Incoming expansion side LAFC announced the coaching staff for manager Bob Bradley on Friday.
Mike Sorber will serve as director of soccer operations, while Ante Razov, Marc Dos Santos and Kenny Arena will be assistant coaches, and Zak Abdel will be goalkeeper coach.
“From the outset, we have been intentional and focused on bringing in a talented, ambitious staff to achieve our aspirations as a club,” LAFC executive vice president of soccer operations and general manager John Thorrington said in a statement. “The process with the technical staff started with Bob and now continues with this fantastic group of coaches.”
Sorber, 46, most recently served as assistant coach at the Philadelphia Union. He has also been an assistant coach at his alma mater Saint Louis University, the Montreal Impact and with the US national team, including during Bradley's tenure as head coach of the USMNT. The St. Louis native played professionally for Pumas in Mexico, as well as Kansas City, the MetroStars and Chicago Fire in MLS, the latter of which where he played for Bradley, and he was a US international.
Razov, 43, is a Southern California native, and played collegiately at UCLA. Most recently an assistant for the LA Galaxy last year, he also served as an assistant at the Seattle Sounders, following a pro career where he played for five MLS teams and the USMNT, and played extensively for Bradley. He is also the fifth leading scorer all-time in MLS history.
Dos Santos (pictured above), 40, is considered one of the up-and-coming coaching talents in North American soccer. Fresh off a league title with the San Francisco Deltas last year, the Brazilian-Canadian previously served as an assistant at Sporting Kansas City, has led that club's USL team, managed the Ottawa Fury and the Montreal Impact in that team's pre-MLS days, and has experience coaching youth teams in Brazil.
Arena, 36, comes from the USMNT, where he was an assistant coach in 2017. Serving there and at the LA Galaxy from 2014-16 under his father, Bruce, Arena also has considerable experience coaching at the college level. He had a brief career in MLS, playing for the MetroStars and D.C. United.
Abdel joins LAFC from the Canadian national team, where he served as goalkeeper coach in 2017. Prior to that, he worked with Bradley on the Egyptian national team, the US national team, and Chivas USA, and also has experience with the LA Galaxy. The Egypt native played professionally in his homeland, and was an Egyptian youth international.
LAFC open their inaugural season on March 4 against Seattle Sounders (5 pm ET | ESPN).
