026 and beyond.
1. A CHANGE AT THE TOP
After leading LAFC to more wins than any other MLS club during his four-year tenure, head coach Steve Cherundolo stepped down from his role after the 2025 season in order to return to Germany, where years earlier he and his wife Mandy had married and started their family.
Cherundolo’s positive impact on the club was as tangible as the three major trophies he brought to LAFC, where he helped build a strong, competitive culture that not only won matches and championships but developed players on and off the pitch as LAFC grew from upstart success story to legitimate MLS powerhouse.
To replace him, LAFC promoted longtime assistant coach Marc Dos Santos, who had been on the sideline with Cherundolo for all of those victories from 2022 to 2025. A passionate tactician known for marrying high-intensity football with discipline, Dos Santos enters 2026 with a mandate to continue LAFC’s upward flight path, and with all the tools to keep climbing.
