Steve Cherundolo’s first season at LAFC ended in a penalty-kick shootout that decided one of the most compelling playoff games in MLS history. His final season ended in the same way last Saturday.
Cherundolo and LAFC won that first classic match, beating the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 MLS Cup final. They lost the second one, falling to the shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps in a Western Conference semifinal that had more plot twists than an Agatha Christie mystery.
In between, Cherundolo proved to be one of the best coaches in league history, winning an MLS Cup, a U.