LAFC EVP of Soccer Operations and General Manager John Thorrington was a featured guest on Sirius XM FC’s “United States of Soccer” morning show with host Jason Davis on Friday, Oct. 27. Thorrington answered several questions related to the club’s team building process.
“I think we feel comfortable where we are,” Thorrington said about the process of filling out the expansion team’s roster.
With the MLS Expansion Draft and the opportunity to add players before the team’s first training camp in January rapidly approaching, Thorrington talked about how he and head coach Bob Bradley have consistently been scouting and searching for players since Bradley was hired in July.
“Bob and I have been working very hard along with the rest of our staff here to make sure we set ourselves up well for the start of preseason in January,” Thorrington said.
“The vast amount of work that we’ve done, miles we’ve traveled, conversations we’ve had we feel good about. We feel good about where we are, but it’s never a situation where you feel entirely comfortable until all the signatures are there, and the deals are done, but, having said that I do feel comfortable.”
Thorrington also spoke about the importance of adding an accomplished and experienced head coach such as Bradley to a new team.
“When we looked at our criteria of what we wanted as a club for our coach, and part of the things you get with certain coaches that you don’t necessarily get with others is not just experience, but then what that experience brings as far as connectivity in the global market and in our league,” Thorrington said. “We felt that with Bob we were getting both – which is a rare combination given what he’s done with national teams, with club teams abroad and his very in-depth knowledge of the league and the American player.”
Bradley’s international contacts and reputation have already helped make a difference for LAFC as they continue to close in on targeted players.
“We felt that [hiring Bob in July] gave us the runway we needed in these six months to get out there, see the players, use Bob’s knowledge and networks, as well as all the scouting work we had done prior to him being here to sync up and put the team together.”
For more from Thorrington on “United States of Soccer”, listen to the full interview: https://youtu.be/tvuul0fKI7U
